The dominant interspike interval may be coded as predominant neural firing rate.

Evidence

The main goal of this chapter is to introduce a new way of thinking about pitch coding, grounded in CNS physiology. If there is a robust representation of pitch in the dominant ISI distribution in the AN (Cariani and Delgutte 1996a , 1996b ), and if some neurons convert ISI directly into a corresponding firing rate, then it seems possible that the dominant ISI interval is coded as predominant firing rate. Evidently, the scheme proposed here is incomplete. Questions arise how and where a butte profile would be read out; how such a representation would mesh with the spectral representation needed for F0 above ~ 500 Hz; how phase-invariant this representation would be; etc. We conclude with some interrelated issues. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4524

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the ‘butte hypothesis’ — that dominant ISI in the auditory nerve is converted by central neurons into a firing rate that codes pitch.