Count-comparison and coincidence-detection models imply different brain receptive-field architectures for direction coding.

Evidence

One of the principal differences between the count-comparison and coincidence detection models lies in the nature of the output. A count-comparison model outputs a left or right coordinate, whereas each coincidence-detector neuron in a Jeffress-type model provides its own output. These neurons may be thought to be most sensitive to specific left or right directions. In other words, Jeffress-type models assume that receptive fields in the brain are narrowly tuned to specific horizontal directions, while the count-comparison principle bolsters the idea of two wide receptive fields spanning an entire hemifield, as illustrated in Figure 13.16. … This issue was addressed in a study by Takanen et al. (2014), where the binaural cues in the ear canal signals were extracted following the count-comparison principle, and the resulting directional cues were utilized to steer the spectral content of the signals to specific locations on a topographically organized binaural activity map. Thus, the auditory scene is visualized similarly to the cross-correlogram of the Jeffress-type model output. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1685

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes count-comparison (two broad hemifield receptive fields, left/right coordinate output) from Jeffress coincidence-detection (narrowly tuned directional neurons) model architectures.