The frequency organization of the inferior colliculus of the guinea pig: A [ 14C]-2-deoxyglucose study

The [ 14C]-2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) technique was used to study the frequency organization of the inferior colliculus (IC) of the guinea pig. Discrete regions of heightened 2-DG labelling were observed in the ICs of animals exposed to a variety of pure-tone stimuli. Regions associated with 1, 4, 10 and 19 kHz pure tones were described and displayed in three-dimensional representations. The IC of the guinea pig was found to be arranged as a series of sheet-like, iso-frequency planes that extend throughout the nucleus from its caudal to its rostral pole. Iso-frequency planes associated with low frequencies are located dorsolaterally in the nucleus and those associated with higher frequencies are located progressively more ventromedially. The predominant orientation, in the frontal plane, of all iso-frequency planes is oblique from dorsomedial to ventrolateral. Most planes, however, twist about their caudal-to-rostral axis in a caudal-to-rostral, horizontal-to-vertical direction. The extent to which each plane twists is frequency-dependent; planes associated with low frequencies twist most and those associated with high frequencies do not twist at all.