Gated Visual Input to the Central Auditory System

30 August 2002

journal article
other
Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science

Vol. 297 (5586) , 1556-1559
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1073712

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.

Keywords

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