Synaptic input variation enhances rate coding at the expense of temporal precision in cochlear nucleus neurons.

Synaptic convergence is fundamental to neuronal circuit function, underpinning computations such as coincidence detection and signal integration. Across sensory systems, convergence architecture and synaptic input strengths are key for extracting stimulus features and processing of sensory information. In the cochlear nucleus, globular bushy cells (GBCs) receive convergent inputs from multiple auditory nerve fibers via large endbulb of Held terminals. While these inputs vary considerably in size, even among those targeting the same cell, the functional consequences of this variation for sound encoding remain unclear. Here, we investigated how synaptic input variation shapes sound encoding in GBCs of Mongolian gerbils using in vitro conductance-clamp recordings and computational modeling. By simulating synaptic inputs with variable strength distributions, we found that increasing input variation enhances rate coding at the expense of temporal precision. These findings suggest that endbulb strength heterogeneity allows the GBC population to operate along a functional continuum, generating diverse information streams to downstream targets.