Date of Completion
Dr. Heather Read
Physiology and Neurobiology
Animals, including rats and humans, use the auditory cortex to discriminate auditory cues for communication and survival. It has been shown that individual neurons in the A1, ventral auditory field (VAF), and suprarhinal auditory field (SRAF) of the rat auditory cortex respond to different noise burst lengths to help the rat comprehend an auditory stimulus. In this experiment, we demonstrate the behavioral ability of male Long Evans rats to discriminate between noise bursts of different temporal lengths: 12 ms and 66 ms, in a Two-Alternative Forced Choice task. The study of temporal cue discrimination in the auditory cortex can be used clinically to help patients with timing cue deficiencies and to improve cochlear implants.
Rosicke, Samantha D., "Neuroscience Underlying Temporal Cue Discrimination in the Auditory Cortex" (2017). Honors Scholar Theses. 519.