Sensitivity to spectral interaural intensity difference cues in space-specific neurons of the barn owl

Diverse processing underlying frequency integration in midbrain neurons of barn owls

Emergent response properties of sensory neurons depend on circuit connectivity and somatodendritic processing. Neurons of the barn owl’s external nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICx) display emergence of spatial selectivity. These neurons use interaural time difference (ITD) as a cue for the horizontal direction of sound sources. ITD is detected by upstream brainstem neurons with narrow frequency tuning, resulting in spatially ambiguous responses. This spatial ambiguity is resolved by ICx neurons integrating inputs over frequency, a relevant processing in sound localization across species. Previous models have predicted that ICx neurons function as point neurons that linearly integrate inputs across frequency. However, the complex dendritic trees and spines of ICx neurons raises the question of whether this prediction is accurate. Data from in vivo intracellular recordings of ICx neurons were used to address this question. Results revealed diverse frequency integration properties, where some ICx neurons showed responses consistent with the point neuron hypothesis and others with nonlinear dendritic integration. Modeling showed that varied connectivity patterns and forms of dendritic processing may underlie observed ICx neurons’ frequency integration processing. These results corroborate the ability of neurons with complex dendritic trees to implement diverse linear and nonlinear integration of synaptic inputs, of relevance for adaptive coding and learning, and supporting a fundamental mechanism in sound localization.

Neurons at higher stages of sensory pathways often display selectivity for properties of sensory stimuli that result from computations performed within the nervous system. These emergent response properties can be produced by patterns of neural connectivity and processing that occur within individual cells. Here we investigated whether neural connectivity and single-neuron computation may contribute to the emergence of spatial selectivity in auditory neurons in the barn owl’s midbrain. We used data from in vivo intracellular recordings to test the hypothesis from previous modeling work that these cells function as point neurons that perform a linear sum of their inputs in their subthreshold responses. Results indicate that while some neurons show responses consistent with the point neuron hypothesis, others match predictions of nonlinear integration, indicating a diversity of frequency integration properties across neurons. Modeling further showed that varied connectivity patterns and forms of single-neuron computation may underlie observed responses. These results demonstrate that neurons with complex morphologies may implement diverse integration of synaptic inputs, relevant for adaptive coding and learning.

Blind footballers direct their head towards an approaching ball during ball trapping

In blind football, players predict the sound location of a ball to underpin the success of ball trapping. It is currently unknown whether blind footballers use head movements as a strategy for trapping a moving ball. This study investigated characteristics of head rotations in blind footballers during ball trapping compared to sighted nonathletes. Participants performed trapping an approaching ball using their right foot. Head and trunk rotation angles in the sagittal plane, and head rotation angles in the horizontal plane were measured during ball trapping. The blind footballers showed a larger downward head rotation angle, as well as higher performance at the time of ball trapping than did the sighted nonathletes. However, no significant differences between the groups were found with regards to the horizontal head rotation angle and the downward trunk rotation angle. The blind footballers consistently showed a larger relative angle of downward head rotation from an early time point after ball launching to the moment of ball trapping. These results suggest that blind footballers couple downward head rotation with the movement of an approaching ball, to ensure that the ball is kept in a consistent egocentric direction relative to the head throughout ball trapping.

Sound localization in barn owls studied with manipulated head-related transfer functions: beyond broadband interaural time and level differences

Interaural time and level differences are important cues for sound localization. We wondered whether the broadband information contained in these two cues could fully explain the behavior of barn owls and responses of midbrain neurons in these birds. To tackle this problem, we developed a novel approach based on head-related transfer functions. These filters contain the complete information present at the eardrum. We selected positions in space characterized by equal broadband interaural time and level differences. Stimulation from such positions provides reduced information to the owl. We show that barn owls are able to discriminate between such positions. In many cases, but not all, the owls may have used spectral components of interaural level differences that exceeded the known behavioral resolution and variability for discrimination. Alternatively, the birds may have used template matching. Likewise, neurons in the optic tectum of the barn owl, a nucleus involved in sensorimotor integration, contained more information than is available in the broadband interaural time and level differences. Thus, these data show that more information is available and used by barn owls for sound localization than carried by broadband interaural time and level differences.

Neural representation of probabilities for Bayesian inference

Bayesian models are often successful in describing perception and behavior, but the neural representation of probabilities remains in question. There are several distinct proposals for the neural representation of probabilities, but they have not been directly compared in an example system. Here we consider three models: a non-uniform population code where the stimulus-driven activity and distribution of preferred stimuli in the population represent a likelihood function and a prior, respectively; the sampling hypothesis which proposes that the stimulus-driven activity over time represents a posterior probability and that the spontaneous activity represents a prior; and the class of models which propose that a population of neurons represents a posterior probability in a distributed code. It has been shown that the non-uniform population code model matches the representation of auditory space generated in the owl's external nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICx). However, the alternative models have not been tested, nor have the three models been directly compared in any system. Here we tested the three models in the owl's ICx. We found that spontaneous firing rate and the average stimulus-driven response of these neurons were not consistent with predictions of the sampling hypothesis. We also found that neural activity in ICx under varying levels of sensory noise did not reflect a posterior probability. On the other hand, the responses of ICx neurons were consistent with the non-uniform population code model. We further show that Bayesian inference can be implemented in the non-uniform population code model using one spike per neuron when the population is large and is thus able to support the rapid inference that is necessary for sound localization.

Binaural gain modulation of spectrotemporal tuning in the interaural level difference-coding pathway

In the brainstem, the auditory system diverges into two pathways that process different sound localization cues, interaural time differences (ITDs) and level differences (ILDs). We investigated the site where ILD is detected in the auditory system of barn owls, the posterior part of the lateral lemniscus (LLDp). This structure is equivalent to the lateral superior olive in mammals. The LLDp is unique in that it is the first place of binaural convergence in the brainstem where monaural excitatory and inhibitory inputs converge. Using binaurally uncorrelated noise and a generalized linear model, we were able to estimate the spectrotemporal tuning of excitatory and inhibitory inputs to these cells. We show that the response of LLDp neurons is highly locked to the stimulus envelope. Our data demonstrate that spectrotemporally tuned, temporally delayed inhibition enhances the reliability of envelope locking by modulating the gain of LLDp neurons' responses. The dependence of gain modulation on ILD shown here constitutes a means for space-dependent coding of stimulus identity by the initial stages of the auditory pathway.

Difference in response reliability predicted by spectrotemporal tuning in the cochlear nuclei of barn owls

The brainstem auditory pathway is obligatory for all aural information. Brainstem auditory neurons must encode the level and timing of sounds, as well as their time-dependent spectral properties, the fine structure, and envelope, which are essential for sound discrimination. This study focused on envelope coding in the two cochlear nuclei of the barn owl, nucleus angularis (NA) and nucleus magnocellularis (NM). NA and NM receive input from bifurcating auditory nerve fibers and initiate processing pathways specialized in encoding interaural time (ITD) and level (ILD) differences, respectively. We found that NA neurons, although unable to accurately encode stimulus phase, lock more strongly to the stimulus envelope than NM units. The spectrotemporal receptive fields (STRFs) of NA neurons exhibit a pre-excitatory suppressive field. Using multilinear regression analysis and computational modeling, we show that this feature of STRFs can account for enhanced across-trial response reliability, by locking spikes to the stimulus envelope. Our findings indicate a dichotomy in envelope coding between the time and intensity processing pathways as early as at the level of the cochlear nuclei. This allows the ILD processing pathway to encode envelope information with greater fidelity than the ITD processing pathway. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the properties of the STRFs of the neurons can be quantitatively related to spike timing reliability.

Early life exposure to noise alters the representation of auditory localization cues in the auditory space map of the barn owl

The auditory space map in the optic tectum (OT) (also known as superior colliculus in mammals) relies on the tuning of neurons to auditory localization cues that correspond to specific sound source locations. This study investigates the effects of early auditory experiences on the neural representation of binaural auditory localization cues. Young barn owls were raised in continuous omnidirectional broadband noise from before hearing onset to the age of ∼ 65 days. Data from these birds were compared with data from age-matched control owls and from normal adult owls (>200 days). In noise-reared owls, the tuning of tectal neurons for interaural level differences and interaural time differences was broader than in control owls. Moreover, in neurons from noise-reared owls, the interaural level differences tuning was biased towards sounds louder in the contralateral ear. A similar bias appeared, but to a much lesser extent, in age-matched control owls and was absent in adult owls. To follow the recovery process from noise exposure, we continued to survey the neural representations in the OT for an extended period of up to several months after removal of the noise. We report that all the noise-rearing effects tended to recover gradually following exposure to a normal acoustic environment. The results suggest that deprivation from experiencing normal acoustic localization cues disrupts the maturation of the auditory space map in the OT.

How the owl tracks its prey--II

Barn owls can capture prey in pitch darkness or by diving into snow, while homing in on the sounds made by their prey. First, the neural mechanisms by which the barn owl localizes a single sound source in an otherwise quiet environment will be explained. The ideas developed for the single source case will then be expanded to environments in which there are multiple sound sources and echoes--environments that are challenging for humans with impaired hearing. Recent controversies regarding the mechanisms of sound localization will be discussed. Finally, the case in which both visual and auditory information are available to the owl will be considered.

Auditory spatial tuning at the crossroads of the midbrain and forebrain

The barn owl's midbrain and forebrain contain neurons tuned to sound direction. The spatial receptive fields of these neurons result from sensitivity to combinations of interaural time (ITD) and level (ILD) differences over a broad frequency range. While a map of auditory space has been described in the midbrain, no similar topographic representation has been found in the forebrain. The first nuclei that belong exclusively to the forebrain and midbrain pathways are the thalamic nucleus ovoidalis (Ov) and the external nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICx), respectively. The midbrain projects to the auditory thalamus before sharp spatial receptive fields emerge; although Ov and ICx receive projections from the same midbrain nuclei, they are not directly connected. We compared the spatial tuning in Ov and ICx. Thalamic neurons respond to a broader frequency range and their ITD and ILD tuning varied more across frequency. However, neurons in Ov showed spatial receptive fields as selective as neurons in ICx. Thalamic spatial receptive fields were tuned to frontal and contralateral space and correlated with their tuning to ITD and ILD. Our results indicate that spatial tuning emerges in both pathways by similar combination selectivity to ITD and ILD. However, the midbrain and the thalamus do not appear to repeat exactly the same processing, as indicated by the difference in frequency range and the broader tuning to binaural cues. The differences observed at the initial stages of these sound-localization pathways may reflect diverse functions and coding schemes of midbrain and forebrain.

Tuning to Interaural Time Difference and Frequency Differs Between the Auditory Arcopallium and the External Nucleus of the Inferior Colliculus

Barn owls process sound-localization information in two parallel pathways, the midbrain and the forebrain pathway. Exctracellular recordings of neural responses to auditory stimuli from far advanced stations of these pathways, the auditory arcopallium in the forebrain and the external nucleus of the inferior colliculus in the midbrain, demonstrated that the representations of interaural time difference and frequency in the forebrain pathway differ from those in the midbrain pathway. Specifically, low-frequency representation was conserved in the forebrain pathway, while it was lost in the midbrain pathway. Variation of interaural time difference yielded symmetrical tuning curves in the midbrain pathway. By contrast, the typical forebrain-tuning curve was asymmetric with a steep slope crossing zero time difference and a less-steep slope toward larger contralateral time disparities. Low sound frequencies contributed sensitivity to contralateral leading sounds underlying these asymmetries, whereas high frequencies enhanced the steepness of slopes at small interaural time differences. Furthermore, the peaks of time-disparity tuning curves were wider in the forebrain than in the midbrain. The distribution of the steepest slopes of best interaural time differences in the auditory arcopallium, but not in the external nucleus of the inferior colliculus, was centered at zero time difference. The distribution observed in the auditory arocpallium is reminiscent of the situation observed in small mammals. We speculate that the forebrain representation may serve as a population code supporting fine discrimination of central interaural time differences and coarse indication of laterality of a stimulus for large interaural time differences.

Variability reduction in interaural time difference tuning in the barn owl

The interaural time difference (ITD) is the primary auditory cue used by the barn owl for localization in the horizontal direction. ITD is initially computed by circuits consisting of axonal delay lines from one of the cochlear nuclei and coincidence detector neurons in the nucleus laminaris (NL). NL projects directly to the anterior part of the dorsal lateral lemniscal nucleus (LLDa), and this area projects to the core of the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICcc) in the midbrain. To show the selectivity of an NL neuron for ITD requires averaging of responses over several stimulus presentations for each ITD. In contrast, ICcc neurons detect their preferred ITD in a single burst of stimulus. We recorded extracellularly the responses of LLDa neurons to ITD in anesthetized barn owls and show that this ability is already present in LLDa, raising the possibility that ICcc inherits its noise reduction property from LLDa.

Emergence of multiplicative auditory responses in the midbrain of the barn owl

Space-specific neurons in the barn owl's auditory space map gain spatial selectivity through tuning to combinations of the interaural time difference (ITD) and interaural level difference (ILD). The combination of ITD and ILD in the subthreshold responses of space-specific neurons in the external nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICx) is well described by a multiplication of ITD- and ILD-dependent components. It is unknown, however, how ITD and ILD are combined at the site of ITD and ILD convergence in the lateral shell of the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICcl) and therefore whether ICx is the first site in the auditory pathway where multiplicative tuning to ITD- and ILD-dependent signals occurs. We used extracellular recording of single neurons to determine how ITD and ILD are combined in ICcl of the anesthetized barn owl (Tyto alba). A comparison of additive, multiplicative, and linear-threshold models of neural responses shows that ITD and ILD are combined nonlinearly in ICcl, but the interaction of ITD and ILD is not uniformly multiplicative over the sample. A subset (61%) of the neural responses is well described by the multiplicative model, indicating that ICcl is the first site where multiplicative tuning to ITD- and ILD-dependent signals occurs. ICx, however, is the first site where multiplicative tuning is observed consistently. A network model shows that a linear combination of ICcl responses to ITD-ILD pairs is sufficient to produce the multiplicative subthreshold responses to ITD and ILD seen in ICx.

Preservation of spectrotemporal tuning between the nucleus laminaris and the inferior colliculus of the barn owl

Performing sound recognition is a task that requires an encoding of the time-varying spectral structure of the auditory stimulus. Similarly, computation of the interaural time difference (ITD) requires knowledge of the precise timing of the stimulus. Consistent with this, low-level nuclei of birds and mammals implicated in ITD processing encode the ongoing phase of a stimulus. However, the brain areas that follow the binaural convergence for the computation of ITD show a reduced capacity for phase locking. In addition, we have shown that in the barn owl there is a pooling of ITD-responsive neurons to improve the reliability of ITD coding. Here we demonstrate that despite two stages of convergence and an effective loss of phase information, the auditory system of the anesthetized barn owl displays a graceful transition to an envelope coding that preserves the spectrotemporal information throughout the ITD pathway to the neurons of the core of the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus.

Noise reduction of coincidence detector output by the inferior colliculus of the barn owl

A recurring theme in theoretical work is that integration over populations of similarly tuned neurons can reduce neural noise. However, there are relatively few demonstrations of an explicit noise reduction mechanism in a neural network. Here we demonstrate that the brainstem of the barn owl includes a stage of processing apparently devoted to increasing the signal-to-noise ratio in the encoding of the interaural time difference (ITD), one of two primary binaural cues used to compute the position of a sound source in space. In the barn owl, the ITD is processed in a dedicated neural pathway that terminates at the core of the inferior colliculus (ICcc). The actual locus of the computation of the ITD is before ICcc in the nucleus laminaris (NL), and ICcc receives no inputs carrying information that did not originate in NL. Unlike in NL, the rate-ITD functions of ICcc neurons require as little as a single stimulus presentation per ITD to show coherent ITD tuning. ICcc neurons also displayed a greater dynamic range with a maximal difference in ITD response rates approximately double that seen in NL. These results indicate that ICcc neurons perform a computation functionally analogous to averaging across a population of similarly tuned NL neurons.

Distribution within the barn owl's inferior colliculus of neurons projecting to the optic tectum and thalamus

Behavioral studies in barn owls indicate that both the optic tectum (OT) and the auditory arcopallium (AAr) mediate sound localization through the presence of neurons that respond only when sound comes from a circumscribed direction in space. The early stages of the computations leading to these so-called space-specific neurons are shared in a common brainstem pathway, which then splits at the level of the inferior colliculus (IC) such that the last computational stage is thought to be duplicated. The study presented here addresses whether the space-specific neurons in OT and AAr are indeed partially independent of each other by using anatomical methods more precise than those used in previous studies. Specifically, projection neurons in IC were retrogradely labelled with injections of fluorescein- and rhodamine-conjugated dextran amines into OT and nucleus ovoidalis (OV), the thalamic nucleus leading to AAr. By labelling the OT-projecting and OV-projecting neurons in the same owl, it was confirmed that neurons in IC project to either OV or OT but not both. However, although a segregation was generally observed between the medially positioned OV-projecting neurons and the laterally positioned OT-projecting neurons, there was also a slight overlap between the two populations. Moreover, electrolytic lesions demarcating physiological tuning properties indicate that many OV-projecting neurons are within the area containing space-specific neurons. These results highlight the need for more detailed studies elucidating the microcircuitry and corresponding physiology of IC, such as have been done in the cortices of the mammalian cerebellum and cerebrum.