Dissecting the circuitry of the auditory system

• Published in: Trends in neurosciences (Regular ed.) Vol. 26; no. 1; pp. 33 - 39
• Main Authors: Pollak, George D, Burger, R.Michael, Klug, Achim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 2003; Elsevier Science; Elsevier Sequoia S.A
• Subjects: Acoustic Stimulation; Afferent Pathways - anatomy & histology; Animals; Auditory Pathways - anatomy & histology; Auditory Pathways - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Stem - anatomy & histology; Brain Stem - physiology; Cochlear Nucleus - physiology; Ear and associated structures. Auditory pathways and centers. Hearing. Vocal organ. Phonation. Sound production. Echolocation; Ears & hearing; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid - physiology; Inferior Colliculi - anatomy & histology; Inferior Colliculi - cytology; Inferior Colliculi - physiology; Interneurons - physiology; Iontophoresis - methods; Neurology; Neurons - physiology; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Colliculus inferior; Innervation; Interaction; Glycine receptor; Central nervous system; Auditory pathway; Review; Gabaergic receptor A; Encephalon
• ISSN: 0166-2236; 1878-108X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0166-2236(02)00009-7

The brainstem auditory system is a complex system composed of numerous parallel and serial pathways that converge on a common destination in the inferior colliculus (IC). The exact nature of the response transformations that occur in the IC have, however, been elusive – even though the IC has been the subject of numerous studies for more than 30 years. Recent studies have addressed this issue by recording from IC neurons before and during micro-iontophoresis of drugs that selectively block GABA A or glycine receptors (the dominant inhibitory receptors in the IC) or by reversibly inactivating a lower nucleus that provides inhibitory innervation to the IC. These studies have revealed some of the ways that signals, relayed via many different parallel routes, interact in the IC, and suggest some functional advantages that these interactions might have.