Convergence of ascending pathways at the inferior colliculus of the mustache bat, Pteronotus parnellii.

To compare patterns of projections to the inferior colliculus from different sources, injections of [3H]-leucine were placed in the cochlear nuclei, superior olivary complex, and nuclei of the lateral lemniscus of Pteronotus parnellii. The results show that the target of the anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN) is the ventral and lateral two thirds of the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus. The binaural pathways from the medial and lateral superior olives (MSO and LSO) project to the same target. The dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) projects to the entire central nucleus of the inferior colliculus and does so in a more diffuse manner than does the AVCN. The DCN also sends sparse projections beyond the central nucleus into dorsal parts of the pericentral area. The intermediate (INLL) and ventral (VNLL) nuclei of the lateral lemniscus are relays in pathways that originate in the cochlear nucleus and terminate in the contralateral inferior colliculus. These nuclei also receive indirect input from the contralateral AVCN via the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body. Although nuclei of the lateral lemniscus project most densely to those areas of the inferior colliculus that are also the targets of the AVCN, MSO, and LSO, the nuclei of the lateral lemniscus also send spare projections outside these areas. Many of the pathways just described project in bands, a finding that raises the possibility that the projections parallel the orientation of disk-shaped cells in the inferior colliculus and raises the question of whether the bands from one source overlap or interdigitate with the bands from another source.