Coding of acoustic information in cockroach giant fibers

Abstract

Interneurons in the ventral nerve cord of Periplaneta americana are excited by sound stimuli to the cerci. The responsiveness of giant fibers in the nerve cord generally declines with increasing sound frequency but the frequency-response curve is complex with small sensitivity peaks along its course. The frequency-response curve for smaller interneurons differs from that of the largest giant fibers in having a pronounced sensitivity peak near 300 Hz. At sound frequencies below about 200 Hz, giant fiber spikes occur at the same frequency as impinging sound waves. Thus information about the frequency of sound stimuli is present in the nerve cord in the temporal pattern of activity in giant fibers at low sound frequencies, and in the spatial pattern of activity between large and small units of the nerve cord at higher sound frequencies.