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Macedo-Lima M, Hamlette LS, Caras ML. Orbitofrontal cortex modulates auditory cortical sensitivity and sound perception in Mongolian gerbils. Curr Biol 2024; 34:3354-3366.e6. [PMID: 38996534 PMCID: PMC11303099 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.036] [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: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024]
Abstract
Sensory perception is dynamic, quickly adapting to sudden shifts in environmental or behavioral context. Although decades of work have established that these dynamics are mediated by rapid fluctuations in sensory cortical activity, we have a limited understanding of the brain regions and pathways that orchestrate these changes. Neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) encode contextual information, and recent data suggest that some of these signals are transmitted to sensory cortices. Whether and how these signals shape sensory encoding and perceptual sensitivity remain uncertain. Here, we asked whether the OFC mediates context-dependent changes in auditory cortical sensitivity and sound perception by monitoring and manipulating OFC activity in freely moving Mongolian gerbils of both sexes under two behavioral contexts: passive sound exposure and engagement in an amplitude modulation (AM) detection task. We found that the majority of OFC neurons, including the specific subset that innervates the auditory cortex, were strongly modulated by task engagement. Pharmacological inactivation of the OFC prevented rapid context-dependent changes in auditory cortical firing and significantly impaired behavioral AM detection. Our findings suggest that contextual information from the OFC mediates rapid plasticity in the auditory cortex and facilitates the perception of behaviorally relevant sounds.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Melissa L Caras
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
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2
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Carr CE, Wang T, Kraemer I, Capshaw G, Ashida G, Köppl C, Kempter R, Kuokkanen PT. Experience-Dependent Plasticity in Nucleus Laminaris of the Barn Owl. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e0940232023. [PMID: 37989591 PMCID: PMC10851688 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0940-23.2023] [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: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Interaural time differences (ITDs) are a major cue for sound localization and change with increasing head size. Since the barn owl's head width more than doubles in the month after hatching, we hypothesized that the development of their ITD detection circuit might be modified by experience. To test this, we raised owls with unilateral ear inserts that delayed and attenuated the acoustic signal, and then measured the ITD representation in the brainstem nucleus laminaris (NL) when they were adults. The ITD circuit is composed of delay line inputs to coincidence detectors, and we predicted that plastic changes would lead to shorter delays in the axons from the manipulated ear, and complementary shifts in ITD representation on the two sides. In owls that received ear inserts starting around P14, the maps of ITD shifted in the predicted direction, but only on the ipsilateral side, and only in those tonotopic regions that had not experienced auditory stimulation prior to insertion. The contralateral map did not change. Thus, experience-dependent plasticity of the ITD circuit occurs in NL, and our data suggest that ipsilateral and contralateral delays are independently regulated. As a result, altered auditory input during development leads to long-lasting changes in the representation of ITD.Significance Statement The early life of barn owls is marked by increasing sensitivity to sound, and by increasing ITDs. Their prolonged post-hatch development allowed us to examine the role of altered auditory experience in the development of ITD detection circuits. We raised owls with a unilateral ear insert and found that their maps of ITD were altered by experience, but only in those tonotopic regions ipsilateral to the occluded ear that had not experienced auditory stimulation prior to insertion. This experience-induced plasticity allows the sound localization circuits to be customized to individual characteristics, such as the size of the head, and potentially to compensate for imbalanced hearing sensitivities between the left and right ears.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine E Carr
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD 20742
| | - Tiffany Wang
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD 20742
| | - Ira Kraemer
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD 20742
| | - Grace Capshaw
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218
| | - Go Ashida
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Research Center for Neurosensory Sciences and Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all" Carl von Ossietzky University, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Christine Köppl
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Research Center for Neurosensory Sciences and Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all" Carl von Ossietzky University, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Richard Kempter
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Department of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Paula T Kuokkanen
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD 20742
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Mowery TM, Wackym PA, Nacipucha J, Dangcil E, Stadler RD, Tucker A, Carayannopoulos NL, Beshy MA, Hong SS, Yao JD. Superior semicircular canal dehiscence and subsequent closure induces reversible impaired decision-making. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1259030. [PMID: 37905188 PMCID: PMC10613502 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1259030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Vestibular loss and dysfunction has been associated with cognitive deficits, decreased spatial navigation, spatial memory, visuospatial ability, attention, executive function, and processing speed among others. Superior semicircular canal dehiscence (SSCD) is a vestibular-cochlear disorder in humans in which a pathological third mobile window of the otic capsule creates changes to the flow of sound pressure energy through the perilymph/endolymph. The primary symptoms include sound-induced dizziness/vertigo, inner ear conductive hearing loss, autophony, headaches, and visual problems; however, individuals also experience measurable deficits in basic decision-making, short-term memory, concentration, spatial cognition, and depression. These suggest central mechanisms of impairment are associated with vestibular disorders; therefore, we directly tested this hypothesis using both an auditory and visual decision-making task of varying difficulty levels in our model of SSCD. Methods Adult Mongolian gerbils (n = 33) were trained on one of four versions of a Go-NoGo stimulus presentation rate discrimination task that included standard ("easy") or more difficult ("hard") auditory and visual stimuli. After 10 days of training, preoperative ABR and c+VEMP testing was followed by a surgical fenestration of the left superior semicircular canal. Animals with persistent circling or head tilt were excluded to minimize effects from acute vestibular injury. Testing recommenced at postoperative day 5 and continued through postoperative day 15 at which point final ABR and c+VEMP testing was carried out. Results Behavioral data (d-primes) were compared between preoperative performance (training day 8-10) and postoperative days 6-8 and 13-15. Behavioral performance was measured during the peak of SSCD induced ABR and c + VEMP impairment and the return towards baseline as the dehiscence began to resurface by osteoneogenesis. There were significant differences in behavioral performance (d-prime) and its behavioral components (Hits, Misses, False Alarms, and Correct Rejections). These changes were highly correlated with persistent deficits in c + VEMPs at the end of training (postoperative day 15). The controls demonstrated additional learning post procedure that was absent in the SSCD group. Conclusion These results suggest that aberrant asymmetric vestibular output results in decision-making impairments in these discrimination tasks and could be associated with the other cognitive impairments resulting from vestibular dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Todd M. Mowery
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
- Rutgers Brain Health Institute, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - P. Ashley Wackym
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
- Rutgers Brain Health Institute, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Jacqueline Nacipucha
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Evelynne Dangcil
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Ryan D. Stadler
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Aaron Tucker
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Nicolas L. Carayannopoulos
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Mina A. Beshy
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Sean S. Hong
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Justin D. Yao
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
- Rutgers Brain Health Institute, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
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Ying R, Hamlette L, Nikoobakht L, Balaji R, Miko N, Caras ML. Organization of orbitofrontal-auditory pathways in the Mongolian gerbil. J Comp Neurol 2023; 531:1459-1481. [PMID: 37477903 PMCID: PMC10529810 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25525] [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: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
Sound perception is highly malleable, rapidly adjusting to the acoustic environment and behavioral demands. This flexibility is the result of ongoing changes in auditory cortical activity driven by fluctuations in attention, arousal, or prior expectations. Recent work suggests that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) may mediate some of these rapid changes, but the anatomical connections between the OFC and the auditory system are not well characterized. Here, we used virally mediated fluorescent tracers to map the projection from OFC to the auditory midbrain, thalamus, and cortex in a classic animal model for auditory research, the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus). We observed no connectivity between the OFC and the auditory midbrain, and an extremely sparse connection between the dorsolateral OFC and higher order auditory thalamic regions. In contrast, we observed a robust connection between the ventral and medial subdivisions of the OFC and the auditory cortex, with a clear bias for secondary auditory cortical regions. OFC axon terminals were found in all auditory cortical lamina but were significantly more concentrated in the infragranular layers. Tissue-clearing and lightsheet microscopy further revealed that auditory cortical-projecting OFC neurons send extensive axon collaterals throughout the brain, targeting both sensory and non-sensory regions involved in learning, decision-making, and memory. These findings provide a more detailed map of orbitofrontal-auditory connections and shed light on the possible role of the OFC in supporting auditory cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rose Ying
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
- Center for Comparative and Evolutionary Biology of Hearing, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
| | - Lashaka Hamlette
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
| | - Laudan Nikoobakht
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
| | - Rakshita Balaji
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
| | - Nicole Miko
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
| | - Melissa L. Caras
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
- Center for Comparative and Evolutionary Biology of Hearing, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
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Gay JD, Dangcil E, Nacipucha J, Botrous JE, Suresh N, Tucker A, Carayannopoulos NL, Khan MR, Meng R, Yao JD, Wackym PA, Mowery TM. An Animal Model of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Exposure to Light and Sound in the Preterm Infant. Integr Comp Biol 2023; 63:585-596. [PMID: 37164937 PMCID: PMC10503467 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icad020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023] Open
Abstract
According to the World Health Organization, ∼15 million children are born prematurely each year. Many of these infants end up spending days to weeks in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Infants who are born prematurely are often exposed to noise and light levels that affect their auditory and visual development. Children often have long-term impairments in cognition, visuospatial processing, hearing, and language. We have developed a rodent model of NICU exposure to light and sound using the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus), which has a low-frequency human-like audiogram and is altricial. To simulate preterm infancy, the eyes and ears were opened prematurely, and animals were exposed to the NICU-like sensory environment throughout the gerbil's cortical critical period of auditory development. After the animals matured into adults, auditory perceptual testing was carried out followed by auditory brainstem response recordings and then histology to assess the white matter morphology of various brain regions. Compared to normal hearing control animals, NICU sensory-exposed animals had significant impairments in learning at later stages of training, increased auditory thresholds reflecting hearing loss, and smaller cerebellar white matter volumes. These have all been reported in longitudinal studies of preterm infants. These preliminary results suggest that this animal model could provide researchers with an ethical way to explore the effects of the sensory environment in the NICU on the preterm infant's brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer D Gay
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, USA
- Rutgers Brain Health Institute, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Evelynne Dangcil
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Jacqueline Nacipucha
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Jonathon E Botrous
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Nikhil Suresh
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Aaron Tucker
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Nicolas L Carayannopoulos
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Muhammad R Khan
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Raphael Meng
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Justin D Yao
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, USA
- Rutgers Brain Health Institute, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - P Ashley Wackym
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, USA
- Rutgers Brain Health Institute, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Todd M Mowery
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, USA
- Rutgers Brain Health Institute, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
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Taylor JH, Campbell NS, Powell JM, Elliott Albers H, Kelly AM. Distribution of Vasopressin 1a and Oxytocin Receptor Binding in the Basal Forebrain and Midbrain of Male and Female Mongolian Gerbils. Neuroscience 2023; 522:33-41. [PMID: 37172688 PMCID: PMC10330636 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.05.004] [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: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
The nonapeptide system modulates a diversity of social behaviors, including aggression, parental care, affiliation, sexual behavior, and pair bonding. Such social behaviors are regulated through oxytocin and vasopressin activation of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) and vasopressin V1a receptor (AVPR1A) in the brain. Nonapeptide receptor distributions have been mapped for several species, however, studies have demonstrated that there is substantial variation across species. Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) are an excellent organism for studying family dynamics, social development, pair bonding, and territorial aggression. Although an increasing number of studies are examining the neural mechanisms of social behavior in Mongolian gerbils, nonapeptide receptor distributions have yet to be characterized for this species. Here we conducted receptor autoradiography to map distributions of OXTR and AVPR1A binding throughout the basal forebrain and midbrain of female and male Mongolian gerbils. Further, we assessed whether gonadal sex influenced binding densities in brain regions important for social behavior and reward, however, we observed no effects of sex on OXTR or AVPR1A binding densities. These findings provide mapping distributions of nonapeptide receptors in male and female Mongolian gerbils, laying a foundation for future studies that seek to manipulate the nonapeptide system to examine nonapeptide-mediated social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack H Taylor
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Noah S Campbell
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jeanne M Powell
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - H Elliott Albers
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Aubrey M Kelly
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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Yu X, Wang Y. Peripheral Fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein is required for the timely closure of a critical period for neuronal susceptibility in the ventral cochlear nucleus. Front Cell Neurosci 2023; 17:1186630. [PMID: 37305436 PMCID: PMC10248243 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1186630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Alterations in neuronal plasticity and critical periods are common across neurodevelopmental diseases, including Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the leading single-gene cause of autism. Characterized with sensory dysfunction, FXS is the result of gene silencing of Fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein 1 (FMR1) and loss of its product, Fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein (FMRP). The mechanisms underlying altered critical period and sensory dysfunction in FXS are obscure. Here, we performed genetic and surgical deprivation of peripheral auditory inputs in wildtype and Fmr1 knockout (KO) mice across ages and investigated the effects of global FMRP loss on deafferentation-induced neuronal changes in the ventral cochlear nucleus (VCN) and auditory brainstem responses. The degree of neuronal cell loss during the critical period was unchanged in Fmr1 KO mice. However, the closure of the critical period was delayed. Importantly, this delay was temporally coincidental with reduced hearing sensitivity, implying an association with sensory inputs. Functional analyses further identified early-onset and long-lasting alterations in signal transmission from the spiral ganglion to the VCN, suggesting a peripheral site of FMRP action. Finally, we generated conditional Fmr1 KO (cKO) mice with selective deletion of FMRP in spiral ganglion but not VCN neurons. cKO mice recapitulated the delay in the VCN critical period closure in Fmr1 KO mice, confirming an involvement of cochlear FMRP in shaping the temporal features of neuronal critical periods in the brain. Together, these results identify a novel peripheral mechanism of neurodevelopmental pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yuan Wang
- Program in Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL, United States
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Carr CE, Wang T, Kraemer I, Capshaw G, Ashida G, Koeppl C, Kempter R, Kuokkanen PT. Experience-Dependent Plasticity in Nucleus Laminaris of the Barn Owl. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.02.526884. [PMID: 36778252 PMCID: PMC9915572 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.02.526884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Barn owls experience increasing interaural time differences (ITDs) during development, because their head width more than doubles in the month after hatching. We therefore hypothesized that their ITD detection circuit might be modified by experience. To test this, we raised owls with unilateral ear inserts that delayed and attenuated the acoustic signal, then measured the ITD representation in the brainstem nucleus laminaris (NL) when they were adult. The ITD circuit is composed of delay line inputs to coincidence detectors, and we predicted that plastic changes would lead to shorter delays in the axons from the manipulated ear, and complementary shifts in ITD representation on the two sides. In owls that received ear inserts starting around P14, the maps of ITD shifted in the predicted direction, but only on the ipsilateral side, and only in those tonotopic regions that had not experienced auditory stimulation prior to insertion. The contralateral map did not change. Experience-dependent plasticity of the ITD circuit occurs in NL, and our data suggest that ipsilateral and contralateral delays are independently regulated. Thus, altered auditory input during development leads to long-lasting changes in the representation of ITD.
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