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Description
Neural inhibition is observed at every nuclei of the central auditory system and has been implicated in a range of functions, such as: spatial cue derivation, controlling gain, sharpening frequency tuning and sharpening temporal sensitivity. In our own work we have observed a role for central inhibition, i.e. inhibition in the central auditory system, in the processing of broadband sounds. We present neurophysiological results demonstrating a role for central inhibition in improving neural correlates of sound perception. Specifically, wideband inhibition in auditory cortex appears to improve hearing in noise, particularly for comodulated sounds. Central inhibition, in response to broadband noise, has consequences for hearing beyond shaping perception. It is also to believed to be involved in the generation of illusory sound percepts. We also present human data supportive of the idea that central inhibition plays a role in the generation of the Zwicker tone, an illusory tone percept heard after the presentation of notched noise.