Response variability in the mammalian auditory cortex: an objection to feature detection?

Abstract

Research strategy in the auditory system has tended to parallel that in the visual system, where neurons have been shown to respond selectively to specific stimulus parameters. Auditory neurons have been shown to be sensitive to changes in acoustic parameters, but only rarely have neurons been reported that respond exclusively to only one biologically significant sound. Even at higher levels of the auditory system very few cells have been found that could be described as "vocalization detectors." In addition, variability in responses to artificial sounds have been reported for auditory cortical neurons similar to the response variability that has been reported in the visual system. Recent evidence indicates that the responses of auditory cortical neurons to species-specific vocalizations can also be labile, varying in both strength and selectivity. This is especially true of the secondary auditory cortex. This variability, coupled with the lack of extreme specificity in the secondary auditory cortex, suggests that secondary cortical neurons are not well suited for the role of "vocalization detectors."