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Novelty detector neurons in the mammalian auditory midbrain

Lookup NU author(s): David Perez Gonzalez

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Abstract

Novel stimuli in all sensory modalities are highly effective in attracting and focusing attention. Stimulus-specific adaptation (SSA) and brain activity evoked by novel stimuli have been studied using population measures such as imaging and event-related potentials, but there have been few studies at the single-neuron level. In this study we compare SSA across different populations of neurons in the inferior colliculus (IC) of the rat and show that a subclass of neurons with rapid and pronounced SSA respond selectively to novel sounds. These neurons, located in the dorsal and external cortex of the IC, fail to respond to multiple repetitions of a sound but briefly recover their excitability when some stimulus parameter is changed. The finding of neurons that respond selectively to novel stimuli in the mammalian auditory midbrain suggests that they may contribute to a rapid subcortical pathway for directing attention and/or orienting responses to novel sounds.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Pérez-González D, Malmierca MS, Covey E

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: European Journal of Neuroscience

Year: 2005

Volume: 22

Issue: 11

Pages: 2879-2885

ISSN (print): 0953-816X

ISSN (electronic): 1460-9568

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-9568.2005.04472.x

DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2005.04472.x

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