Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

Auditory cortical contrast enhancing by global winner-take-all inhibitory interactions.

Lookup NU author(s): Dr John Crook

Downloads


Abstract

Brains decompose the world into discrete objects of perception, thereby facing the problem of how to segregate and selectively address similar objects that are concurrently present in a scene. Theoretical models propose that this could be achieved by neuronal implementations of so-called winner-take-all algorithms where neuronal representations of objects or object features interact in a competitive manner. Here we present evidence for the existence of such a mechanism in an animal species. We present electrophysiological neuropharmacological and neuroanatomical data which suggest a novel view of the role of GABAA-mediated inhibition in primary auditory cortex (Al), where intracortical GABAA-mediated inhibition operates on a global scale within a circular map of sound periodicity representation in Al, with functionally inhibitory projections of similar effect from any location throughout the whole map. These interactions could underlie the proposed competitive "winner-take-all" algorithm to support object segregation, e.g., segregation of different speakers in cocktail-party situations. © 2008 Kurt et al.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Kurt S, Deutscher A, Crook JM, Ohl FW, Budinger E, Moeller CK, Scheich H, Schulze H

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: PLoS ONE

Year: 2008

Volume: 3

Issue: 3

Date deposited: 04/02/2010

ISSN (electronic): 1932-6203

Publisher: Public Library of Science

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0001735

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0001735

PubMed id: 18320054


Altmetrics

Altmetrics provided by Altmetric


Funding

Funder referenceFunder name
0311891German Ministry of Education and Research
SFB-TR 31DFG

Share