Physiological-Morphological Properties of the Anteroventral Cochlear Nucleus

Abstract

The cochlear nucleus complex is the first relay station of the central auditory pathway. The neuronal architecture and physiological properties of cochlear nucleus neurons almost certainly play a key role in defining the functional organization of the ascending auditory system. The structural and physiological organization of the cochlear nucleus complex is complicated by the fact that it is not a single nucleus but a complex of distinct neuronal populations. The cochlear nucleus complex is divided into three divisions; anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN), posteroventral cochlear nucleus (PVCN) and dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) on the basis of differing cytoarchitectures. The AVCN contains two major types of neurons which are bushy and stellate cells. Bushy cells have been implicated in the signaling of precise temporal information in order to compute the location of a sound source. The role of stellate cells in acoustic processing is not well understood, although their responses to pure tones are well documented.