Sharpening of frequency tuning by inhibition in the central auditory system: tribute to Yasuji Katsuki

doi:10.1016/0168-0102(94)00868-G

Neuroscience Research

Volume 21, Issue 4, February 1995, Pages 287-299

https://doi.org/10.1016/0168-0102(94)00868-G Get rights and content

Abstract

Frequency analysis is a fundamental function of the auditory system. Békésy and Katsuki believed that sharpening of frequency tuning by lateral inhibition takes place in the central auditory system. However, most ‘cat’ auditory physiologists have believed that frequency tuning of neurons is not sharpened in the central auditory system, so that there is no lateral inhibition. Unlike quasi-triangular frequency-tuning curves of peripheral neurons, pencil- or spindle-shaped frequency-tuning curves have been found in the central auditory systems of many species of animals belonging in different classes. Inhibitory tuning curves are commonly associated with such ‘level-tolerant’ sharp excitatory tuning curves. It is clear that frequency-tuning curves of some central auditory neurons are sharpened by inhibition. Yasuji Katsuki (Professor, M.D., Ph.D.) passed away on 6 March 1994 at the age of 88. I have written this article as a tribute to him, focusing on his major contribution to auditory neurophysiology: the finding of the sharpening of frequency tuning in the cat's central auditory system. Neural sharpening of frequency tuning is an old yet still current topic, as you will read in this article dedicated to Professor Katsuki.

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In the control condition in Experiment 1, the two tones (330 Hz and 392 Hz) in the tone-pairs used in the lateral inhibition condition were replaced by two tones with large acoustic difference (330 Hz and 3135 Hz). Because lateral inhibition takes effect between neighbor neurons in neural representations of sensory information (Békésy, 1967; Suga, 1995), the lateral inhibition effect would be considerably weaker in the control condition than the lateral inhibition condition. Therefore, if lateral inhibition is a mechanism that underlies the MMN response, two MMNs would be elicited in the control condition, but only the second MMN would be observed in the lateral inhibition condition because the first MMN in the lateral inhibition condition would decrease in amplitude due to lateral inhibition.
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Review articleSharpening of frequency tuning by inhibition in the central auditory system: tribute to Yasuji Katsuki

Abstract

Hear. Res.

Hear. Res.

Hear. Res.

Neural Networks

J. Insect Physiol.

Functional architecture in cat primary auditory cortex: columnar organization and organization according to depth

J. Neurophysiol.

Medial geniculate body of cat: organization and responses to tonal stimuli of neurons in ventral division

J. Neurophysiol.

The thalamocortical and corticothalamic connections of AI, AII, and the anterior auditory field (AAF) in the cat: evidence for two largely segregated systems of connections

J. Comp. Neurol.

Sensory Inhibition

Auditory representation within principal division of cat medial geniculate body: an electrophysiological study

J. Neurophysiol.

Frequency tuning properties of neurons in the inferior colliculus of an FM bat

J. Comp. Physiol.

Processing of amplitude-modulated signals that mimic echoes from fluttering targets in the inferior colliculus of the little brown bat, Myotis lucifugus

J. Neurophysiol.

The active cochlea

J. Neurosci.

Differences in response properties of neurons between two delay-tuned areas in the auditory cortex of the mustached bat

J. Neurophysiol.

Inferior colliculus of the house mouse II. Single unit responses to tones, noise and tone-noise combinations as a function of sound intensity

J. Comp. Physiol.

The frequency response and other properties of single fibers in the guinea-pig cochlear nerve

J. Physiol.

The responses of single neurons in the cochlear nucleus of the cat as a function of their location and the anaesthetic state

Exp. Brain Res.

Response selectivity for multiple dimensions of frequency sweeps in the pallid bat inferior colliculus

J. Neurophysiol.

Frequency selectivity in the anuran auditory midbrain: single unit responses to single and multiple tone stimulation

J. Comp. Physiol.

Biosonar behavior of mustached bats swung on a pendulum prior to cortical ablation

J. Neurophysiol.

Neural mechanism of audition

Physiol. Rev.

The response of single auditory nerve fibers to acoustic stimulation

J. Neurophysiol.

Inhibition of activity in single auditory nerve fibers by acoustic stimulation

J. Neurophysiol.

Single unit activity in the dorsal cochlear nucleus of the cat

J. Comp. Neurol.

Excitatory and inhibitory response areas of auditory neurons in the cochlear nucleus

J. Neurophysiol.

The neurophysiology of audition in bat: intensity and frequency parameters

J. Physiol. (Lond.)

Biosonar imaging of insects by Pteronotus p. parnelli, the mustached bat

Natl. Geogr. Res.

Electrophysiological studies on hearing in common insects in Japan

Neural mechanism of the peripheral and central auditory system in monkeys

J. Acoust. Soc. Am.

The dip prism microscope, specially designed for electrophysiological use

Electric responses of auditory neurons in cat to sound stimulation

J. Neurophysiol.

Activity of auditory neurons in upper levels of brain of cat

J. Neurophysiol.

Interaction of auditory neurons in response to two sound stimuli in cat

J. Neurophysiol.

Discharge patterns of single fibers in the cat's auditory nerve

Center-surround organization of auditory receptive fields in the owl

Science

Space and frequency are represented separately in auditory midbrain of the owl

J. Neurophysiol.

Funktionelle Eizenschaften der Hörbahn im Feld L des Neostriatum candale des Staren

J. Comp. Physiol.

The structure of echolocation sounds used by the big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus: some consequences for echo processing

J. Acoust. Soc. Am.

Functional topography of cat primary auditory cortex: responses to frequency-modulated sweeps

Exp. Brain Res.

Representation of cochlea within primary auditory cortex in the cat

J. Neurophysiol.

The nuclei of the lateral lemniscus in the rufous horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus rouxi

J. Comp. Physiol.

Combination-sensitive neurons in the inferior colliculus of the mustached bat

Assoc. Res. Otolaryngol. Abstr.

Discharge pattern and inhibition of primary auditory nerve fibers in the monkey

J. Neurophysiol.

Review article
Sharpening of frequency tuning by inhibition in the central auditory system: tribute to Yasuji Katsuki