Temporal coding in the sub-millisecond range: Model of barn owl auditory pathway

Binaural coincidence detection is essential for the localization of external sounds and requires auditory signal processing with high temporal precision. We present an integrate-and-fire model of spike processing in the auditory pathway of the barn owl. It is shown that a temporal precision in the microsecond range can be achieved with neuronal time constants which are at least one magnitude longer. An important feature of our model is an unsupervised Hebbian learning rule which leads to a temporal fine tuning of the neuronal connections.