Abstract: Objective The cochlear nucleus (CN) neurons show 3 principal response patterns to short tone bursts, namely the
primary-like, chopper and onset response patterns. We previously established an excitatory model to simulate the response
patterns of CN neurons to stimuli. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of excitatory intensity on the CN neuron
response patterns and explore the role of inhibitory inputs under normal physiological conditions. Methods Based on the
platform of Matlab and the excitatory model derived from the integrate-and-fire model, we altered the intensity of excitatory
inputs in dB range and obtained the histograms to analyze the changes in the response patterns of the neurons using
OriginPro 7.5 data analysis software. Results The original primary-like response pattern of the neurons did not vary
significantly while the chopper and onset response patterns changed into primary-like responses with the increase of the
excitatory input intensity. But this response pattern alteration as a result of excitatory input intensity changes was rarely
observed under normal physiological conditions. Conclusions The CN neurons receive balanced excitatory and inhibitory
inputs, which stabilize the neuronal membrane potential within a limited range. The balanced inhibitory inputs decide the
response pattern of a given neuron.