Computational model of an auditory cortical neuron.

<p>Error bars indicate SEM. a. The acoustic stimulus (top) used in our neurophysiological experiments was a narrowband acoustic pulse train. Each pulse was converted into an excitatory and inhibitory conductance in our computational model, using an alpha function with a time constant of 5 ms (middle). Three parameters could be altered (I-E delay, E input, and I/E ratio). Above threshold changes in the membrane voltage generated spikes (bottom), which could be further analyzed to measure the response properties of the simulated neuron. b. Classification of neural coding regime based on the two criteria (dashed lines)- y axis: Rayleigh statistic at an IPI of 75 ms>13.8, x axis: Discharge rate ratio>1. Neurons were classified as having a non-synchronized (o), synchronized (x), or mixed (+) response. c. Comparison of stimulus synchronization in real (gray) and simulated (red) synchronized neurons across different IPIs (3–75 ms). d. Comparison of normalized discharge rate in real (gray) and simulated (blue) non-synchronized neurons across different IPIs (3–75 ms).