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Lenschow C, Mendes ARP, Lima SQ. Hearing, touching, and multisensory integration during mate choice. Front Neural Circuits 2022; 16:943888. [PMID: 36247731 PMCID: PMC9559228 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2022.943888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Mate choice is a potent generator of diversity and a fundamental pillar for sexual selection and evolution. Mate choice is a multistage affair, where complex sensory information and elaborate actions are used to identify, scrutinize, and evaluate potential mating partners. While widely accepted that communication during mate assessment relies on multimodal cues, most studies investigating the mechanisms controlling this fundamental behavior have restricted their focus to the dominant sensory modality used by the species under examination, such as vision in humans and smell in rodents. However, despite their undeniable importance for the initial recognition, attraction, and approach towards a potential mate, other modalities gain relevance as the interaction progresses, amongst which are touch and audition. In this review, we will: (1) focus on recent findings of how touch and audition can contribute to the evaluation and choice of mating partners, and (2) outline our current knowledge regarding the neuronal circuits processing touch and audition (amongst others) in the context of mate choice and ask (3) how these neural circuits are connected to areas that have been studied in the light of multisensory integration.
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2
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Baker CA, McKellar C, Pang R, Nern A, Dorkenwald S, Pacheco DA, Eckstein N, Funke J, Dickson BJ, Murthy M. Neural network organization for courtship-song feature detection in Drosophila. Curr Biol 2022; 32:3317-3333.e7. [PMID: 35793679 PMCID: PMC9378594 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Animals communicate using sounds in a wide range of contexts, and auditory systems must encode behaviorally relevant acoustic features to drive appropriate reactions. How feature detection emerges along auditory pathways has been difficult to solve due to challenges in mapping the underlying circuits and characterizing responses to behaviorally relevant features. Here, we study auditory activity in the Drosophila melanogaster brain and investigate feature selectivity for the two main modes of fly courtship song, sinusoids and pulse trains. We identify 24 new cell types of the intermediate layers of the auditory pathway, and using a new connectomic resource, FlyWire, we map all synaptic connections between these cell types, in addition to connections to known early and higher-order auditory neurons-this represents the first circuit-level map of the auditory pathway. We additionally determine the sign (excitatory or inhibitory) of most synapses in this auditory connectome. We find that auditory neurons display a continuum of preferences for courtship song modes and that neurons with different song-mode preferences and response timescales are highly interconnected in a network that lacks hierarchical structure. Nonetheless, we find that the response properties of individual cell types within the connectome are predictable from their inputs. Our study thus provides new insights into the organization of auditory coding within the Drosophila brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christa A Baker
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Claire McKellar
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA; Janelia Research Campus, HHMI, Ashburn, VA, USA
| | - Rich Pang
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | | | - Sven Dorkenwald
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA; Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Diego A Pacheco
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Nils Eckstein
- Janelia Research Campus, HHMI, Ashburn, VA, USA; Institute of Neuroinformatics UZH/ETHZ, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jan Funke
- Janelia Research Campus, HHMI, Ashburn, VA, USA
| | | | - Mala Murthy
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
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3
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Burke K, Ohman KA, Manohar S, Dent ML. Blast trauma affects production and perception of mouse ultrasonic vocalizations. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 151:817. [PMID: 35232087 PMCID: PMC8817783 DOI: 10.1121/10.0009359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2021] [Revised: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Blast trauma from explosions affects hearing and communication in a significant proportion of soldiers. Many veterans report difficulty communicating, especially in noisy and reverberant environments, which contributes to complex mental health problems including anxiety and depression. However, the relationship between communication and perceptual problems after a blast has received little scientific attention. In the current studies, the effects of blast trauma on the production and perception of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) by CBA/CaJ mice, a common animal model for hearing and communication disorders, was explored. Overall, mice change the total number of vocalizations, the proportion produced of each syllable category, and the peak frequency, bandwidth, and duration of their vocalizations after blast exposure. Further, the perception of USVs is affected after blast trauma, with an immediate worsening of detection for most USV categories in the first 1-5 days after blasts, which later recovers. This study is the first to examine changes in the production and perception of communication signals after blast traumas in mice and is an important step towards developing treatments for blast-induced hearing and communication disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kali Burke
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260, USA
| | - Kathleen A Ohman
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260, USA
| | - Senthilvelan Manohar
- Center for Hearing and Deafness and Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260, USA
| | - Micheal L Dent
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260, USA
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Montes-Lourido P, Kar M, David SV, Sadagopan S. Neuronal selectivity to complex vocalization features emerges in the superficial layers of primary auditory cortex. PLoS Biol 2021; 19:e3001299. [PMID: 34133413 PMCID: PMC8238193 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Early in auditory processing, neural responses faithfully reflect acoustic input. At higher stages of auditory processing, however, neurons become selective for particular call types, eventually leading to specialized regions of cortex that preferentially process calls at the highest auditory processing stages. We previously proposed that an intermediate step in how nonselective responses are transformed into call-selective responses is the detection of informative call features. But how neural selectivity for informative call features emerges from nonselective inputs, whether feature selectivity gradually emerges over the processing hierarchy, and how stimulus information is represented in nonselective and feature-selective populations remain open question. In this study, using unanesthetized guinea pigs (GPs), a highly vocal and social rodent, as an animal model, we characterized the neural representation of calls in 3 auditory processing stages-the thalamus (ventral medial geniculate body (vMGB)), and thalamorecipient (L4) and superficial layers (L2/3) of primary auditory cortex (A1). We found that neurons in vMGB and A1 L4 did not exhibit call-selective responses and responded throughout the call durations. However, A1 L2/3 neurons showed high call selectivity with about a third of neurons responding to only 1 or 2 call types. These A1 L2/3 neurons only responded to restricted portions of calls suggesting that they were highly selective for call features. Receptive fields of these A1 L2/3 neurons showed complex spectrotemporal structures that could underlie their high call feature selectivity. Information theoretic analysis revealed that in A1 L4, stimulus information was distributed over the population and was spread out over the call durations. In contrast, in A1 L2/3, individual neurons showed brief bursts of high stimulus-specific information and conveyed high levels of information per spike. These data demonstrate that a transformation in the neural representation of calls occurs between A1 L4 and A1 L2/3, leading to the emergence of a feature-based representation of calls in A1 L2/3. Our data thus suggest that observed cortical specializations for call processing emerge in A1 and set the stage for further mechanistic studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilar Montes-Lourido
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Manaswini Kar
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Stephen V. David
- Department of Otolaryngology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, United States of America
| | - Srivatsun Sadagopan
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
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5
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Boulanger-Bertolus J, Mouly AM. Ultrasonic Vocalizations Emission across Development in Rats: Coordination with Respiration and Impact on Brain Neural Dynamics. Brain Sci 2021; 11:616. [PMID: 34064825 PMCID: PMC8150956 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11050616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Rats communicate using ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) throughout their life when confronted with emotionally stimulating situations, either negative or positive. The context of USV emission and the psychoacoustic characteristics of the vocalizations change greatly between infancy and adulthood. Importantly, the production of USV is tightly coordinated with respiration, and respiratory rhythm is known to influence brain activity and cognitive functions. This review goes through the acoustic characteristics and mechanisms of production of USV both in infant and adult rats and emphasizes the tight relationships that exist between USV emission and respiration throughout the rat's development. It further describes how USV emission and respiration collectively affect brain oscillatory activities. We discuss the possible association of USV emission with emotional memory processes and point out several avenues of research on USV that are currently overlooked and could fill gaps in our knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Boulanger-Bertolus
- Department of Anesthesiology, Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5048, USA
| | - Anne-Marie Mouly
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR 5292, University Lyon 1, 69366 Lyon, France
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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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7
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Gourévitch B, Mahrt EJ, Bakay W, Elde C, Portfors CV. GABA A receptors contribute more to rate than temporal coding in the IC of awake mice. J Neurophysiol 2020; 123:134-148. [PMID: 31721644 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00377.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Speech is our most important form of communication, yet we have a poor understanding of how communication sounds are processed by the brain. Mice make great model organisms to study neural processing of communication sounds because of their rich repertoire of social vocalizations and because they have brain structures analogous to humans, such as the auditory midbrain nucleus inferior colliculus (IC). Although the combined roles of GABAergic and glycinergic inhibition on vocalization selectivity in the IC have been studied to a limited degree, the discrete contributions of GABAergic inhibition have only rarely been examined. In this study, we examined how GABAergic inhibition contributes to shaping responses to pure tones as well as selectivity to complex sounds in the IC of awake mice. In our set of long-latency neurons, we found that GABAergic inhibition extends the evoked firing rate range of IC neurons by lowering the baseline firing rate but maintaining the highest probability of firing rate. GABAergic inhibition also prevented IC neurons from bursting in a spontaneous state. Finally, we found that although GABAergic inhibition shaped the spectrotemporal response to vocalizations in a nonlinear fashion, it did not affect the neural code needed to discriminate vocalizations, based either on spiking patterns or on firing rate. Overall, our results emphasize that even if GABAergic inhibition generally decreases the firing rate, it does so while maintaining or extending the abilities of neurons in the IC to code the wide variety of sounds that mammals are exposed to in their daily lives.NEW & NOTEWORTHY GABAergic inhibition adds nonlinearity to neuronal response curves. This increases the neuronal range of evoked firing rate by reducing baseline firing. GABAergic inhibition prevents bursting responses from neurons in a spontaneous state, reducing noise in the temporal coding of the neuron. This could result in improved signal transmission to the cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris Gourévitch
- Institut de l'Audition, Institut Pasteur, INSERM, Sorbonne Université, F-75012 Paris, France.,CNRS, France
| | - Elena J Mahrt
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Vancouver, Washington
| | - Warren Bakay
- Institut de l'Audition, Institut Pasteur, INSERM, Sorbonne Université, F-75012 Paris, France
| | - Cameron Elde
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Vancouver, Washington
| | - Christine V Portfors
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Vancouver, Washington
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8
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Garrett A, Lannigan V, Yates NJ, Rodger J, Mulders W. Physiological and anatomical investigation of the auditory brainstem in the Fat-tailed dunnart ( Sminthopsis crassicaudata). PeerJ 2019; 7:e7773. [PMID: 31592349 PMCID: PMC6776069 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Accepted: 08/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The fat-tailed dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata) is a small (10–20 g) native marsupial endemic to the south west of Western Australia. Currently little is known about the auditory capabilities of the dunnart, and of marsupials in general. Consequently, this study sought to investigate several electrophysiological and anatomical properties of the dunnart auditory system. Auditory brainstem responses (ABR) were recorded to brief (5 ms) tone pips at a range of frequencies (4–47.5 kHz) and intensities to determine auditory brainstem thresholds. The dunnart ABR displayed multiple distinct peaks at all test frequencies, similar to other mammalian species. ABR showed the dunnart is most sensitive to higher frequencies increasing up to 47.5 kHz. Morphological observations (Nissl stain) revealed that the auditory structures thought to contribute to the first peaks of the ABR were all distinguishable in the dunnart. Structures identified include the dorsal and ventral subdivisions of the cochlear nucleus, including a cochlear nerve root nucleus as well as several distinct nuclei in the superior olivary complex, such as the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body, lateral superior olive and medial superior olive. This study is the first to show functional and anatomical aspects of the lower part of the auditory system in the Fat-tailed dunnart.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Garrett
- Department of Systems Neuroscience, J.F.B. Institute für Zoologie und Anthropologie, Universität Göttingen, Germany
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Virginia Lannigan
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
- School of Human Sciences, M311, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Nathanael J. Yates
- School of Human Sciences, M311, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
- The Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jennifer Rodger
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
- School of Human Sciences, M311, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Wilhelmina Mulders
- School of Human Sciences, M311, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
- Ear Science Institute Australia, Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia
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Yin TC, Smith PH, Joris PX. Neural Mechanisms of Binaural Processing in the Auditory Brainstem. Compr Physiol 2019; 9:1503-1575. [DOI: 10.1002/cphy.c180036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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10
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Zaytseva AS, Volodin IA, Ilchenko OG, Volodina EV. Ultrasonic vocalization of pup and adult fat-tailed gerbils (Pachyuromys duprasi). PLoS One 2019; 14:e0219749. [PMID: 31356642 PMCID: PMC6663002 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) of laboratory rodents indicate animal emotional arousal and may serve as models of human disorders. We analysed spectrographically USV calls of pup and adult fat-tailed gerbils Pachyuromys duprasi during 420-s tests, including isolation, touch and handling. Based on combination of six different USV syllable contour shapes and six different note compositions, we classified 782 USV syllables of 24 pups aged 5-10 days to 18 types and 232 syllables of 7 adults to 24 types. Pups and adults shared 16 of these 26 USV types. Percentages of USV syllables with certain contour shapes differed between pups and adults. The contour shape and note composition significantly affected most acoustic variables of USV syllables in either pups or adults. The 1-note USV syllables were most common in either pups or adults. Pup USV syllables were overall longer and higher-frequency than adult ones, reminiscent of the USV ontogenetic pathway of bats and distinctive to rats and mice. We discuss that the USV syllable types of fat-tailed gerbils were generally similar in contour shapes and note compositions with USV syllable types of mice and rats, what means that software developed for automated classifying of mice ultrasound might be easily adapted or re-tuned to gerbil USV calls. However, using fat-tailed gerbils as model for biomedical research including control of USV vocalization is only possible since 6th day of pup life, because of the delayed emergence of USV calls in ontogeny of this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra S. Zaytseva
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Scientific Research Department, Moscow Zoo, Moscow, Russia
| | - Ilya A. Volodin
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Scientific Research Department, Moscow Zoo, Moscow, Russia
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Kobrina A, Dent ML. The effects of age and sex on the detection of pure tones by adult CBA/CaJ mice (Mus musculus). J Neurosci Res 2019; 98:1731-1744. [PMID: 31304616 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2019] [Revised: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 06/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a gradual decrease in hearing sensitivity. Previous electrophysiological and behavioral studies have demonstrated that the CBA/CaJ mouse strain is an appropriate model for the late-onset hearing loss found in humans. However, few studies have characterized hearing in these mice behaviorally using longitudinal methodologies. The goal of this research was to utilize a longitudinal design and operant conditioning procedures with positive reinforcement to construct audiograms and temporal integration functions in aging CBA/CaJ mice. In the first experiment, thresholds were collected for 8, 16, 24, 42, and 64 kHz pure tones in 30 male and 35 female CBA/CaJ mice. Similar to humans, mice had higher thresholds for high frequency tones than for low frequency pure tones across the lifespan. Female mice had better hearing acuity than males after 645 days of age. In the second experiment, temporal integration functions were constructed for 18 male and 18 female mice for 16 and 64 kHz tones varying in duration. Mice showed an increase in thresholds for tones shorter than 200 ms, reaching peak performance at shorter durations than other rodent species. Overall, CBA/CaJ mice experience ARHL for pure tones of different frequencies and durations, making them a good model for studies on hearing loss. These findings highlight the importance of using a wide range of stimuli and a longitudinal design when comparing presbycusis across different species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Micheal L Dent
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo SUNY, Buffalo, New York
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12
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New Insights from 22-kHz Ultrasonic Vocalizations to Characterize Fear Responses: Relationship with Respiration and Brain Oscillatory Dynamics. eNeuro 2019; 6:ENEURO.0065-19.2019. [PMID: 31064837 PMCID: PMC6506822 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0065-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 02/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Fear behavior depends on interactions between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the basolateral amygdala (BLA), and the expression of fear involves synchronized activity in θ and γ oscillatory activities. In addition, freezing, the most classical measure of fear response in rodents, temporally coincides with the development of sustained 4-Hz oscillations in prefrontal-amygdala circuits. Interestingly, these oscillations were recently shown to depend on the animal’s respiratory rhythm, supporting the growing body of evidence pinpointing the influence of nasal breathing on brain rhythms. During fearful states, rats also emit 22-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) which drastically affect respiratory rhythm. However, the relationship between 22-kHz USV, respiration, and brain oscillatory activities is still unknown. Yet such information is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of how the different components of fear response collectively modulate rat’s brain neural dynamics. Here, we trained male rats in an odor fear conditioning task, while recording simultaneously local field potentials (LFPs) in BLA, mPFC, and olfactory piriform cortex (PIR), together with USV calls and respiration. We show that USV calls coincide with an increase in delta and gamma power and a decrease in theta power. In addition, during USV emission in contrast to silent freezing, there is no coupling between respiratory rate and delta frequency, and the modulation of fast oscillations amplitude relative to the phase of respiration is modified. We propose that sequences of USV calls could result in a differential gating of information within the network of structures sustaining fear behavior, thus potentially modulating fear expression/memory.
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13
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Nomoto K, Ikumi M, Otsuka M, Asaba A, Kato M, Koshida N, Mogi K, Kikusui T. Female mice exhibit both sexual and social partner preferences for vocalizing males. Integr Zool 2019; 13:735-744. [PMID: 30019858 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Acoustic signals are widely used as courtship signals in the animal kingdom. It has long been known that male mice emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in the presence of female mice or in response to female secretions. This observation led to the hypothesis that male USVs play a role in courtship behavior. Although previous studies showed that female mice have a social partner preference for vocalizing males, it is not known if they exhibit a sexual partner preference when given a choice. To address this issue, we examined the copulatory behaviors of female mice with either devocalized males (with or without the playback of the USVs) or sham-operated males in 2 different behavioral paradigms: the no-choice paradigm in the home cage of a male mouse (without choice of mating partners) or the mate-choice paradigm in a 3-chambered apparatus (with choice of mating partners). In the no-choice paradigm, female mice exhibited comparable sexual receptivity with sham-operated and devocalized males. In addition, we found that female mice showed more approach behavior towards devocalized males when male USVs were played back. In the mate-choice paradigm, female mice visited more frequently and stayed longer with sham-operated than devocalized males. Furthermore, we showed that female mice received more intromissions from sham-operated males than devocalized males. In summary, our results suggested that, although female mice can copulate equally with both devocalized and vocalizing males when given no choice of mating partner, female mice exhibit both sexual and social partner preferences for vocalizing males in the mate-choice paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kensaku Nomoto
- Companion Animal Research Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Mayu Ikumi
- Companion Animal Research Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Monami Otsuka
- Companion Animal Research Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Akari Asaba
- Companion Animal Research Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University, Kanagawa, Japan
| | | | - Nobuyoshi Koshida
- Graduate School of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazutaka Mogi
- Companion Animal Research Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Takefumi Kikusui
- Companion Animal Research Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University, Kanagawa, Japan
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14
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Burke K, Screven LA, Dent ML. CBA/CaJ mouse ultrasonic vocalizations depend on prior social experience. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0197774. [PMID: 29874248 PMCID: PMC5991354 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2018] [Accepted: 05/08/2018] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Mouse ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) have variable spectrotemporal features, which researchers use to parse them into different categories. USVs may be important for communication, but it is unclear whether the categories that researchers have developed are relevant to the mice. Instead, other properties such as the number, rate, peak frequency, or bandwidth of the vocalizations may be important cues that the mice are using to interpret the nature of the social interaction. To investigate this, a comprehensive catalog of the USVs that mice are producing across different social contexts must be created. Forty male and female adult CBA/CaJ mice were recorded in isolation for five minutes following either a one-hour period of isolation or an exposure to a same- or opposite-sex mouse. Vocalizations were separated into nine categories based on the frequency composition of each USV. Additionally, USVs were quantified based on the bandwidth, duration, peak frequency, total number, and proportion of vocalizations produced. Results indicate that mice differentially produce their vocalizations across social encounters. There were significant differences in the number of USVs that mice produce across exposure conditions, the proportional probability of producing the different categories of USVs across sex and conditions, and the features of the USVs across conditions. In sum, there are sex-specific differences in production of USVs by laboratory mice, and prior social experiences matter for vocalization production. Furthermore, this study provides critical evidence that female mice probably produce vocalizations in opposite-sex interactions, which is important because this is an often overlooked variable in mouse communication research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kali Burke
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, New York, United States of America
| | - Laurel A. Screven
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, New York, United States of America
| | - Micheal L. Dent
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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15
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Felix RA, Gourévitch B, Portfors CV. Subcortical pathways: Towards a better understanding of auditory disorders. Hear Res 2018; 362:48-60. [PMID: 29395615 PMCID: PMC5911198 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2018.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2017] [Revised: 12/11/2017] [Accepted: 01/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Hearing loss is a significant problem that affects at least 15% of the population. This percentage, however, is likely significantly higher because of a variety of auditory disorders that are not identifiable through traditional tests of peripheral hearing ability. In these disorders, individuals have difficulty understanding speech, particularly in noisy environments, even though the sounds are loud enough to hear. The underlying mechanisms leading to such deficits are not well understood. To enable the development of suitable treatments to alleviate or prevent such disorders, the affected processing pathways must be identified. Historically, mechanisms underlying speech processing have been thought to be a property of the auditory cortex and thus the study of auditory disorders has largely focused on cortical impairments and/or cognitive processes. As we review here, however, there is strong evidence to suggest that, in fact, deficits in subcortical pathways play a significant role in auditory disorders. In this review, we highlight the role of the auditory brainstem and midbrain in processing complex sounds and discuss how deficits in these regions may contribute to auditory dysfunction. We discuss current research with animal models of human hearing and then consider human studies that implicate impairments in subcortical processing that may contribute to auditory disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard A Felix
- School of Biological Sciences and Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, USA
| | - Boris Gourévitch
- Unité de Génétique et Physiologie de l'Audition, UMRS 1120 INSERM, Institut Pasteur, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, F-75015, Paris, France; CNRS, France
| | - Christine V Portfors
- School of Biological Sciences and Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, USA.
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16
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Felix RA, Elde CJ, Nevue AA, Portfors CV. Serotonin modulates response properties of neurons in the dorsal cochlear nucleus of the mouse. Hear Res 2016; 344:13-23. [PMID: 27838373 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2016.10.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2016] [Revised: 10/10/2016] [Accepted: 10/26/2016] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
The neurochemical serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) is involved in a variety of behavioral functions including arousal, reward, and attention, and has a role in several complex disorders of the brain. In the auditory system, 5-HT fibers innervate a number of subcortical nuclei, yet the modulatory role of 5-HT in nearly all of these areas remains poorly understood. In this study, we examined spiking activity of neurons in the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) following iontophoretic application of 5-HT. The DCN is an early site in the auditory pathway that receives dense 5-HT fiber input from the raphe nuclei and has been implicated in the generation of auditory disorders marked by neuronal hyperexcitability. Recordings from the DCN in awake mice demonstrated that iontophoretic application of 5-HT had heterogeneous effects on spiking rate, spike timing, and evoked spiking threshold. We found that 56% of neurons exhibited increases in spiking rate during 5-HT delivery, while 22% had decreases in rate and the remaining neurons had no change. These changes were similar for spontaneous and evoked spiking and were typically accompanied by changes in spike timing. Spiking increases were associated with lower first spike latencies and jitter, while decreases in spiking generally had opposing effects on spike timing. Cases in which 5-HT application resulted in increased spiking also exhibited lower thresholds compared to the control condition, while cases of decreased spiking had no threshold change. We also found that the 5-HT2 receptor subtype likely has a role in mediating increased excitability. Our results demonstrate that 5-HT can modulate activity in the DCN of awake animals and that it primarily acts to increase neuronal excitability, in contrast to other auditory regions where it largely has a suppressive role. Modulation of DCN function by 5-HT has implications for auditory processing in both normal hearing and disordered states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard A Felix
- School of Biological Sciences and Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, USA.
| | - Cameron J Elde
- School of Biological Sciences and Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, USA
| | - Alexander A Nevue
- School of Biological Sciences and Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, USA
| | - Christine V Portfors
- School of Biological Sciences and Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, USA
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17
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Kobrina A, Dent ML. The effects of aging and sex on detection of ultrasonic vocalizations by adult CBA/CaJ mice (Mus musculus). Hear Res 2016; 341:119-129. [PMID: 27579993 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2016.08.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2016] [Revised: 05/16/2016] [Accepted: 08/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Mice are frequently used as animal models for human hearing research, yet their auditory capabilities have not been fully explored. Previous studies have established auditory threshold sensitivities for pure tone stimuli in CBA/CaJ mice using ABR and behavioral methodologies. Little is known about how they perceive their own ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), and nothing is known about how aging influences this perception. The aim of the present study was to establish auditory threshold sensitivity for several USV types, as well as to track these thresholds across the mouse's lifespan. In order to determine how well mice detect these complex communication stimuli, several CBA/CaJ mice were trained and tested at various ages on a detection task using operant conditioning procedures. Results showed that mice were able to detect USVs into old age. Not surprisingly, thresholds differed for the different USV types. Male mice suffered greater hearing loss than females for all calls but not for 42 kHz tones. In conclusion, the results highlight the importance of studying complex signals across the lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasiya Kobrina
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo-SUNY, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA.
| | - Micheal L Dent
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo-SUNY, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA.
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18
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Geissler DB, Schmidt HS, Ehret G. Knowledge About Sounds-Context-Specific Meaning Differently Activates Cortical Hemispheres, Auditory Cortical Fields, and Layers in House Mice. Front Neurosci 2016; 10:98. [PMID: 27013959 PMCID: PMC4789409 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2015] [Accepted: 02/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Activation of the auditory cortex (AC) by a given sound pattern is plastic, depending, in largely unknown ways, on the physiological state and the behavioral context of the receiving animal and on the receiver's experience with the sounds. Such plasticity can be inferred when house mouse mothers respond maternally to pup ultrasounds right after parturition and naïve females have to learn to respond. Here we use c-FOS immunocytochemistry to quantify highly activated neurons in the AC fields and layers of seven groups of mothers and naïve females who have different knowledge about and are differently motivated to respond to acoustic models of pup ultrasounds of different behavioral significance. Profiles of FOS-positive cells in the AC primary fields (AI, AAF), the ultrasonic field (UF), the secondary field (AII), and the dorsoposterior field (DP) suggest that activation reflects in AI, AAF, and UF the integration of sound properties with animal state-dependent factors, in the higher-order field AII the news value of a given sound in the behavioral context, and in the higher-order field DP the level of maternal motivation and, by left-hemisphere activation advantage, the recognition of the meaning of sounds in the given context. Anesthesia reduced activation in all fields, especially in cortical layers 2/3. Thus, plasticity in the AC is field-specific preparing different output of AC fields in the process of perception, recognition and responding to communication sounds. Further, the activation profiles of the auditory cortical fields suggest the differentiation between brains hormonally primed to know (mothers) and brains which acquired knowledge via implicit learning (naïve females). In this way, auditory cortical activation discriminates between instinctive (mothers) and learned (naïve females) cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Günter Ehret
- Institute of Neurobiology, University of Ulm Ulm, Germany
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