Second-order Wiener kernels reveal cochlea suppression overlapping excitation in time and frequency

Evidence

The h 2 kernel is characterized by a series of parallel diagonal lines representing the non-linear interactions driving the ANF’s response to noise (Fig. 4a ; Recio-Spinoso et al. 2005 ). The STRF derived from h 2 shows suppressive regions flanking the main excitatory region along the frequency axis, with a high-to-low frequency glide (early-to-late) consistent with travelling-wave delay (Fig. 4b ). Decomposing h 2 into its excitatory and suppressive sub-kernels, we observe a broad area of suppressive tuning which overlaps with the excitatory tuning in time and frequency (Fig. 4d and f ). There is also an “on-CF” component to the suppression, occurring before the excitation. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3865

However, the analyses presented here (Fig. 5 ) only quantify the overall relative suppressive influence on ANF responses. Using the STRFs derived from h 2 s, we aim to characterize the timing and frequency tuning of suppression in the HI auditory periphery in response to broadband sounds. Moreover, these same techniques can be exploited to address potential changes in the balance between excitation and inhibition (“central gain change”) in brainstem nuclei following damage to the periphery. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3878

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains how Wiener-kernel decomposition yields separate excitatory and suppressive sub-kernels, a technical concept in auditory systems identification.
• QUESTION: What are the hypothesized timing signatures distinguishing peripheral suppression loss from central gain compensation?
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3865; Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3878