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01-01-2016 | Review Article

Functional organization of the local circuit in the inferior colliculus

Authors: Tetsufumi Ito, Deborah C. Bishop, Douglas L. Oliver

Published in: Anatomical Science International | Issue 1/2016

Abstract

The inferior colliculus (IC) is the first integration center of the auditory system. After the transformation of sound to neural signals in the cochlea, the signals are analyzed by brainstem auditory nuclei that, in turn, transmit this information to the IC. However, the neural circuitry that underlies this integration is unclear. This review consists of two parts: one is about the cell type which is likely to integrate sound information, and the other is about a technique which is useful for studying local circuitry. Large GABAergic (LG) neurons receive dense excitatory axosomatic terminals that originate from the lower brainstem auditory nuclei as well as local IC neurons. Dozens of axons coming from both local and lower brainstem neurons converge on a single LG soma. Excitatory neurons in IC can innervate many nearby LG somata in the same fibrodendritic lamina. The combination of local and ascending inputs is well suited for auditory integration. LG neurons are one of the main sources of inhibition in the medial geniculate body (MGB). LG neurons and the tectothalamic inhibitory system are present in a wide variety of mammalian species. This suggests that the circuitry of excitatory and inhibitory tectothalamic projections may have evolved earlier than GABAergic interneurons in the MGB, which are found in fewer species. Cellular-level functional imaging provides both morphological and functional information about local circuitry. In the last part of this review, we describe an in vivo calcium imaging study that sheds light on the functional organization of the IC.

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Title: Functional organization of the local circuit in the inferior colliculus
Authors: Tetsufumi Ito
Deborah C. Bishop
Douglas L. Oliver
Publication date: 01-01-2016
Publisher: Springer Japan
Published in: Anatomical Science International / Issue 1/2016
Print ISSN: 1447-6959
Electronic ISSN: 1447-073X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12565-015-0308-8

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Functional organization of the local circuit in the inferior colliculus

Abstract

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