Interaural Timing Cues Do Not Contribute to the Map of Space in the Ferret Superior Colliculus: A Virtual Acoustic Space Study

Robert A. A. Campbell · Timothy P. Doubell · Fernando R. Nodal · Jan W. H. Schnupp · Andrew J. King

36 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Neurophysiology

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Multisensory perception and integration Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, Genetics Neuroscience and Music Perception

Abstract

In this study, we used individualized virtual acoustic space (VAS) stimuli to investigate the representation of auditory space in the superior colliculus (SC) of anesthetized ferrets. The VAS stimuli were generated by convolving broadband noise bursts with each animal's own head-related transfer function and presented over earphones. Comparison of the amplitude spectra of the free-field and VAS signals and of the spatial receptive fields of neurons recorded in the inferior colliculus with each form of stimulation confirmed that the VAS provided an accurate simulation of sounds presented in the free field. Units recorded in the deeper layers of the SC responded predominantly to virtual sound directions within the contralateral hemifield. In most cases, increasing the sound level resulted in stronger spike discharges and broader spatial receptive fields. However, the preferred sound directions, as defined by the direction of the centroid vector, remained largely unchanged across different levels and, as observed in previous free-field studies, varied topographically in azimuth along the rostrocaudal axis of the SC. We also examined the contribution of interaural time differences (ITDs) to map topography by digitally manipulating the VAS stimuli so that ITDs were held constant while allowing other spatial cues to vary naturally. The response properties of the majority of units, including centroid direction, remained unchanged with fixed ITDs, indicating that sensitivity to this cue is not responsible for tuning to different sound directions. These results are consistent with previous data suggesting that sensitivity to interaural level differences and spectral cues provides the basis for the map of auditory space in the mammalian SC.

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References

1984A neural code for auditory space in the cat's superior colliculus 1984Auditory receptive fields in primate superior colliculus shift with changes in eye position 1983Cells responsive to free‐field auditory stimuli in guinea‐pig superior colliculus: distribution and response properties.1987Spatial response properties of acoustically responsive neurons in the superior colliculus of the ferret: a map of auditory space 1989Neural maps of interaural time and intensity differences in the optic tectum of the barn owl 1985Topographic organization of interaural intensity difference sensitivity in deep layers of cat superior colliculus: implications for auditory spatial representation 1995Effects of eye position on auditory localization and neural representation of space in superior colliculus of cats 1998Signals from the Superficial Layers of the Superior Colliculus Enable the Development of the Auditory Space Map in the Deeper Layers

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