Binaural neurons in the mustache bat's inferior colliculus. II. Determinants of spatial responses among 60-kHz EI units.

Abstract

1. The responses to closed-field and free-field sound stimuli were obtained from EI neurons in the 60-kHz isofrequency representation of the mustache bat's inferior colliculus. The goals of the study were 1) to examine how binaural interactions and the directional properties of the ear shape the spatial response of 60-kHz EI neurons and 2) to examine features of the spatial responses of these isofrequency neurons which may encode the location of a sound. 2. The free-field response of monaural neurons was used to describe directional effects of the head and external ears at 60 kHz. Monaural neurons were most sensitive to sounds originating 26 degrees into the contralateral field, with sharply reduced sensitivity in the ipsilateral field and the lateral extreme of the contralateral field. The interaural intensity difference (IID), computed by assuming that the ears had mirror-image directional sensitivities, was greatest for sounds between 26 and 52 degrees off the vertical midline, where IIDs typically ranged from 20 to 30 dB. These values agree well with previous measures of the directional sensitivity of the ear obtained from cochlear microphonic recordings. 3. The response of a monaural unit to closed-field stimulation was used to predict its response to free-field stimulation. This prediction agreed closely with the observed free-field response, indicating that the monaural unit's free-field response could be explained by the directional sensitivity of the contralateral ear and the unit's response as a function of contralateral sound intensity. 4. EI neurons differed in basic features of their binaural response properties, as described in a companion paper. To examine how these features of binaural inhibition shaped spatial responses, we obtained responses to free-field sounds among neurons whose binaural properties had been thoroughly characterized. We then compared the spatial response to a prediction based upon the directional properties of the ear and the sensitivity of the EI neurons to IIDs and intensity. The close agreement between the observed and predicted spatial responses in 11 of 12 EI units indicated that the spatial responses were determined largely by sensitivity to IIDs and intensity and by the directional properties of the ear. 5. EI neurons in our sample were most sensitive, and responded best, to sounds originating 26-39 degrees into the contralateral field. These spatial response features were independent of the binaural properties of EI neurons. Instead, they depended upon the directional properties of the ears at 60 kHz.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)