Representations in auditory cortex

Abstract

How does auditory cortex represent auditory stimuli, and how do these representations contribute to behavior? Recent experimental evidence suggests that activity in auditory cortex consists of sparse and highly synchronized volleys of activity, observed both in anesthetized and awake animals. Many neurons are capable of remarkably precise activity with very low jitter or spike count variability. Most importantly, animals are capable of exploiting such precise neuronal activity in making sensory decisions. Whether the ability of auditory cortex to exploit fine temporal differences in cortical activity is unique to auditory modality, or represents a general strategy used by cortical circuits remains an open question. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.