Recovery from short-term adaptation in single neurons in the cochlear nucleus

Abstract

Recovery from short-term adaptation was measured in single neurons in the cochlear nucleus using a forward masking stimulus paradigm. The response to a short-duration, low-level probe tone at a unit's characteristic frequency (CF) was measured before and after presentation of a masker tone at the unit's CF. The degree of adaptation was defined as the ratio of firing to the probe in the adapted and unadapted conditions. The level of the masker and time difference between the masker offset and probe onset (‘DT’) were varied. As DT increased, the response to the probe increased in most Primarylike, Primarylike-notch, and Chopper units. Recovery was approximately linear in log time for most of these units. However, approximately half the Pauser/Buildup and On units showed very different recovery patterns, ranging from no adaptation to very non-linear recovery patterns. The results suggest that little alteration in the recovery process occurs between the auditory nerve and Primarylike, Primarylike-notch, and Chopper units, but that significant changes in the recovery process occur in Pauser-Buildup and On units.