Summation of spatiotemporal input patterns in leaky integrate-and-fire neurons: application to neurons in the cochlear nucleus receiving converging auditory nerve fiber input.

The response of leaky integrate-and-fire neurons is analyzed for periodic inputs whose phases vary with their spatial location. The model gives the relationship between the spatial summation distance and the degree of phase locking of the output spikes (i.e., locking to the periodic stochastic inputs, measured by the synchronization index). The synaptic inputs are modeled as an inhomogeneous Poisson process, and the analysis is carried out in the Gaussian approximation. The model has been applied to globular bushy cells of the cochlear nucleus, which receive converging inputs from auditory nerve fibers that originate at neighboring sites in the cochlea. The model elucidates the roles played by spatial summation and coincidence detection, showing how synchronization decreases with an increase in both frequency and spatial spread of inputs. It also shows under what conditions an enhancement of synchronization of the output relative to the input takes place.