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The duration of a sound can carry important information about the source of that sound and its meaning. For example, the word "use" when paired with the word "the" (e.g. the use of a hammer) sounds different than when paired with the word "to" (e.g. to  use a hammer). Humans can distinguish between both pronunciations when they are synthesized to have the exact same spectral components but have different durations of the vowel or final consonant.

In this talk I will describe a class of neurons in the auditory midbrain that select for specific stimulus durations. These neurons are known as duration-tuned neurons (DTNs). First I will recount how these neurons were discovered and the subsequent surge of research that has gone into figuring out their underlying mechanisms. Next I will present some of the research I conducted as part of my PhD thesis at McMaster which synthesizes both computational modelling of DTNs and in vivo electrophysiology in big brown bats. Finally I will highlight important implications for these findings and suggest where this research is headed in the future.