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Kraakman B, Solovjova S, Borst JGG, Wong AB. Headplate Installation and Craniotomy for Awake In Vivo Electrophysiological Recordings or Two-Photon Imaging of the Mouse Inferior Colliculus. Bio Protoc 2023; 13:e4902. [PMID: 38156034 PMCID: PMC10751242 DOI: 10.21769/bioprotoc.4902] [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: 08/20/2023] [Revised: 10/29/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The inferior colliculus (IC) is an important processing center in the auditory system, which also receives non-auditory sensory input. The IC consists of several subnuclei whose functional role in (non-) auditory processing and plastic response properties are best approached by studying awake animals, preferably in a longitudinal fashion. The increasing use of mice in auditory research, the availability of genetic models, and the superficial location of the IC in the mouse have made it an attractive species for studying IC function. Here, we describe a protocol for exposing the mouse IC for up to a few weeks for in vivo imaging or electrophysiology in a stable manner. This method allows for a broader sampling of the IC while maintaining the brain surface in good quality and without reopening the craniotomy. Moreover, as it is adaptable for both electrophysiological recordings of the entire IC and imaging of the dorsal IC surface, it can be applied to answer a multitude of questions. Key features • A surgical protocol for long-term physiological recordings from the same or separate neuronal populations in the inferior colliculus. • Optimized for awake in vivo experiments in the house mouse (Mus musculus).
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Affiliation(s)
- Blom Kraakman
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, NL-3015 GD Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Sofja Solovjova
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, NL-3015 GD Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - J. Gerard G. Borst
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, NL-3015 GD Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Aaron B. Wong
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, NL-3015 GD Rotterdam, Netherlands
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2
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Quintela-Vega L, Morado-Díaz CJ, Terreros G, Sánchez JS, Pérez-González D, Malmierca MS. Novelty detection in an auditory oddball task on freely moving rats. Commun Biol 2023; 6:1063. [PMID: 37857812 PMCID: PMC10587131 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05403-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The relative importance or saliency of sensory inputs depend on the animal's environmental context and the behavioural responses to these same inputs can vary over time. Here we show how freely moving rats, trained to discriminate between deviant tones embedded in a regular pattern of repeating stimuli and different variations of the classic oddball paradigm, can detect deviant tones, and this discriminability resembles the properties that are typical of neuronal adaptation described in previous studies. Moreover, the auditory brainstem response (ABR) latency decreases after training, a finding consistent with the notion that animals develop a type of plasticity to auditory stimuli. Our study suggests the existence of a form of long-term memory that may modulate the level of neuronal adaptation according to its behavioural relevance, and sets the ground for future experiments that will help to disentangle the functional mechanisms that govern behavioural habituation and its relation to neuronal adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Quintela-Vega
- Cognitive and Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute of Neuroscience of Castilla y León, Calle Pintor Fernando Gallego 1, 37007, Salamanca, Spain
- The Salamanca Institute for Biomedical Research (IBSAL), 37007, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Camilo J Morado-Díaz
- Cognitive and Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute of Neuroscience of Castilla y León, Calle Pintor Fernando Gallego 1, 37007, Salamanca, Spain
- The Salamanca Institute for Biomedical Research (IBSAL), 37007, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Gonzalo Terreros
- Cognitive and Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute of Neuroscience of Castilla y León, Calle Pintor Fernando Gallego 1, 37007, Salamanca, Spain
- Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad de O´Higgins, Rancagua, Chile
| | - Jazmín S Sánchez
- Cognitive and Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute of Neuroscience of Castilla y León, Calle Pintor Fernando Gallego 1, 37007, Salamanca, Spain
- The Salamanca Institute for Biomedical Research (IBSAL), 37007, Salamanca, Spain
- Department of Biology and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, University of Salamanca, 37007, Salamanca, Spain
| | - David Pérez-González
- Cognitive and Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute of Neuroscience of Castilla y León, Calle Pintor Fernando Gallego 1, 37007, Salamanca, Spain
- The Salamanca Institute for Biomedical Research (IBSAL), 37007, Salamanca, Spain
- Department of Basic Psychology, Psychobiology and Methodology of Behavioural Sciences. Faculty of Psychology, University of Salamanca, 37005, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Manuel S Malmierca
- Cognitive and Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute of Neuroscience of Castilla y León, Calle Pintor Fernando Gallego 1, 37007, Salamanca, Spain.
- The Salamanca Institute for Biomedical Research (IBSAL), 37007, Salamanca, Spain.
- Department of Biology and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, University of Salamanca, 37007, Salamanca, Spain.
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3
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Chen C, Cruces-Solís H, Ertman A, de Hoz L. Subcortical coding of predictable and unsupervised sound-context associations. CURRENT RESEARCH IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2023; 5:100110. [PMID: 38020811 PMCID: PMC10663128 DOI: 10.1016/j.crneur.2023.100110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Our environment is made of a myriad of stimuli present in combinations often patterned in predictable ways. For example, there is a strong association between where we are and the sounds we hear. Like many environmental patterns, sound-context associations are learned implicitly, in an unsupervised manner, and are highly informative and predictive of normality. Yet, we know little about where and how unsupervised sound-context associations are coded in the brain. Here we measured plasticity in the auditory midbrain of mice living over days in an enriched task-less environment in which entering a context triggered sound with different degrees of predictability. Plasticity in the auditory midbrain, a hub of auditory input and multimodal feedback, developed over days and reflected learning of contextual information in a manner that depended on the predictability of the sound-context association and not on reinforcement. Plasticity manifested as an increase in response gain and tuning shift that correlated with a general increase in neuronal frequency discrimination. Thus, the auditory midbrain is sensitive to unsupervised predictable sound-context associations, revealing a subcortical engagement in the detection of contextual sounds. By increasing frequency resolution, this detection might facilitate the processing of behaviorally relevant foreground information described to occur in cortical auditory structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi Chen
- Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences, Göttingen, Germany
- Göttingen Graduate School of Neurosciences and Molecular Biosciences, Germany
- Charité Medical University, Neuroscience Research Center, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hugo Cruces-Solís
- Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences, Göttingen, Germany
- Göttingen Graduate School of Neurosciences and Molecular Biosciences, Germany
| | - Alexandra Ertman
- Charité Medical University, Neuroscience Research Center, Berlin, Germany
- International Graduate Program Medical Neurosciences, Charité Medical University, Berlin, Germany
| | - Livia de Hoz
- Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, Germany
- Charité Medical University, Neuroscience Research Center, Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin, Germany
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4
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Chen C, de Hoz L. The perceptual categorization of multidimensional stimuli is hierarchically organized. iScience 2023; 26:106941. [PMID: 37378341 PMCID: PMC10291468 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
As we interact with our surroundings, we encounter the same or similar objects from different perspectives and are compelled to generalize. For example, despite their variety we recognize dog barks as a distinct sound class. While we have some understanding of generalization along a single stimulus dimension (frequency, color), natural stimuli are identifiable by a combination of dimensions. Measuring their interaction is essential to understand perception. Using a 2-dimension discrimination task for mice and frequency or amplitude modulated sounds, we tested untrained generalization across pairs of auditory dimensions in an automatized behavioral paradigm. We uncovered a perceptual hierarchy over the tested dimensions that was dominated by the sound's spectral composition. Stimuli are thus not perceived as a whole, but as a combination of their features, each of which weights differently on the identification of the stimulus according to an established hierarchy, possibly paralleling their differential shaping of neuronal tuning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi Chen
- Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences, Göttingen, Germany
- Göttingen Graduate School of Neurosciences and Molecular Biosciences, Göttingen, Germany
- Neuroscience Research Center, Charité Medical University, Berlin, Germany
| | - Livia de Hoz
- Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany
- Neuroscience Research Center, Charité Medical University, Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin, Germany
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5
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Shadron K, Peña JL. Development of frequency tuning shaped by spatial cue reliability in the barn owl's auditory midbrain. eLife 2023; 12:e84760. [PMID: 37166099 PMCID: PMC10238092 DOI: 10.7554/elife.84760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Sensory systems preferentially strengthen responses to stimuli based on their reliability at conveying accurate information. While previous reports demonstrate that the brain reweighs cues based on dynamic changes in reliability, how the brain may learn and maintain neural responses to sensory statistics expected to be stable over time is unknown. The barn owl's midbrain features a map of auditory space where neurons compute horizontal sound location from the interaural time difference (ITD). Frequency tuning of midbrain map neurons correlates with the most reliable frequencies for the neurons' preferred ITD (Cazettes et al., 2014). Removal of the facial ruff led to a specific decrease in the reliability of high frequencies from frontal space. To directly test whether permanent changes in ITD reliability drive frequency tuning, midbrain map neurons were recorded from adult owls, with the facial ruff removed during development, and juvenile owls, before facial ruff development. In both groups, frontally tuned neurons were tuned to frequencies lower than in normal adult owls, consistent with the change in ITD reliability. In addition, juvenile owls exhibited more heterogeneous frequency tuning, suggesting normal developmental processes refine tuning to match ITD reliability. These results indicate causality of long-term statistics of spatial cues in the development of midbrain frequency tuning properties, implementing probabilistic coding for sound localization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keanu Shadron
- Dominick P Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of MedicineBronxUnited States
| | - José Luis Peña
- Dominick P Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of MedicineBronxUnited States
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6
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McAlpine D, de Hoz L. Listening loops and the adapting auditory brain. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1081295. [PMID: 37008228 PMCID: PMC10060829 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1081295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Analysing complex auditory scenes depends in part on learning the long-term statistical structure of sounds comprising those scenes. One way in which the listening brain achieves this is by analysing the statistical structure of acoustic environments over multiple time courses and separating background from foreground sounds. A critical component of this statistical learning in the auditory brain is the interplay between feedforward and feedback pathways—“listening loops”—connecting the inner ear to higher cortical regions and back. These loops are likely important in setting and adjusting the different cadences over which learned listening occurs through adaptive processes that tailor neural responses to sound environments that unfold over seconds, days, development, and the life-course. Here, we posit that exploring listening loops at different scales of investigation—from in vivo recording to human assessment—their role in detecting different timescales of regularity, and the consequences this has for background detection, will reveal the fundamental processes that transform hearing into the essential task of listening.
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Affiliation(s)
- David McAlpine
- Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- *Correspondence: David McAlpine,
| | - Livia de Hoz
- Neuroscience Research Center, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin, Germany
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7
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Barkus C, Bergmann C, Branco T, Carandini M, Chadderton PT, Galiñanes GL, Gilmour G, Huber D, Huxter JR, Khan AG, King AJ, Maravall M, O'Mahony T, Ragan CI, Robinson ESJ, Schaefer AT, Schultz SR, Sengpiel F, Prescott MJ. Refinements to rodent head fixation and fluid/food control for neuroscience. J Neurosci Methods 2022; 381:109705. [PMID: 36096238 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2022.109705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The use of head fixation in mice is increasingly common in research, its use having initially been restricted to the field of sensory neuroscience. Head restraint has often been combined with fluid control, rather than food restriction, to motivate behaviour, but this too is now in use for both restrained and non-restrained animals. Despite this, there is little guidance on how best to employ these techniques to optimise both scientific outcomes and animal welfare. This article summarises current practices and provides recommendations to improve animal wellbeing and data quality, based on a survey of the community, literature reviews, and the expert opinion and practical experience of an international working group convened by the UK's National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs). Topics covered include head fixation surgery and post-operative care, habituation to restraint, and the use of fluid/food control to motivate performance. We also discuss some recent developments that may offer alternative ways to collect data from large numbers of behavioural trials without the need for restraint. The aim is to provide support for researchers at all levels, animal care staff, and ethics committees to refine procedures and practices in line with the refinement principle of the 3Rs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris Barkus
- National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), London, UK.
| | | | - Tiago Branco
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, University College London, London, UK
| | - Matteo Carandini
- Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Paul T Chadderton
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | | | | | - Daniel Huber
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | - Adil G Khan
- Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Andrew J King
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Miguel Maravall
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Tina O'Mahony
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, University College London, London, UK
| | - C Ian Ragan
- National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), London, UK
| | - Emma S J Robinson
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Andreas T Schaefer
- Sensory Circuits and Neurotechnology Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK; Department of Neuroscience, Physiology & Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Simon R Schultz
- Centre for Neurotechnology and Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | | | - Mark J Prescott
- National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), London, UK
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8
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Moore S, Meschkat M, Ruhwedel T, Trevisiol A, Tzvetanova ID, Battefeld A, Kusch K, Kole MHP, Strenzke N, Möbius W, de Hoz L, Nave KA. A role of oligodendrocytes in information processing. Nat Commun 2020; 11:5497. [PMID: 33127910 PMCID: PMC7599337 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19152-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Myelinating oligodendrocytes enable fast propagation of action potentials along the ensheathed axons. In addition, oligodendrocytes play diverse non-canonical roles including axonal metabolic support and activity-dependent myelination. An open question remains whether myelination also contributes to information processing in addition to speeding up conduction velocity. Here, we analyze the role of myelin in auditory information processing using paradigms that are also good predictors of speech understanding in humans. We compare mice with different degrees of dysmyelination using acute multiunit recordings in the auditory cortex, in combination with behavioral readouts. We find complex alterations of neuronal responses that reflect fatigue and temporal acuity deficits. We observe partially discriminable but similar deficits in well myelinated mice in which glial cells cannot fully support axons metabolically. We suggest a model in which myelination contributes to sustained stimulus perception in temporally complex paradigms, with a role of metabolically active oligodendrocytes in cortical information processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharlen Moore
- Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences, Göttingen, Germany
- Göttingen Graduate Center for Neurosciences, Biophysics and Molecular Biosciences, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
| | - Martin Meschkat
- Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany
- Center for Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Torben Ruhwedel
- Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Andrea Trevisiol
- Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany
- Sunnybrook Research Institute, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Canada
| | - Iva D Tzvetanova
- Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany
- Section of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, European University Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Arne Battefeld
- Department of Axonal Signaling, Netherlands Institute for Neurosciences, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Kathrin Kusch
- Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Maarten H P Kole
- Department of Axonal Signaling, Netherlands Institute for Neurosciences, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Biophysics, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Nicola Strenzke
- Institute for Auditory Neuroscience, University Medical Center, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Wiebke Möbius
- Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany
- Center for Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Livia de Hoz
- Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany.
- Charité Medical University, Neuroscience Research Center, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Klaus-Armin Nave
- Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany
- Center for Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain, Göttingen, Germany
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9
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Logerot P, Smith PF, Wild M, Kubke MF. Auditory processing in the zebra finch midbrain: single unit responses and effect of rearing experience. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9363. [PMID: 32775046 PMCID: PMC7384439 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2019] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In birds the auditory system plays a key role in providing the sensory input used to discriminate between conspecific and heterospecific vocal signals. In those species that are known to learn their vocalizations, for example, songbirds, it is generally considered that this ability arises and is manifest in the forebrain, although there is no a priori reason why brainstem components of the auditory system could not also play an important part. To test this assumption, we used groups of normal reared and cross-fostered zebra finches that had previously been shown in behavioural experiments to reduce their preference for conspecific songs subsequent to cross fostering experience with Bengalese finches, a related species with a distinctly different song. The question we asked, therefore, is whether this experiential change also changes the bias in favour of conspecific song displayed by auditory midbrain units of normally raised zebra finches. By recording the responses of single units in MLd to a variety of zebra finch and Bengalese finch songs in both normally reared and cross-fostered zebra finches, we provide a positive answer to this question. That is, the difference in response to conspecific and heterospecific songs seen in normal reared zebra finches is reduced following cross-fostering. In birds the virtual absence of mammalian-like cortical projections upon auditory brainstem nuclei argues against the interpretation that MLd units change, as observed in the present experiments, as a result of top-down influences on sensory processing. Instead, it appears that MLd units can be influenced significantly by sensory inputs arising directly from a change in auditory experience during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscilla Logerot
- Anatomy and Medical Imaging, University of Auckland, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Paul F. Smith
- Dept. of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Biomedical Sciences, Brain Health Research Centre, Brain Research New Zealand, and Eisdell Moore Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Martin Wild
- Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Eisdell Moore Centre, University of Auckland, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - M. Fabiana Kubke
- Anatomy and Medical Imaging, Centre for Brain Research and Eisdell Moore Centre, University of Auckland, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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10
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Maor I, Shwartz-Ziv R, Feigin L, Elyada Y, Sompolinsky H, Mizrahi A. Neural Correlates of Learning Pure Tones or Natural Sounds in the Auditory Cortex. Front Neural Circuits 2020; 13:82. [PMID: 32047424 PMCID: PMC6997498 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2019.00082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Associative learning of pure tones is known to cause tonotopic map expansion in the auditory cortex (ACx), but the function this plasticity sub-serves is unclear. We developed an automated training platform called the “Educage,” which was used to train mice on a go/no-go auditory discrimination task to their perceptual limits, for difficult discriminations among pure tones or natural sounds. Spiking responses of excitatory and inhibitory parvalbumin (PV+) L2/3 neurons in mouse ACx revealed learning-induced overrepresentation of the learned frequencies, as expected from previous literature. The coordinated plasticity of excitatory and inhibitory neurons supports a role for PV+ neurons in homeostatic maintenance of excitation–inhibition balance within the circuit. Using a novel computational model to study auditory tuning curves, we show that overrepresentation of the learned tones does not necessarily improve discrimination performance of the network to these tones. In a separate set of experiments, we trained mice to discriminate among natural sounds. Perceptual learning of natural sounds induced “sparsening” and decorrelation of the neural response, consequently improving discrimination of these complex sounds. This signature of plasticity in A1 highlights its role in coding natural sounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ido Maor
- Department of Neurobiology, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.,The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ravid Shwartz-Ziv
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Libi Feigin
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Yishai Elyada
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Haim Sompolinsky
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.,The Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Adi Mizrahi
- Department of Neurobiology, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.,The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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11
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Wide sensory filters underlie performance in memory-based discrimination and generalization. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0214817. [PMID: 30998708 PMCID: PMC6472767 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0214817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2018] [Accepted: 03/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The way animals respond to a stimulus depends largely on an internal comparison between the current sensation and the memory of previous stimuli and outcomes. We know little about the accuracy with which the physical properties of the stimuli influence this type of memory-based discriminative decisions. Research has focused largely on discriminations between stimuli presented in quick succession, where animals can make relative inferences (same or different; higher or lower) from trial to trial. In the current study we used a memory-based task to explore how the stimulus’ physical properties, in this case tone frequency, affect auditory discrimination and generalization in mice. Mice performed ad libitum while living in groups in their home quarters. We found that the frequency distance between safe and conditioned sounds had a constraining effect on discrimination. As the safe-to-conditioned distance decreased across groups, performance deteriorated rapidly, even for frequency differences significantly larger than reported discrimination thresholds. Generalization width was influenced both by the physical distance and the previous experience of the mice, and was not accompanied by a decrease in sensory acuity. In conclusion, memory-based discriminations along a single stimulus dimension are inherently hard, reflecting a high overlap between the memory traces of the relevant stimuli. Memory-based discriminations rely therefore on wide sensory filters.
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12
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IgSF9b regulates anxiety behaviors through effects on centromedial amygdala inhibitory synapses. Nat Commun 2018; 9:5400. [PMID: 30573727 PMCID: PMC6302093 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07762-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2018] [Accepted: 11/21/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Abnormalities in synaptic inhibition play a critical role in psychiatric disorders, and accordingly, it is essential to understand the molecular mechanisms linking components of the inhibitory postsynapse to psychiatrically relevant neural circuits and behaviors. Here we study the role of IgSF9b, an adhesion protein that has been associated with affective disorders, in the amygdala anxiety circuitry. We show that deletion of IgSF9b normalizes anxiety-related behaviors and neural processing in mice lacking the synapse organizer Neuroligin-2 (Nlgn2), which was proposed to complex with IgSF9b. This normalization occurs through differential effects of Nlgn2 and IgSF9b at inhibitory synapses in the basal and centromedial amygdala (CeM), respectively. Moreover, deletion of IgSF9b in the CeM of adult Nlgn2 knockout mice has a prominent anxiolytic effect. Our data place IgSF9b as a key regulator of inhibition in the amygdala and indicate that IgSF9b-expressing synapses in the CeM may represent a target for anxiolytic therapies. IgSF9b is a synaptic adhesion protein that has been linked to psychiatric disorders. Here the authors show that deletion of IgSF9b regulates anxiety-like behaviour in mice by increasing inhibitory synaptic transmission in the centromedial amygdala.
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Neurod1 Is Essential for the Primary Tonotopic Organization and Related Auditory Information Processing in the Midbrain. J Neurosci 2018; 39:984-1004. [PMID: 30541910 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2557-18.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2018] [Revised: 11/17/2018] [Accepted: 12/05/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Hearing depends on extracting frequency, intensity, and temporal properties from sound to generate an auditory map for acoustical signal processing. How physiology intersects with molecular specification to fine tune the developing properties of the auditory system that enable these aspects remains unclear. We made a novel conditional deletion model that eliminates the transcription factor NEUROD1 exclusively in the ear. These mice (both sexes) develop a truncated frequency range with no neuroanatomically recognizable mapping of spiral ganglion neurons onto distinct locations in the cochlea nor a cochleotopic map presenting topographically discrete projections to the cochlear nuclei. The disorganized primary cochleotopic map alters tuning properties of the inferior colliculus units, which display abnormal frequency, intensity, and temporal sound coding. At the behavioral level, animals show alterations in the acoustic startle response, consistent with altered neuroanatomical and physiological properties. We demonstrate that absence of the primary afferent topology during embryonic development leads to dysfunctional tonotopy of the auditory system. Such effects have never been investigated in other sensory systems because of the lack of comparable single gene mutation models.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT All sensory systems form a topographical map of neuronal projections from peripheral sensory organs to the brain. Neuronal projections in the auditory pathway are cochleotopically organized, providing a tonotopic map of sound frequencies. Primary sensory maps typically arise by molecular cues, requiring physiological refinements. Past work has demonstrated physiologic plasticity in many senses without ever molecularly undoing the specific mapping of an entire primary sensory projection. We genetically manipulated primary auditory neurons to generate a scrambled cochleotopic projection. Eliminating tonotopic representation to auditory nuclei demonstrates the inability of physiological processes to restore a tonotopic presentation of sound in the midbrain. Our data provide the first insights into the limits of physiology-mediated brainstem plasticity during the development of the auditory system.
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