Dynamics of Neural Responses in the Mouse Auditory Cortex: Construction and Characterization of 3D Receptive Fields in Frequency, Intensity and Time Domains
Date
2019-01-24
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Abstract
Neurons in the central auditory system exhibit non-linear responses to acoustic stimulation. Such non-linearities are usually illustrated by frequency tuning curves (FTC), spectrotemporal receptive field (STRF) and dynamic ranges. None of these methods provide a complete representation of the neural responses in frequency, intensity and timing domains. A novel tool is developed to create neuronal receptive field in all three domains (3D receptive field), i.e., neural response representation across all three domains. The primary auditory cortex is selected for this study as it is a core area of auditory information processing. The 3D receptive field or the intensity-stacked spectrotemporal receptive field (iSTRF) was demonstrated in three visualizations: volume rendering, surface rendering and 2D slicing. All the three visualizations enable the characterization and/or description of the neural responses to sound in a comprehensive fashion. The iSTRF provides novel information about neuronal response properties that could not be provided by previous methods. In this thesis, I analyzed and presented two novel findings. One was the intensity coding in spectrotemporal domains that illustrated frequency dependent intensity coding within the excitatory receptive area of the neuron. Another is the neuronal best response dynamics curve in frequency, intensity and time domains. A sound signal was defined based on this curve that could potentially be the fingerprint or ID of that particular neuron. The data presented in this thesis suggests that the iSTRF can be a powerful tool for auditory studies by providing novel and more detailed information on the responses of auditory neurons to sound. The iSTRF can widely be applicable to comparing different brain regions, examining auditory plasticity and evaluating the efficiency of different hearing related devices such as cochlear implants.
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Keywords
3D rendering, auditory neuroscience, hearing research, bio-electrical signal processing, frequency tuning, spectro-temporal receptive fields, image processing, auditory cortex, auditory neuroscience, auditory physiology
Citation
Qureshi, F. A. (2019). Dynamics of Neural Responses in the Mouse Auditory Cortex: Construction and Characterization of 3D Receptive Fields in Frequency, Intensity and Time Domains (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.