A realistic computational model of formation and variability of tonotopic maps in the auditory cortex

A realistic model of the auditory system comprising a simulated primary aud itory cortical area which receives inputs from a simplified simulated cochl ea has been constructed with the aim of producing tonotopic organization wi th variability in the cortical representations from one simulation to anoth er. The implementation of the 2256 simulated pyramidal and the 1128 simulat ed basket cells which form the cortical area involved biophysical traits of neurons of mammals. The simulations performed with the model yielded tonot opic cortical maps, which differed slightly from one simulation to another, and receptive fields which were stable for each simulation performed. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.