Spatial focusing of neuronal responses induced by asynchronous two-tone stimuli in the guinea pig auditory cortex

Spatiotemporal patterns of neuronal responses to asynchronous two-tone stimuli in the anterior field of the auditory cortex of anesthetized guinea pigs were studied using an optical recording method (12 x 12 photodiode array, voltage sensitive dye RH795). Interactions between the onset response to the first tone (masker; 5, 8, 10, 12 and 15 kHz, 200 ms) and to the second tone (probe; 10 kHz, 30 ms) with onset delays relative to the masker onset (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 ms) were investigated. In general, two-tone interaction was suppressive rather than facilitative. At 0-10 ms probe delays, two-tone responses induced in the probe isofrequency area on the cortex tended to fuse with the masker response. At 15-20 ms probe delays, the probe response was apparently reduced, but was spatially focused and separated from the masker response. This spatial focusing of the probe response may have been due to neuronal inhibition originating after the masker onset response. These results are in agreement with psychoacoustical observations in human subjects, such as auditory segregation, and indicate that the spatial focusing of the cortical response provides a neuronal basis for detecting slightly asynchronous auditory inputs.