Gated visual input to the central auditory system.

Yoram Gutfreund; Weimin Zheng; Eric I Knudsen

doi:10.1126/science.1073712

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Gated visual input to the central auditory system.

Yoram Gutfreund·Weimin Zheng·Eric I Knudsen

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Abstract

The central auditory system translates sound localization cues into a map of space guided, in part, by visual experience. In barn owls, this process takes place in the external nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICX). However, to date, no trace of visual activity has been observed in this auditory nucleus. Here we show that strong visual responses, which are appropriate to guide auditory plasticity, appear in the ICX when inhibition is blocked in the optic tectum. Thus, visual spatial information is gated into the auditory system by an inhibitory mechanism that operates at a higher level in the brain.

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Acoustic Stimulation Animals Auditory Pathways Auditory Perception Bicuculline Brain Mapping Inferior Colliculi Models, Neurological Neural Inhibition Photic Stimulation Space Perception Strigiformes Superior Colliculi Visual Pathways gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

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Yoram Gutfreund, Weimin Zheng, Eric I Knudsen. 2002-08-30. Gated visual input to the central auditory system.. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1073712

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