Neurophysiology of the Auditory System

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Abstract
By the use of microelectrodes placed on nerve cell bodies of the central nervous system it is possible to record action potentials along the central acoustic pathways. On the basis of these studies it is concluded that the transformation of stimulus frequency into spatial coordinates at the basilar membrane is preserved within the nervous system. The basic place concept as a correlate for pitch remains; the notion, however, that stimulus frequency is transformed into frequency of neural discharge cannot be entirely discarded. A tone may have a positive[long dash]or excitatory[long dash]effect, and it may have a negative[long dash]or inhibitory[long dash]effect. There is good reason to believe that the same tone, at the same instant in time, is evoking a vigorous discharge in some neurons, completely obliterating discharge in other neurons, and having no effect whatsoever upon still other neurons.