Functional roles of background noise in detecting signals on auditory in formation processing

在我们周围的声音环境中，声音信息每时每刻都在变化，存在着各种我们不需要的声音信息。然而，在过去的听觉研究中，很少有人知道背景噪声在检测来自真实声音环境的信号中发挥建设性作用，而不是分散注意力。本研究的主要目的是揭示背景噪声对感觉神经系统生物信息处理和信息传输的影响。为此，第一步，我们关注单个神经元和神经元的小网络，因为这些神经元和网络是神经系统的基本元素。我们使用神经模型并研究了在存在噪声的情况下由外部电流导出的模型的响应特性。为了分析模型的响应特性，我们还使用了最近得到广泛发展的随机动力学理论方法。结果分析表明，背景噪声提高了神经元检测微弱外部信号的敏感性。因此，未来的主题之一是了解这种噪声现象在更大的神经网络和大脑中更高的感知处理水平中的功能作用。

In the sound environment surrounding us, sound information is changing every moment and there exist various kinds of the sound information which is not necessary for us. In the past auditory studies, however, there is little knowledge that background noise plays a constructive role in detecting signals from the real sound environment rather than a distractive one. The main aim of this study is to reveal background-noise effects on biological information processing and information transmission of sensory nervous systems. To this end, at the first step, we concentrate on single neurons and a small network of the neurons, because those neurons and the network are basic elements of the nervous systems. We used neural models and investigated response characteristics of the models derived by an external current in the presence of noise. To analyze the response characteristics of the models, we also used a method of the random dynamical theory, which has been recently developed intensively. In the result, the analysis revealed that background noise increases sensibility of neurons in detecting weak external signals. Thus, one of the future subjects is to understand functional roles of this noise phenomenon in the level of larger neural networks and higher perceptional processing in the brain.