Rearing in an acoustically unusual environment — effects on neural auditory responses

Abstract

The influence of an unusual acoustic environment on neural response characteristics was examined for 132 cat inferior colliculus units. Two litters of kittens were exposed, in a sound-attenuated chamber for 8 h each day for 50–75 days, to a pure tone stimulus, and one litter of four kittens was tested immediately after, and the other litter (three kittens) 100 days after, completion of the rearing procedure. No major alterations were observed in unit tuning curves or tonotopic organization, although thresholds for units in the younger litter fell substantially below adult values. These negative results are discussed in terms of developmental mechanisms in the auditory system.