1
|
Capshaw G, Brown AD, Peña JL, Carr CE, Christensen-Dalsgaard J, Tollin DJ, Womack MC, McCullagh EA. The continued importance of comparative auditory research to modern scientific discovery. Hear Res 2023; 433:108766. [PMID: 37084504 PMCID: PMC10321136 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2023.108766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 04/23/2023]
Abstract
A rich history of comparative research in the auditory field has afforded a synthetic view of sound information processing by ears and brains. Some organisms have proven to be powerful models for human hearing due to fundamental similarities (e.g., well-matched hearing ranges), while others feature intriguing differences (e.g., atympanic ears) that invite further study. Work across diverse "non-traditional" organisms, from small mammals to avians to amphibians and beyond, continues to propel auditory science forward, netting a variety of biomedical and technological advances along the way. In this brief review, limited primarily to tetrapod vertebrates, we discuss the continued importance of comparative studies in hearing research from the periphery to central nervous system with a focus on outstanding questions such as mechanisms for sound capture, peripheral and central processing of directional/spatial information, and non-canonical auditory processing, including efferent and hormonal effects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Grace Capshaw
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
| | - Andrew D Brown
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
| | - José L Peña
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Catherine E Carr
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | | | - Daniel J Tollin
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA; Department of Otolaryngology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Molly C Womack
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA.
| | - Elizabeth A McCullagh
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Poulsen RE, Scholz LA, Constantin L, Favre-Bulle I, Vanwalleghem GC, Scott EK. Broad frequency sensitivity and complex neural coding in the larval zebrafish auditory system. Curr Biol 2021; 31:1977-1987.e4. [PMID: 33657408 PMCID: PMC8443405 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Revised: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Most animals have complex auditory systems that identify salient features of the acoustic landscape to direct appropriate responses. In fish, these features include the volume, frequency, complexity, and temporal structure of acoustic stimuli transmitted through water. Larval fish have simple brains compared to adults but swim freely and depend on sophisticated sensory processing for survival.1-5 Zebrafish larvae, an important model for studying brain-wide neural networks, have thus far been found to possess a rudimentary auditory system, sensitive to a narrow range of frequencies and without evident sensitivity to acoustic features that are salient and ethologically important to adult fish.6,7 Here, we have combined a novel method for delivering water-borne sounds, a diverse assembly of acoustic stimuli, and whole-brain calcium imaging to describe the responses of individual auditory-responsive neurons across the brains of zebrafish larvae. Our results reveal responses to frequencies ranging from 100 Hz to 4 kHz, with evidence of frequency discrimination from 100 Hz to 2.5 kHz. Frequency-selective neurons are located in numerous regions of the brain, and neurons responsive to the same frequency are spatially grouped in some regions. Using functional clustering, we identified categories of neurons that are selective for a single pure-tone frequency, white noise, the sharp onset of acoustic stimuli, and stimuli involving a gradual crescendo. These results suggest a more nuanced auditory system than has previously been described in larval fish and provide insights into how a young animal's auditory system can both function acutely and serve as the scaffold for a more complex adult system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca E Poulsen
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Leandro A Scholz
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Lena Constantin
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Itia Favre-Bulle
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Gilles C Vanwalleghem
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
| | - Ethan K Scott
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
The mammalian efferent vestibular system utilizes cholinergic mechanisms to excite primary vestibular afferents. Sci Rep 2021; 11:1231. [PMID: 33441862 PMCID: PMC7806594 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80367-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Electrical stimulation of the mammalian efferent vestibular system (EVS) predominantly excites primary vestibular afferents along two distinct time scales. Although roles for acetylcholine (ACh) have been demonstrated in other vertebrates, synaptic mechanisms underlying mammalian EVS actions are not well-characterized. To determine if activation of ACh receptors account for efferent-mediated afferent excitation in mammals, we recorded afferent activity from the superior vestibular nerve of anesthetized C57BL/6 mice while stimulating EVS neurons in the brainstem, before and after administration of cholinergic antagonists. Using a normalized coefficient of variation (CV*), we broadly classified vestibular afferents as regularly- (CV* < 0.1) or irregularly-discharging (CV* > 0.1) and characterized their responses to midline or ipsilateral EVS stimulation. Afferent responses to efferent stimulation were predominantly excitatory, grew in amplitude with increasing CV*, and consisted of fast and slow components that could be identified by differences in rise time and post-stimulus duration. Both efferent-mediated excitatory components were larger in irregular afferents with ipsilateral EVS stimulation. Our pharmacological data show, for the first time in mammals, that muscarinic AChR antagonists block efferent-mediated slow excitation whereas the nicotinic AChR antagonist DHβE selectively blocks efferent-mediated fast excitation, while leaving the efferent-mediated slow component intact. These data confirm that mammalian EVS actions are predominantly cholinergic.
Collapse
|
4
|
Toscano-Márquez B, Oboti L, Harvey-Girard E, Maler L, Krahe R. Distribution of the cholinergic nuclei in the brain of the weakly electric fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus: Implications for sensory processing. J Comp Neurol 2020; 529:1810-1829. [PMID: 33089503 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Revised: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Acetylcholine acts as a neurotransmitter/neuromodulator of many central nervous system processes such as learning and memory, attention, motor control, and sensory processing. The present study describes the spatial distribution of cholinergic neurons throughout the brain of the weakly electric fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus, using in situ hybridization of choline acetyltransferase mRNA. Distinct groups of cholinergic cells were observed in the telencephalon, diencephalon, mesencephalon, and hindbrain. These included cholinergic cell groups typically identified in other vertebrate brains, for example, motor neurons. Using both in vitro and ex vivo neuronal tracing methods, we identified two new cholinergic connections leading to novel hypotheses on their functional significance. Projections to the nucleus praeeminentialis (nP) arise from isthmic nuclei, possibly including the nucleus lateralis valvulae (nLV) and the isthmic nucleus (nI). The nP is a central component of all electrosensory feedback pathways to the electrosensory lateral line lobe (ELL). We have previously shown that some neurons in nP, TS, and tectum express muscarinic receptors. We hypothesize that, based on nLV/nI cell responses in other teleosts and isthmic connectivity in A. leptorhynchus, the isthmic connections to nP, TS, and tectum modulate responses to electrosensory and/or visual motion and, in particular, to looming/receding stimuli. In addition, we found that the octavolateral efferent (OE) nucleus is the likely source of cholinergic fibers innervating the ELL. In other teleosts, OE inhibits octavolateral hair cells during locomotion. In gymnotiform fish, OE may also act on the first central processing stage and, we hypothesize, implement corollary discharge modulation of electrosensory processing during locomotion.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Livio Oboti
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institut für Biologie, Berlin, Germany
| | - Erik Harvey-Girard
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Leonard Maler
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Rüdiger Krahe
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec.,Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institut für Biologie, Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Perelmuter JT, Forlano PM. Connectivity and ultrastructure of dopaminergic innervation of the inner ear and auditory efferent system of a vocal fish. J Comp Neurol 2017; 525:2090-2108. [PMID: 28118481 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2016] [Revised: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 01/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Dopamine (DA) is a conserved modulator of vertebrate neural circuitry, yet our knowledge of its role in peripheral auditory processing is limited to mammals. The present study combines immunohistochemistry, neural tract tracing, and electron microscopy to investigate the origin and synaptic characteristics of DA fibers innervating the inner ear and the hindbrain auditory efferent nucleus in the plainfin midshipman, a vocal fish that relies upon the detection of mate calls for reproductive success. We identify a DA cell group in the diencephalon as a common source for innervation of both the hindbrain auditory efferent nucleus and saccule, the main hearing endorgan of the inner ear. We show that DA terminals in the saccule contain vesicles but transmitter release appears paracrine in nature, due to the apparent lack of synaptic contacts. In contrast, in the hindbrain, DA terminals form traditional synaptic contacts with auditory efferent neuronal cell bodies and dendrites, as well as unlabeled axon terminals, which, in turn, form inhibitory-like synapses on auditory efferent somata. Our results suggest a distinct functional role for brain-derived DA in the direct and indirect modulation of the peripheral auditory system of a vocal nonmammalian vertebrate.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan T Perelmuter
- Program in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, New York, 10016.,Department of Biology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York, 11210
| | - Paul M Forlano
- Program in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, New York, 10016.,Program in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, New York, 10016.,Program in Neuroscience, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, New York, 10016.,Department of Biology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York, 11210.,Aquatic Research and Environmental Assessment Center, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn NY, New York, 11210
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Chagnaud BP, Banchi R, Simmers J, Straka H. Spinal corollary discharge modulates motion sensing during vertebrate locomotion. Nat Commun 2015; 6:7982. [PMID: 26337184 PMCID: PMC4569702 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2014] [Accepted: 07/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
During active movements, neural replicas of the underlying motor commands may assist in adapting motion-detecting sensory systems to an animal's own behaviour. The transmission of such motor efference copies to the mechanosensory periphery offers a potential predictive substrate for diminishing sensory responsiveness to self-motion during vertebrate locomotion. Here, using semi-isolated in vitro preparations of larval Xenopus, we demonstrate that shared efferent neural pathways to hair cells of vestibular endorgans and lateral line neuromasts express cyclic impulse bursts during swimming that are directly driven by spinal locomotor circuitry. Despite common efferent innervation and discharge patterns, afferent signal encoding at the two mechanosensory peripheries is influenced differentially by efference copy signals, reflecting the different organization of body/water motion-detecting processes in the vestibular and lateral line systems. The resultant overall gain reduction in sensory signal encoding in both cases, which likely prevents overstimulation, constitutes an adjustment to increased stimulus magnitudes during locomotion. Corollary discharges inform the central nervous system about impending motor activity. Here, Chagnaud et al. show that, in Xenopus tadpoles, shared efferent neural pathways to the inner ear and lateral line adjust the sensitivity of sensory afferents during locomotor activity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Boris P Chagnaud
- Department of Biology II, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Grosshadernerstrasse 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Roberto Banchi
- Department of Biology II, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Grosshadernerstrasse 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.,Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Planegg-Martinsried 82152, Germany
| | - John Simmers
- Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine, Université de Bordeaux, CNRS UMR 5287, 33076 Bordeaux, France
| | - Hans Straka
- Department of Biology II, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Grosshadernerstrasse 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
|
8
|
Meyer M, Fay RR, Popper AN. Frequency tuning and intensity coding of sound in the auditory periphery of the lake sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010; 213:1567-78. [PMID: 20400642 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.031757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Acipenser fulvescens, the lake sturgeon, belongs to one of the few extant non-teleost ray-finned (bony) fishes. The sturgeons (family Acipenseridae) have a phylogenetic history that dates back about 250 million years. The study reported here is the first investigation of peripheral coding strategies for spectral analysis in the auditory system in a non-teleost bony fish. We used a shaker system to simulate the particle motion component of sound during electrophysiological recordings of isolated single units from the eighth nerve innervating the saccule and lagena. Background activity and response characteristics of saccular and lagenar afferents (such as thresholds, response-level functions and temporal firing) resembled the ones found in teleosts. The distribution of best frequencies also resembled data in teleosts (except for Carassius auratus, goldfish) tested with the same stimulation method. The saccule and lagena in A. fulvescens contain otoconia, in contrast to the solid otoliths found in teleosts, however, this difference in otolith structure did not appear to affect threshold, frequency tuning, intensity- or temporal responses of auditory afferents. In general, the physiological characteristics common to A. fulvescens, teleosts and land vertebrates reflect important functions of the auditory system that may have been conserved throughout the evolution of vertebrates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Meyer
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Szabo TM, McCormick CA, Faber DS. Otolith endorgan input to the Mauthner neuron in the goldfish. J Comp Neurol 2008; 505:511-25. [PMID: 17924544 DOI: 10.1002/cne.21499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The Mauthner (M-) cell of the goldfish, Carassius auratus, triggers the rapid escape response of the fish in response to various stimuli, including visual and auditory. The large size and accessibility of the M-cell make it an ideal model system for the study of synaptic transmission, membrane properties, and sensory-motor gating. Although physiological recordings have suggested that afferents from all three of the inner ear endorgans (the saccule, lagena, and utricle) synapse directly on the ipsilateral M-cell, the specific contacts and anatomical distributions of these inputs along the M-cell lateral dendrite remain unknown. We traced specific branches of the auditory (VIIIth) nerve from the three otolith organs of the fish inner ear to the M-cell. The goldfish sacculus gives rise to the vast majority of inputs that contact a large portion of the M-cell lateral dendrite, and these inputs vary greatly in size. In contrast to the ubiquitous distribution of saccular inputs, those from the lagena are segregated to distal regions of the M-cell and synapse on the distal dorsal branch of the lateral dendrite. Similarly, inputs from the utricle are also segregated to distal regions, synapsing on the ventral branch of the lateral dendrite. These results demonstrate that nerves from all three endorgans contact the M-cell, with input-specific segregation of synapses along the M-cell lateral dendrite.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Theresa M Szabo
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, New York 10461, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
10
|
Peripheral and central processing of lateral line information. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2008; 194:145-58. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-007-0282-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2007] [Accepted: 10/18/2007] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
|
11
|
Abstract
One of the primary challenges that sensory systems face is extracting relevant information from background noise. In the auditory system, the ear receives efferent feedback, which may help it extract signals from noise. Here we directly test the hypothesis that efferent activity increases the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the ear, using the relatively simple teleost ear. Tone-evoked saccular potentials were recorded before and after efferent stimulation, and the SNR of the responses was calculated. In quiet conditions, efferent stimulation suppressed saccular responses to a tone, reducing the SNR. However, when masking noise was added, efferent stimulation increased the SNR of the saccular responses within a range of stimulus combinations. These data demonstrate that auditory efferent feedback can increase SNR in conditions where a signal is masked by noise, thereby enhancing the encoding of signals in noise. Efferent feedback thus performs a fundamental signal processing function, helping the animal to hear sounds in difficult listening conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Seth M Tomchik
- University of Miami, Department of Biology, 1301 Memorial Dr., Coral Gables, Florida 33146, USA.
| | | |
Collapse
|
12
|
|