Representation of the spectral dominance region of pitch in the steady-state temporal discharge patterns of cochlear nucleus units.

Single-unit responses to infinitely iterated rippled noise and wideband noise were recorded from the cochlear nucleus of anesthetized chinchillas. Rippled noises had a fixed delay of 4 ms, and spectral depth was varied by attenuating the delayed version of the noise. Temporal discharge patterns were analyzed using neural autocorrelograms, and responses to rippled noises were compared to wideband noise responses. Chopper units with best frequencies in the range of the first to second harmonics of the rippled noise showed large differences in discharge patterns between rippled noise and wideband noise responses, but chopper units with best frequencies centered at higher harmonics did not show large differences. Consequently, the Chopper group of units showed no evidence of a neural representation of the dominance region. Primarylike units did show a neural representation of dominance that is related to behavioral performance. For Primarylike units with best frequencies around the third to fifth harmonics of the rippled noise, large differences in discharge patterns between rippled noise and wideband noise responses were observed. The results suggest that bushy cells play an important role in processing pitch-related information and should be included as important elements in neural models of periodicity processing.