[Reflection of the effect of release from masking in the activity of neurons of the inferior colliculus in the cat].

The purpose of the study was to reveal binaural release from masking in responses of single units in the inferior colliculus of anesthetized cat. With cophasic and antiphasic click trains having varying interaural delay and serving as signals it was found that the responses of neurons with low characteristic frequency (up to 2.6 kHz) were related primarily to the interaural phase shift of the spectrum component with characteristic frequency. Differences between response masking levels created by cophasic and antiphasic wide-band noises were associated with interaural phase sensitive characteristics of units. Possible neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the effect of release from masking are suggested.