Neural modeling of the DCN: cross-correlation analysis using short-duration tone-burst stimuli

A computer model of an isofrequency patch of the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) was created to explore possible mechanisms for various stimulus-dependent features observed in the cross-correlations of spike trains from type-II-type-IV unit pairs. Consistent with the functional inhibitory type-II-type-IV interaction, model I-cells provide inhibitory input to model P-cells. Simulated short-duration BF tone-bursts of either 50- or 200-ms duration in 200 trials of 250- or 1000-ms duration, respectively, were presented to the model at several sound pressure levels and difference cross-correlograms of I-cell-P-cell activity were computed. Inhibitory troughs were present in the I-cell-P-cell difference histograms derived from the 200-ms paradigm, but not present when derived from the 50-ms paradigm