Quantitative model for the effects of stimulus frequency upon synchronization of auditory nerve discharges

Abstract

A theory has been developed which can be used to quantify the loss of synchronization in auditory nerve discharges with increasing stimulus frequency.The assumptions for the theory are (1) the probability of discharge versus time position within the period for very low stimulus frequency has the shape of a half‐wave‐rectified sine wave, and (2) travel times for impulses propagating along the acoustic nerve have a Gaussian statistical distribution around some mean travel time. With these two assumptions it is possible to predict the shapes of histograms which arise from higher frequency stimulation. Further, a single quantity (Gt ) may be derived from these fits which characterizes the whole progression from pure half‐sine‐wave distribution at zero frequency to a completely flat distribution at high frequencies.