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Harmon TC, Madlon-Kay S, Pearson J, Mooney R. Vocalization modulates the mouse auditory cortex even in the absence of hearing. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114611. [PMID: 39116205 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2024] [Revised: 07/10/2024] [Accepted: 07/24/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Vocal communication depends on distinguishing self-generated vocalizations from other sounds. Vocal motor corollary discharge (CD) signals are thought to support this ability by adaptively suppressing auditory cortical responses to auditory feedback. One challenge is that vocalizations, especially those produced during courtship and other social interactions, are accompanied by other movements and are emitted during a state of heightened arousal, factors that could potentially modulate auditory cortical activity. Here, we monitor auditory cortical activity, ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), and other non-vocal courtship behaviors in a head-fixed male mouse while he interacts with a female mouse. This approach reveals a vocalization-specific signature in the auditory cortex that suppresses the activity of USV playback-excited neurons, emerges before vocal onset, and scales with USV band power. Notably, this vocal modulatory signature is also present in the auditory cortex of congenitally deaf mice, revealing an adaptive vocal CD signal that manifests independently of auditory feedback or auditory experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas C Harmon
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
| | - Seth Madlon-Kay
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - John Pearson
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA; Department of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Richard Mooney
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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2
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Stempel AV, Evans DA, Arocas OP, Claudi F, Lenzi SC, Kutsarova E, Margrie TW, Branco T. Tonically active GABAergic neurons in the dorsal periaqueductal gray control instinctive escape in mice. Curr Biol 2024; 34:3031-3039.e7. [PMID: 38936364 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.05.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2024] [Revised: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
Escape behavior is a set of locomotor actions that move an animal away from threat. While these actions can be stereotyped, it is advantageous for survival that they are flexible.1,2,3 For example, escape probability depends on predation risk and competing motivations,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 and flight to safety requires continuous adjustments of trajectory and must terminate at the appropriate place and time.12,13,14,15,16 This degree of flexibility suggests that modulatory components, like inhibitory networks, act on the neural circuits controlling instinctive escape.17,18,19,20,21,22 In mice, the decision to escape from imminent threats is implemented by a feedforward circuit in the midbrain, where excitatory vesicular glutamate transporter 2-positive (VGluT2+) neurons in the dorsal periaqueductal gray (dPAG) compute escape initiation and escape vigor.23,24,25 Here we tested the hypothesis that local GABAergic neurons within the dPAG control escape behavior by setting the excitability of the dPAG escape network. Using in vitro patch-clamp and in vivo neural activity recordings, we found that vesicular GABA transporter-positive (VGAT+) dPAG neurons fire action potentials tonically in the absence of synaptic inputs and are a major source of inhibition to VGluT2+ dPAG neurons. Activity in VGAT+ dPAG cells transiently decreases at escape onset and increases during escape, peaking at escape termination. Optogenetically increasing or decreasing VGAT+ dPAG activity changes the probability of escape when the stimulation is delivered at threat onset and the duration of escape when delivered after escape initiation. We conclude that the activity of tonically firing VGAT+ dPAG neurons sets a threshold for escape initiation and controls the execution of the flight action.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Vanessa Stempel
- UCL Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, 25 Howland St, London W1T 4JG, UK; Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Max-von-Laue-Str. 4, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Dominic A Evans
- UCL Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, 25 Howland St, London W1T 4JG, UK; Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Max-von-Laue-Str. 4, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Oriol Pavón Arocas
- UCL Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, 25 Howland St, London W1T 4JG, UK
| | - Federico Claudi
- UCL Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, 25 Howland St, London W1T 4JG, UK
| | - Stephen C Lenzi
- UCL Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, 25 Howland St, London W1T 4JG, UK
| | - Elena Kutsarova
- Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Max-von-Laue-Str. 4, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Troy W Margrie
- UCL Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, 25 Howland St, London W1T 4JG, UK
| | - Tiago Branco
- UCL Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, 25 Howland St, London W1T 4JG, UK.
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Morandell K, Yin A, Triana Del Rio R, Schneider DM. Movement-Related Modulation in Mouse Auditory Cortex Is Widespread Yet Locally Diverse. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1227232024. [PMID: 38286628 PMCID: PMC10941236 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1227-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Neurons in the mouse auditory cortex are strongly influenced by behavior, including both suppression and enhancement of sound-evoked responses during movement. The mouse auditory cortex comprises multiple fields with different roles in sound processing and distinct connectivity to movement-related centers of the brain. Here, we asked whether movement-related modulation in male mice might differ across auditory cortical fields, thereby contributing to the heterogeneity of movement-related modulation at the single-cell level. We used wide-field calcium imaging to identify distinct cortical fields and cellular-resolution two-photon calcium imaging to visualize the activity of layer 2/3 excitatory neurons within each field. We measured each neuron's responses to three sound categories (pure tones, chirps, and amplitude-modulated white noise) as mice rested and ran on a non-motorized treadmill. We found that individual neurons in each cortical field typically respond to just one sound category. Some neurons are only active during rest and others during locomotion, and those that are responsive across conditions retain their sound-category tuning. The effects of locomotion on sound-evoked responses vary at the single-cell level, with both suppression and enhancement of neural responses, and the net modulatory effect of locomotion is largely conserved across cortical fields. Movement-related modulation in auditory cortex also reflects more complex behavioral patterns, including instantaneous running speed and nonlocomotor movements such as grooming and postural adjustments, with similar patterns seen across all auditory cortical fields. Our findings underscore the complexity of movement-related modulation throughout the mouse auditory cortex and indicate that movement-related modulation is a widespread phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Morandell
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10012
| | - Audrey Yin
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10012
| | | | - David M Schneider
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10012
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Rupert DD, Pagliaro AH, Choe J, Shea SD. Selective Deletion of Methyl CpG Binding Protein 2 from Parvalbumin Interneurons in the Auditory Cortex Delays the Onset of Maternal Retrieval in Mice. J Neurosci 2023; 43:6745-6759. [PMID: 37625856 PMCID: PMC10552946 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0838-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 08/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Mutations in MECP2 cause the neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome. MECP2 codes for methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MECP2), a transcriptional regulator that activates genetic programs for experience-dependent plasticity. Many neural and behavioral symptoms of Rett syndrome may result from dysregulated timing and thresholds for plasticity. As a model of adult plasticity, we examine changes to auditory cortex inhibitory circuits in female mice when they are first exposed to pups; this plasticity facilitates behavioral responses to pups emitting distress calls. Brainwide deletion of Mecp2 alters expression of markers associated with GABAergic parvalbumin interneurons (PVins) and impairs the emergence of pup retrieval. We hypothesized that loss of Mecp2 in PVins disproportionately contributes to the phenotype. Here, we find that deletion of Mecp2 from PVins delayed the onset of maternal retrieval behavior and recapitulated the major molecular and neurophysiological features of brainwide deletion of Mecp2 We observed that when PVin-selective mutants were exposed to pups, auditory cortical expression of PVin markers increased relative to that in wild-type littermates. PVin-specific mutants also failed to show the inhibitory auditory cortex plasticity seen in wild-type mice on exposure to pups and their vocalizations. Finally, using an intersectional viral genetic strategy, we demonstrate that postdevelopmental loss of Mecp2 in PVins of the auditory cortex is sufficient to delay onset of maternal retrieval. Our results support a model in which PVins play a central role in adult cortical plasticity and may be particularly impaired by loss of Mecp2 SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Rett syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder that includes deficits in both communication and the ability to update brain connections and activity during learning (plasticity). This condition is caused by mutations in the gene MECP2 We use a maternal behavioral test in mice requiring both vocal perception and neural plasticity to probe the role of Mecp2 in social and sensory learning. Mecp2 is normally active in all brain cells, but here we remove it from a specific population (parvalbumin neurons). We find that this is sufficient to delay learned behavioral responses to pups and recreates many deficits seen in whole-brain Mecp2 deletion. Our findings suggest that parvalbumin neurons specifically are central to the consequences of loss of Mecp2 activity and yield clues as to possible mechanisms by which Rett syndrome impairs brain function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah D Rupert
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior and Medical Scientist Training Program, School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-8434
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724
| | - Alexa H Pagliaro
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724
| | - Jane Choe
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724
| | - Stephen D Shea
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724
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Morandell K, Yin A, Del Rio RT, Schneider DM. Movement-related modulation in mouse auditory cortex is widespread yet locally diverse. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.03.547560. [PMID: 37461568 PMCID: PMC10349927 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.03.547560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
Neurons in the mouse auditory cortex are strongly influenced by behavior, including both suppression and enhancement of sound-evoked responses during movement. The mouse auditory cortex comprises multiple fields with different roles in sound processing and distinct connectivity to movement-related centers of the brain. Here, we asked whether movement-related modulation might differ across auditory cortical fields, thereby contributing to the heterogeneity of movement-related modulation at the single-cell level. We used wide-field calcium imaging to identify distinct cortical fields followed by cellular-resolution two-photon calcium imaging to visualize the activity of layer 2/3 excitatory neurons within each field. We measured each neuron's responses to three sound categories (pure tones, chirps, and amplitude modulated white noise) as mice rested and ran on a non-motorized treadmill. We found that individual neurons in each cortical field typically respond to just one sound category. Some neurons are only active during rest and others during locomotion, and those that are responsive across conditions retain their sound-category tuning. The effects of locomotion on sound-evoked responses vary at the single-cell level, with both suppression and enhancement of neural responses, and the net modulatory effect of locomotion is largely conserved across cortical fields. Movement-related modulation in auditory cortex also reflects more complex behavioral patterns, including instantaneous running speed and non-locomotor movements such as grooming and postural adjustments, with similar patterns seen across all auditory cortical fields. Our findings underscore the complexity of movement-related modulation throughout the mouse auditory cortex and indicate that movement-related modulation is a widespread phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Morandell
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10012
| | - Audrey Yin
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10012
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Henschke JU, Pakan JMP. Engaging distributed cortical and cerebellar networks through motor execution, observation, and imagery. Front Syst Neurosci 2023; 17:1165307. [PMID: 37114187 PMCID: PMC10126249 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2023.1165307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
When we interact with the environment around us, we are sometimes active participants, making directed physical motor movements and other times only mentally engaging with our environment, taking in sensory information and internally planning our next move without directed physical movement. Traditionally, cortical motor regions and key subcortical structures such as the cerebellum have been tightly linked to motor initiation, coordination, and directed motor behavior. However, recent neuroimaging studies have noted the activation of the cerebellum and wider cortical networks specifically during various forms of motor processing, including the observations of actions and mental rehearsal of movements through motor imagery. This phenomenon of cognitive engagement of traditional motor networks raises the question of how these brain regions are involved in the initiation of movement without physical motor output. Here, we will review evidence for distributed brain network activation during motor execution, observation, and imagery in human neuroimaging studies as well as the potential for cerebellar involvement specifically in motor-related cognition. Converging evidence suggests that a common global brain network is involved in both movement execution and motor observation or imagery, with specific task-dependent shifts in these global activation patterns. We will further discuss underlying cross-species anatomical support for these cognitive motor-related functions as well as the role of cerebrocerebellar communication during action observation and motor imagery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia U. Henschke
- Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Janelle M. P. Pakan
- Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Universitätsplatz, Magdeburg, Germany
- *Correspondence: Janelle M. P. Pakan,
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7
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Audette NJ, Zhou W, La Chioma A, Schneider DM. Precise movement-based predictions in the mouse auditory cortex. Curr Biol 2022; 32:4925-4940.e6. [PMID: 36283411 PMCID: PMC9691550 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.09.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Many of the sensations experienced by an organism are caused by their own actions, and accurately anticipating both the sensory features and timing of self-generated stimuli is crucial to a variety of behaviors. In the auditory cortex, neural responses to self-generated sounds exhibit frequency-specific suppression, suggesting that movement-based predictions may be implemented early in sensory processing. However, it remains unknown whether this modulation results from a behaviorally specific and temporally precise prediction, nor is it known whether corresponding expectation signals are present locally in the auditory cortex. To address these questions, we trained mice to expect the precise acoustic outcome of a forelimb movement using a closed-loop sound-generating lever. Dense neuronal recordings in the auditory cortex revealed suppression of responses to self-generated sounds that was specific to the expected acoustic features, to a precise position within the movement, and to the movement that was coupled to sound during training. Prediction-based suppression was concentrated in L2/3 and L5, where deviations from expectation also recruited a population of prediction-error neurons that was otherwise unresponsive. Recording in the absence of sound revealed abundant movement signals in deep layers that were biased toward neurons tuned to the expected sound, as well as expectation signals that were present throughout the cortex and peaked at the time of expected auditory feedback. Together, these findings identify distinct populations of auditory cortical neurons with movement, expectation, and error signals consistent with a learned internal model linking an action to its specific acoustic outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J Audette
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - WenXi Zhou
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Alessandro La Chioma
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - David M Schneider
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, USA.
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Khiroug L, Verkhratsky A. Coming full circle: In vivo Veritas, or expanding the neuroscience frontier. Cell Calcium 2021; 98:102452. [PMID: 34399234 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceca.2021.102452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The 25-century long history of brain science can be divided into four distinct 'Eras': Era 1 (∼2000 years) started around 500 BC with reductionist studies of human and animal brains using invasive in vivo and ex vivo methods; Era 2 (∼200 years) started in the 17th century and introduced the first invasive methods to study the function of living tissues; Era 3 started around 1838 and is the ongoing era of cellular neurophysiology; finally, Era 4 (in statu nascendi) is the era of non-invasive, holistic yet mechanistic, studies of the brain. Animal experimentation is becoming increasingly more holistic as multimodal imaging and recording techniques are combined in a single experiment on the brain of awake behaving animal. This newly emerged approach can be called in vigilo (from Latin 'in awake' or 'in vigilant state'), by analogy to the earlier introduced terms in vivo or in vitro. We introduce the Special Issue "In Vigilo Veritas: New Frontiers of Optical Imaging and Electrical Recording in the Brain of Awake Behaving Mice", which features original research articles and reviews that represent some of the finest examples of a truly multimodal studies, where behavioural readouts and tasks are combined in the same longitudinal experiment and on the same mouse with the two-photon imaging, optogenetics and/or electrophysiological recordings. This exciting multi-methodological approach creates a fertile ground for breakthrough discoveries in neurophysiology and neuropsychology of an awake behaving mammalian brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonard Khiroug
- Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, 00790 Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Alexei Verkhratsky
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK; Achucarro Centre for Neuroscience, IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48011 Bilbao, Spain; Department of Stem Cell Biology, State Research Institute Centre for Innovative Medicine, LT-01102, Vilnius, Lithuania
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