Auditory Awareness Due to Synchronous Neural Activity in Inferior Colliculus of Awake Cats

Abstract

The previous report on the dynamics of spontaneous and evoked activities of the neural net within the cat inferior colliculus (IC) has been extended in relation to today's issues in the study of behavioral measures such as attention and sensory awareness in terms of functional state of the local neural network. As for the consciousness, the cerebral cortex may not be the only place; however, synchronization in oscillatory activities within the IC which is influenced by experience and expectation reflected in the internal state of the animal might be the source of the simple form of auditory awareness that may accompany the execution of attentive behavior.

Keywords:

• attention
• auditory awareness
• synchronous oscillations
• coupling level
• inferior colliculus