A dominance hierarchy of auditory spatial cues in barn owls

Neural representations of concurrent sounds with overlapping spectra in rat inferior colliculus: Comparisons between temporal-fine structure and envelope

Perceptual segregation of multiple sounds, which overlap in both time and spectra, into individual auditory streams is critical for hearing in natural environments. Some cues such as interaural time disparities (ITDs) play an important role in the segregation, especially when sounds are separated in space. In this study, we investigated the neural representation of two uncorrelated narrowband noises that shared the identical spectrum in the rat inferior colliculus (IC) using frequency-following-response (FFR) recordings, when the ITD for each noise stimulus was manipulated. The results of this study showed that recorded FFRs exhibited two distinctive components: the fast-varying temporal fine structure (TFS) component (FFR_TFS) and the slow-varying envelope component (FFR_ENV). When a single narrowband noise was presented alone, the FFR_TFS, but not the FFR_ENV, was sensitive to ITDs. When two narrowband noises were presented simultaneously, the FFR_TFS took advantage of the ITD disparity that was associated with perceived spatial separation between the two concurrent sounds, and displayed a better linear synchronization to the sound with an ipsilateral-leading ITD. However, no effects of ITDs were found on the FFR_ENV. These results suggest that the FFR_TFS and FFR_ENV represent two distinct types of signal processing in the auditory brainstem and contribute differentially to sound segregation based on spatial cues: the FFR_TFS is more critical to spatial release from masking.

Descending control of neural bias and selectivity in a spatial attention network: rules and mechanisms

The brain integrates stimulus-driven (exogenous) activity with internally generated (endogenous) activity to compute the highest priority stimulus for gaze and attention. Little is known about how this computation is accomplished neurally. We explored the underlying functional logic in a critical component of the spatial attention network, the optic tectum (OT, superior colliculus in mammals), in awake barn owls. We found that space-specific endogenous influences, evoked by activating descending forebrain pathways, bias competition among exogenous influences, and substantially enhance the quality of the categorical neural pointer to the highest priority stimulus. These endogenous influences operate across sensory modalities. Biologically grounded modeling revealed that the observed effects on network bias and selectivity require a simple circuit mechanism: endogenously driven gain modulation of feedback inhibition among competing channels. Our findings reveal fundamental principles by which internal and external information combine to guide selection of the next target for gaze and attention.

Acoustic location of conspecifics in a nocturnal bird: the corncrake Crex crex

Although the use of sounds in spatial orientation is widespread among animals, only a few groups advanced such specific adaptations as echolocation. In contrast, practically all animals and night-active species in particular, must occasionally orient themselves relative to invisible but audible objects such as a hidden rival or predator. In this study, I would like to determine the impact of locating which involves the use of acoustic parameters of sender’s vocalisations by receivers and changes of positions and triangulation of sender’s vocalisations by receivers in estimating the distance to the sender during night-time territorial interactions of the corncrake (Crex crex). Males were subjected to two kinds of stimuli: approaching one, imitating the change of the distance of the calling intruder toward the focal male while keeping the direction constant, or stationary stimuli, involving acoustic stimulation with no motion. Although males subjected to approaching stimulation moved longer distances, in both stimuli groups, males moved predominantly toward or out of the playback speaker, and only occasionally made sideway movements. However, the results gave no evidence of corncrakes moving specifically in order to locate the source of the sound; they suggest that males moved toward or away from the already located sound. The fact that males moved longer distances in response to approaching than stationary stimuli indicates that they were able to perceive the change of the distance to the playback speaker based only on structural parameters or amplitude of the calls played.

Behavioral sensitivity to broadband binaural localization cues in the ferret

Although the ferret has become an important model species for studying both fundamental and clinical aspects of spatial hearing, previous behavioral work has focused on studies of sound localization and spatial release from masking in the free field. This makes it difficult to tease apart the role played by different spatial cues. In humans and other species, interaural time differences (ITDs) and interaural level differences (ILDs) play a critical role in sound localization in the azimuthal plane and also facilitate sound source separation in noisy environments. In this study, we used a range of broadband noise stimuli presented via customized earphones to measure ITD and ILD sensitivity in the ferret. Our behavioral data show that ferrets are extremely sensitive to changes in either binaural cue, with levels of performance approximating that found in humans. The measured thresholds were relatively stable despite extensive and prolonged (>16 weeks) testing on ITD and ILD tasks with broadband stimuli. For both cues, sensitivity was reduced at shorter durations. In addition, subtle effects of changing the stimulus envelope were observed on ITD, but not ILD, thresholds. Sensitivity to these cues also differed in other ways. Whereas ILD sensitivity was unaffected by changes in average binaural level or interaural correlation, the same manipulations produced much larger effects on ITD sensitivity, with thresholds declining when either of these parameters was reduced. The binaural sensitivity measured in this study can largely account for the ability of ferrets to localize broadband stimuli in the azimuthal plane. Our results are also broadly consistent with data from humans and confirm the ferret as an excellent experimental model for studying spatial hearing.

A shared inhibitory circuit for both exogenous and endogenous control of stimulus selection

The mechanisms by which the brain suppresses distracting stimuli to control the locus of attention are unknown. We found that focal, reversible inactivation of a single inhibitory circuit in the barn owl midbrain tegmentum, the nucleus isthmi pars magnocellularis (Imc), abolished both stimulus-driven (exogenous) and internally-driven (endogenous) competitive interactions in the optic tectum (superior colliculus in mammals), which are vital to the selection of a target among distracters in behaving animals. Imc neurons transformed spatially precise multisensory and endogenous input into powerful inhibitory output that suppressed competing representations across the entire tectal space map. We identified a small, but highly potent, circuit that is employed by both exogenous and endogenous signals to exert competitive suppression in the midbrain selection network. Our findings reveal, for the first time, a neural mechanism for the construction of a priority map that is critical for the selection of the most important stimulus for gaze and attention.

α6β2* and α4β2* nicotinic acetylcholine receptors as drug targets for Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a debilitating movement disorder characterized by a generalized dysfunction of the nervous system, with a particularly prominent decline in the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway. Although there is currently no cure, drugs targeting the dopaminergic system provide major symptomatic relief. As well, agents directed to other neurotransmitter systems are of therapeutic benefit. Such drugs may act by directly improving functional deficits in these other systems, or they may restore aberrant motor activity that arises as a result of a dopaminergic imbalance. Recent research attention has focused on a role for drugs targeting the nicotinic cholinergic systems. The rationale for such work stems from basic research findings that there is an extensive overlap in the organization and function of the nicotinic cholinergic and dopaminergic systems in the basal ganglia. In addition, nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) drugs could have clinical potential for Parkinson's disease. Evidence for this proposition stems from studies with experimental animal models showing that nicotine protects against neurotoxin-induced nigrostriatal damage and improves motor complications associated with l-DOPA, the "gold standard" for Parkinson's disease treatment. Nicotine interacts with multiple central nervous system receptors to generate therapeutic responses but also produces side effects. It is important therefore to identify the nAChR subtypes most beneficial for treating Parkinson's disease. Here we review nAChRs with particular emphasis on the subtypes that contribute to basal ganglia function. Accumulating evidence suggests that drugs targeting α6β2* and α4β2* nAChR may prove useful in the management of Parkinson's disease.

Signaling of the strongest stimulus in the owl optic tectum

Essential to the selection of the next target for gaze or attention is the ability to compare the strengths of multiple competing stimuli (bottom-up information) and to signal the strongest one. Although the optic tectum (OT) has been causally implicated in stimulus selection, how it computes the strongest stimulus is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that OT neurons in the barn owl systematically encode the relative strengths of simultaneously occurring stimuli independently of sensory modality. Moreover, special "switch-like" responses of a subset of neurons abruptly increase when the stimulus inside their receptive field becomes the strongest one. Such responses are not predicted by responses to single stimuli and, indeed, are eliminated in the absence of competitive interactions. We demonstrate that this sensory transformation substantially boosts the representation of the strongest stimulus by creating a binary discrimination signal, thereby setting the stage for potential winner-take-all target selection for gaze and attention.

Space coding by gamma oscillations in the barn owl optic tectum

Gamma-band (25-140 Hz) oscillations of the local field potential (LFP) are evoked by sensory stimuli in the mammalian forebrain and may be strongly modulated in amplitude when animals attend to these stimuli. The optic tectum (OT) is a midbrain structure known to contribute to multimodal sensory processing, gaze control, and attention. We found that presentation of spatially localized stimuli, either visual or auditory, evoked robust gamma oscillations with distinctive properties in the superficial (visual) layers and in the deep (multimodal) layers of the owl's OT. Across layers, gamma power was tuned sharply for stimulus location and represented space topographically. In the superficial layers, induced LFP power peaked strongly in the low-gamma band (25-90 Hz) and increased gradually with visual contrast across a wide range of contrasts. Spikes recorded in these layers included presumptive axonal (input) spikes that encoded stimulus properties nearly identically with gamma oscillations and were tightly phase locked with the oscillations, suggesting that they contribute to the LFP oscillations. In the deep layers, induced LFP power was distributed across the low and high (90-140 Hz) gamma-bands and tended to reach its maximum value at relatively low visual contrasts. In these layers, gamma power was more sharply tuned for stimulus location, on average, than were somatic spike rates, and somatic spikes synchronized with gamma oscillations. Such gamma synchronized discharges of deep-layer neurons could provide a high-resolution temporal code for signaling the location of salient sensory stimuli.

Stimulus-driven competition in a cholinergic midbrain nucleus

The mechanisms by which the brain selects a particular stimulus as the next target for gaze are poorly understood. A cholinergic nucleus in the owl’s midbrain exhibits functional properties that suggest its role in bottom-up stimulus selection. Neurons in the nucleus isthmi pars parvocellularis (Ipc) respond to wide ranges of visual and auditory features, but they are not tuned to particular values of those features. Instead, they encode the relative strengths of stimuli across the entirety of space. Many neurons exhibit switch-like properties, abruptly increasing their responses to a stimulus in their receptive field when it becomes the strongest stimulus. This information propagates directly to the optic tectum, a structure involved in gaze control and stimulus selection, as periodic (25–50 Hz) bursts of cholinergic activity. The functional properties of Ipc neurons resemble those of a “salience map”, a core component in computational models for spatial attention and gaze control.