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Neuroscience Bulletin Jun 2022Neurons in the primary auditory area (AUDp) innervate multiple brain regions with long-range projections while receiving informative inputs for diverse functions....
Neurons in the primary auditory area (AUDp) innervate multiple brain regions with long-range projections while receiving informative inputs for diverse functions. However, the brain-wide connections of these neurons have not been comprehensively investigated. Here, we simultaneously applied virus-based anterograde and retrograde tracing, labeled the connections of excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the mouse AUDp, and acquired whole-brain information using a dual-channel fluorescence micro-optical sectioning tomography system. Quantified results showed that the two types of neurons received inputs with similar patterns but sent heterogeneous projections to downstream regions. In the isocortex, functionally different areas consistently sent feedback-dominated projections to these neurons, with concomitant laterally-dominated projections from the sensory and limbic cortices to inhibitory neurons. In subcortical regions, the dorsal and medial parts of the non-lemniscal auditory thalamus (AT) were reciprocally connected to the AUDp, while the ventral part contained the most fibers of passage from the excitatory neurons and barely sent projections back, indicating the regional heterogeneity of the AUDp-AT circuit. Our results reveal details of the whole-brain network and provide new insights for further physiological and functional studies of the AUDp.
Topics: Animals; Auditory Cortex; Axons; Brain Mapping; Mice; Neurons; Thalamus
PubMed: 35312957
DOI: 10.1007/s12264-022-00838-5 -
Current Opinion in Neurobiology Oct 2014Recent investigations of non-human primate communication revealed vocal behaviors far more complex than previously appreciated. Understanding the neural basis of these... (Review)
Review
Recent investigations of non-human primate communication revealed vocal behaviors far more complex than previously appreciated. Understanding the neural basis of these communicative behaviors is important as it has the potential to reveal the basic underpinnings of the still more complex human speech. The latest work revealed vocalization-sensitive regions both within and beyond the traditional boundaries of the central auditory system. The importance and mechanisms of multi-sensory face-voice integration in vocal communication are also increasingly apparent. Finally, studies on the mechanisms of vocal production demonstrated auditory-motor interactions that may allow for self-monitoring and vocal control. We review the current work in these areas of primate communication research.
Topics: Animals; Auditory Cortex; Humans; Neurobiology; Neurons; Primates; Vocalization, Animal
PubMed: 25062473
DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2014.06.015 -
The European Journal of Neuroscience Mar 2015A hallmark of the developing auditory cortex is the heightened plasticity in the critical period, during which acoustic inputs can indelibly alter cortical function.... (Review)
Review
A hallmark of the developing auditory cortex is the heightened plasticity in the critical period, during which acoustic inputs can indelibly alter cortical function. However, not all sounds in the natural acoustic environment are ethologically relevant. How does the auditory system resolve relevant sounds from the acoustic environment in such an early developmental stage when most associative learning mechanisms are not yet fully functional? What can the auditory system learn from one of the most important classes of sounds, animal vocalizations? How does naturalistic acoustic experience shape cortical sound representation and perception? To answer these questions, we need to consider an unusual strategy, statistical learning, where what the system needs to learn is embedded in the sensory input. Here, I will review recent findings on how certain statistical structures of natural animal vocalizations shape auditory cortical acoustic representations, and how cortical plasticity may underlie learned categorical sound perception. These results will be discussed in the context of human speech perception.
Topics: Animals; Auditory Cortex; Humans; Learning; Speech Perception; Vocalization, Animal
PubMed: 25728188
DOI: 10.1111/ejn.12826 -
Current Biology : CB Oct 2021Vocal communication signals can provide listeners with information about the signaler and elicit motivated responses. Auditory cortical and mesolimbic reward circuits...
Vocal communication signals can provide listeners with information about the signaler and elicit motivated responses. Auditory cortical and mesolimbic reward circuits are often considered to have distinct roles in these processes, with auditory cortical circuits responsible for detecting and discriminating sounds and mesolimbic circuits responsible for ascribing salience and modulating preference for those sounds. Here, we investigated whether dopamine within auditory cortical circuits themselves can shape the incentive salience of a vocal signal. Female zebra finches demonstrate natural preferences for vocal signals produced by males ("songs"), and we found that brief pairing of passive song playback with pharmacological dopamine manipulations in the secondary auditory cortex significantly altered song preferences. In particular, pairing passive song playback with retrodialysis of dopamine agonists into the auditory cortex enhanced preferences for less-preferred songs. Plasticity of song preferences by dopamine persisted for at least 1 week and was mediated by D1 receptors. In contrast, song preferences were not shaped by norepinephrine. In line with this, while we found that the ventral tegmental area, substantia nigra pars compacta, and locus coeruleus all project to the secondary auditory cortex, only dopamine-producing neurons in the ventral tegmental area differentially responded to preferred versus less-preferred songs. In contrast, norepinephrine neurons in the locus coeruleus increased expression of activity-dependent neural markers for both preferred and less-preferred songs. These data suggest that dopamine acting directly in sensory-processing areas can shape the incentive salience of communication signals.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Animals; Auditory Cortex; Auditory Perception; Dopamine; Female; Finches; Learning; Male; Norepinephrine; Vocalization, Animal
PubMed: 34450091
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.005 -
Neuron Oct 2007Maps of sensory receptor epithelia and computed features of the sensory environment are common elements of auditory, visual, and somatic sensory representations from the... (Review)
Review
Maps of sensory receptor epithelia and computed features of the sensory environment are common elements of auditory, visual, and somatic sensory representations from the periphery to the cerebral cortex. Maps enhance the understanding of normal neural organization and its modification by pathology and experience. They underlie the derivation of the computational principles that govern sensory processing and the generation of perception. Despite their intuitive explanatory power, the functions of and rules for organizing maps and their plasticity are not well understood. Some puzzles of auditory cortical map organization are that few complete receptor maps are available and that even fewer computational maps are known beyond primary cortical areas. Neuroanatomical evidence suggests equally organized connectional patterns throughout the cortical hierarchy that might underlie map stability. Here, we consider the implications of auditory cortical map organization and its plasticity and evaluate the complementary role of maps in representation and computation from an auditory perspective.
Topics: Animals; Auditory Cortex; Auditory Pathways; Brain Mapping; Humans; Models, Anatomic; Models, Neurological; Neuronal Plasticity
PubMed: 17964251
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2007.10.013 -
Clinical Medicine (London, England) Feb 2008The organisation of the musical brain is a major focus of interest in contemporary neuroscience. This reflects the increasing sophistication of tools (especially imaging... (Review)
Review
The organisation of the musical brain is a major focus of interest in contemporary neuroscience. This reflects the increasing sophistication of tools (especially imaging techniques) to examine brain anatomy and function in health and disease, and the recognition that music provides unique insights into a number of aspects of nonverbal brain function. The emerging picture is complex but coherent, and moves beyond older ideas of music as the province of a single brain area or hemisphere to the concept of music as a 'whole-brain' phenomenon. Music engages a distributed set of cortical modules that process different perceptual, cognitive and emotional components with varying selectivity. 'Why' rather than 'how' the brain processes music is a key challenge for the future.
Topics: Auditory Cortex; Auditory Pathways; Auditory Perception; Brain; Humans; Music; Pitch Discrimination
PubMed: 18335666
DOI: 10.7861/clinmedicine.8-1-32 -
Human Brain Mapping Oct 2023Adults and children show remarkable differences in cortical auditory activation which, in children, have shown relevance for cognitive performance, specifically...
Adults and children show remarkable differences in cortical auditory activation which, in children, have shown relevance for cognitive performance, specifically inhibitory control. However, it has not been tested whether these differences translate to functional differences in response inhibition between adults and children. We recorded auditory responses of adults and school-aged children (6-14 years) using combined magneto- and electroencephalography (M/EEG) during passive listening conditions and an auditory Go/No-go task. The associations between auditory cortical responses and inhibition performance measures diverge between adults and children; while in children the brain-behavior associations are not significant, or stronger responses are beneficial, adults show negative associations between auditory cortical responses and inhibitory performance. Furthermore, we found differences in brain responses between adults and children; the late (~200 ms post stimulation) adult peak activation shifts from auditory to frontomedial areas. In contrast, children show prolonged obligatory responses in the auditory cortex. Together this likely translates to a functional difference between adults and children in the cortical resources for performance consistency in auditory-based cognitive tasks.
Topics: Humans; Adult; Child; Acoustic Stimulation; Evoked Potentials, Auditory; Task Performance and Analysis; Electroencephalography; Auditory Cortex; Auditory Perception
PubMed: 37493309
DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26418 -
Current Opinion in Neurobiology Feb 2014Auditory cortical maps have been a long-standing focus of studies that assess the expression, mechanisms, and consequences of sensory plasticity. Here we discuss recent... (Review)
Review
Auditory cortical maps have been a long-standing focus of studies that assess the expression, mechanisms, and consequences of sensory plasticity. Here we discuss recent progress in understanding how auditory experience transforms spatially organized sound representations at higher levels of the central auditory pathways. New insights into the mechanisms underlying map changes have been achieved and more refined interpretations of various map plasticity effects and their consequences in terms of behavioral corollaries and learning as well as other cognitive aspects have been offered. The systematic organizational principles of cortical sound processing remain a key aspect in studying and interpreting the role of plasticity in hearing.
Topics: Animals; Auditory Cortex; Auditory Pathways; Auditory Perception; Brain Mapping; Humans; Neuronal Plasticity
PubMed: 24492090
DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2013.11.009 -
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) Oct 2014This investigation provides an analysis of structural asymmetries in 5 anatomically defined regions (Heschl's gyrus, HG; Heschl's sulcus, HS; planum temporale, PT;...
This investigation provides an analysis of structural asymmetries in 5 anatomically defined regions (Heschl's gyrus, HG; Heschl's sulcus, HS; planum temporale, PT; planum polare, PP; superior temporal gyrus, STG) within the human auditory-related cortex. Volumetric 3-dimensional T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans were collected from 104 participants (52 males). Cortical volume (CV), cortical thickness (CT), and cortical surface area (CSA) were calculated based on individual scans of these anatomical traits. This investigation demonstrates a leftward asymmetry for CV and CSA that is observed in the HG, STG, and PT regions. As regards CT, we note a rightward asymmetry in the HG and HS. A correlation analysis of asymmetry indices between measurements for distinct regions of interest (ROIs) yields significant correlations between CT and CV in 4 of 5 ROIs (HG, HS, PT, and STG). Significant correlation values between CSA and CV are observed for all 5 ROIs. The findings suggest that auditory-related cortical areas demonstrate larger leftward asymmetry with respect to the CSA, while a clear rightward asymmetry with respect to CT is salient in both the primary and the secondary auditory cortex only. In addition, we propose that CV is not an ideal neuromarker for anatomical measurements. CT and CSA should be considered independent traits of anatomical asymmetries in the auditory-related cortex.
Topics: Adult; Auditory Cortex; Female; Functional Laterality; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Young Adult
PubMed: 23645712
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bht094 -
Neuroscience Sep 2014The neural pathways of the auditory system underlie our ability to detect sounds and to transform amplitude and frequency information into rich and meaningful... (Review)
Review
The neural pathways of the auditory system underlie our ability to detect sounds and to transform amplitude and frequency information into rich and meaningful perception. While it shares some organizational features with other sensory systems, the auditory system has some unique functions that impose special demands on precision in circuit assembly. In particular, the cochlear epithelium creates a frequency map rather than a space map, and specialized pathways extract information on interaural time and intensity differences to permit sound source localization. The assembly of auditory circuitry requires the coordinated function of multiple molecular cues. Eph receptors and their ephrin ligands constitute a large family of axon guidance molecules with developmentally regulated expression throughout the auditory system. Functional studies of Eph/ephrin signaling have revealed important roles at multiple levels of the auditory pathway, from the cochlea to the auditory cortex. These proteins provide graded cues used in establishing tonotopically ordered connections between auditory areas, as well as discrete cues that enable axons to form connections with appropriate postsynaptic partners within a target area. Throughout the auditory system, Eph proteins help to establish patterning in neural pathways during early development. This early targeting, which is further refined with neuronal activity, establishes the precision needed for auditory perception.
Topics: Animals; Auditory Cortex; Auditory Pathways; Axons; Brain Stem; Cochlea; Ephrins; Receptors, Eph Family
PubMed: 25010398
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.06.068