Jan Benda: Beat encoding at mistuned octaves within single sensory neurons

Abstract

   
The physiological mechanisms underlying human perception of beats at mistuned octaves as described by Ohm and Helmholtz in the early 19th century are still not understood. Beats play a central role in social interactions of wave-type electric fish that we study in the lab and in the field. We studied the encoding of beats in these fish electrophysiologically, behaviorally, as well as in simulations and theoretically. Our results suggest a smoothed out threshold non-linearity acting within the sensory neurons to be central for explaining responses at octaves of a carrier signal. This emphasizes the role of cell-intrinsic non-linearities, for example at the synapse, in encoding such stimuli, also for the mammalian auditory system.

 About the speaker and his research

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