scholarly journals Motor-evoked neural responses in auditory cortex are associated with improved sensitivity to self-generated sounds

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Reznik ◽  
Noa Hacohen ◽  
Batel Buaron ◽  
Elana Zion-Golumbic ◽  
Roy Mukamel
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Internal State ◽  
Button Press ◽  
Evoked Responses ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Sensory Interactions ◽  
Evoked Activity ◽  
Functional Relevance ◽  
Sensory Evoked

AbstractSensory perception is a product of complex interactions between the internal state of an organism and the physical attributes of a stimulus. One factor that modulates the internal state of the perceiving agent is voluntary movement. It has been shown across the animal kingdom that perception and sensory-evoked physiological responses are modulated depending on whether or not the stimulus is the consequence of voluntary actions. These phenomena are often attributed to motor signals sent to relevant sensory regions (efference copies), that convey information about expected upcoming sensory consequences. However, to date, there is no direct evidence in humans for efferent signals underlying these motor-sensory interactions. In the current study we recorded neurophysiological (using Magnetoencephalography) and behavioral responses from 16 healthy subjects performing an auditory detection task of faint tones. Tones were either generated by subjects’ voluntary button presses or occurred predictably following a visual cue. By introducing a constant temporal delay between button press/cue and tone delivery and applying source-level analysis we decoupled motor-evoked and auditory-evoked activity in auditory cortex. We show motor-related evoked-responses in auditory cortex following sound-triggering actions and preceding sound onset. Such evoked-responses were not found for button-presses that were not coupled with expected sounds. Furthermore, the amplitude of these evoked-responses corresponded with subsequent sound detection, suggesting their functional relevance to auditory processing. Our results provide first direct evidence for efferent signals in sensory cortex that are evoked by voluntary actions coupled with sensory consequences.

scholarly journals Dissociation of task engagement and arousal effects in auditory cortex and midbrain

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Saderi ◽  
Zachary P Schwartz ◽  
Charles R Heller ◽  
Jacob R Pennington ◽  
Stephen V David
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Generalized Linear Model ◽  
Pupil Size ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Task Engagement ◽  
State Variables ◽  
Neural Populations ◽  
Evoked Activity ◽  
Sensory Neural

Both generalized arousal and engagement in a specific task influence sensory neural processing. To isolate effects of these state variables in the auditory system, we recorded single-unit activity from primary auditory cortex (A1) and inferior colliculus (IC) of ferrets during a tone detection task, while monitoring arousal via changes in pupil size. We used a generalized linear model to assess the influence of task engagement and pupil size on sound-evoked activity. In both areas, these two variables affected independent neural populations. Pupil size effects were more prominent in IC, while pupil and task engagement effects were equally likely in A1. Task engagement was correlated with larger pupil; thus, some apparent effects of task engagement should in fact be attributed to fluctuations in pupil size. These results indicate a hierarchy of auditory processing, where generalized arousal enhances activity in midbrain, and effects specific to task engagement become more prominent in cortex.

scholarly journals Quantitative Analysis and Biophysically Realistic Neural Modeling of the MEG Mu Rhythm: Rhythmogenesis and Modulation of Sensory-Evoked Responses

2009 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 3554-3572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie R. Jones ◽  
Dominique L. Pritchett ◽  
Michael A. Sikora ◽  
Steven M. Stufflebeam ◽  
Matti Hämäläinen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Model ◽  
Evoked Responses ◽  
Mu Rhythm ◽  
Thalamic Nuclei ◽  
Localized Source ◽  
Cortical Oscillations ◽  
Alpha 7 ◽  
Evoked Activity ◽  
Sensory Evoked ◽  
The Impact

Variations in cortical oscillations in the alpha (7–14 Hz) and beta (15–29 Hz) range have been correlated with attention, working memory, and stimulus detection. The mu rhythm recorded with magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a prominent oscillation generated by Rolandic cortex containing alpha and beta bands. Despite its prominence, the neural mechanisms regulating mu are unknown. We characterized the ongoing MEG mu rhythm from a localized source in the finger representation of primary somatosensory (SI) cortex. Subjects showed variation in the relative expression of mu-alpha or mu-beta, which were nonoverlapping for roughly 50% of their respective durations on single trials. To delineate the origins of this rhythm, a biophysically principled computational neural model of SI was developed, with distinct laminae, inhibitory and excitatory neurons, and feedforward (FF, representative of lemniscal thalamic drive) and feedback (FB, representative of higher-order cortical drive or input from nonlemniscal thalamic nuclei) inputs defined by the laminar location of their postsynaptic effects. The mu-alpha component was accurately modeled by rhythmic FF input at approximately 10-Hz. The mu-beta component was accurately modeled by the addition of approximately 10-Hz FB input that was nearly synchronous with the FF input. The relative dominance of these two frequencies depended on the delay between FF and FB drives, their relative input strengths, and stochastic changes in these variables. The model also reproduced key features of the impact of high prestimulus mu power on peaks in SI-evoked activity. For stimuli presented during high mu power, the model predicted enhancement in an initial evoked peak and decreased subsequent deflections. In agreement, the MEG-evoked responses showed an enhanced initial peak and a trend to smaller subsequent peaks. These data provide new information on the dynamics of the mu rhythm in humans and the model provides a novel mechanistic interpretation of this rhythm and its functional significance.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal structure of sensory-evoked and spontaneous activity revealed by mesoscale imaging in anesthetized and awake mice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Navvab Afrashteh ◽  
Samsoon Inayat ◽  
Edgar Bermudez Contreras ◽  
Artur Luczak ◽  
Bruce L. McNaughton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spontaneous Activity ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Sensory Stimulation ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Evoked Responses ◽  
Evoked Activity ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
The One ◽  
Sensory Evoked

AbstractBrain activity propagates across the cortex in diverse spatiotemporal patterns, both as a response to sensory stimulation and during spontaneous activity. Despite been extensively studied, the relationship between the characteristics of such patterns during spontaneous and evoked activity is not completely understood. To investigate this relationship, we compared visual, auditory, and tactile evoked activity patterns elicited with different stimulus strengths and spontaneous activity motifs in lightly anesthetized and awake mice using mesoscale wide-field voltage-sensitive dye and glutamate imaging respectively. The characteristics of cortical activity that we compared include amplitude, speed, direction, and complexity of propagation trajectories in spontaneous and evoked activity patterns. We found that the complexity of the propagation trajectories of spontaneous activity, quantified as their fractal dimension, is higher than the one from sensory evoked responses. Moreover, the speed and direction of propagation, are modulated by the amplitude during both, spontaneous and evoked activity. Finally, we found that spontaneous activity had similar amplitude and speed when compared to evoked activity elicited with low stimulus strengths. However, this similarity gradually decreased when the strength of stimuli eliciting evoked responses increased. Altogether, these findings are consistent with the fact that even primary sensory areas receive widespread inputs from other cortical regions, and that, during rest, the cortex tends to reactivate traces of complex, multi-sensory experiences that may have occurred in a range of different behavioural contexts.

scholarly journals Nicotinic neuromodulation in auditory cortex requires MAPK activation in thalamocortical and intracortical circuits

2012 ◽  
Vol 107 (10) ◽  
pp. 2782-2793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irakli Intskirveli ◽  
Raju Metherate
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Current Source ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Mek Inhibitor ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase ◽  
Evoked Responses ◽  
Intracortical Circuits ◽  
Sensory Evoked

Activation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) by systemic nicotine enhances sensory-cognitive function and sensory-evoked cortical responses. Although nAChRs mediate fast neurotransmission at many synapses in the nervous system, nicotinic regulation of cortical processing is neuromodulatory. To explore potential mechanisms of nicotinic neuromodulation, we examined whether intracellular signal transduction involving mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) contributes to regulation of tone-evoked responses in primary auditory cortex (A1) in the mouse. Systemic nicotine enhanced characteristic frequency (CF) tone-evoked current-source density (CSD) profiles in A1, including the shortest-latency (presumed thalamocortical) current sink in layer 4 and longer-latency (presumed intracortical) sinks in layers 2–4, by increasing response amplitudes and decreasing response latencies. Microinjection of the MAPK kinase (MEK) inhibitor U0126 into the thalamus, targeting the auditory thalamocortical pathway, blocked the effect of nicotine on the initial (thalamocortical) CSD component but did not block enhancement of longer-latency (intracortical) responses. Conversely, microinjection of U0126 into supragranular layers of A1 blocked nicotine's effect on intracortical, but not thalamocortical, CSD components. Simultaneously with enhancement of CF-evoked responses, responses to spectrally distant (nonCF) stimuli were reduced, implying nicotinic “sharpening” of frequency receptive fields, an effect also blocked by MEK inhibition. Consistent with these physiological results, acoustic stimulation with nicotine produced immunolabel for activated MAPK in A1, primarily in layer 2/3 cell bodies. Immunolabel was blocked by intracortical microinjection of the nAChR antagonist dihydro-β-erythroidine, but not methyllycaconitine, implicating α4β2*, but not α7, nAChRs. Thus activation of MAPK in functionally distinct forebrain circuits—thalamocortical, local intracortical, and long-range intracortical—underlies nicotinic neuromodulation of A1.

Transcallosal circuitry revealed by blocking and disinhibiting callosal input in the cat

1994 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun-Shi Sun ◽  
B. Li ◽  
M. H. Ma ◽  
Y. C. Diao
Keyword(s):  
Left Hemisphere ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Response Magnitude ◽  
Evoked Responses ◽  
Area 17 ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Evoked Activity ◽  
The Right

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to obtain quantitative measures of the influence of callosal input to cells at the area 17/18 border region where transcallosal axons terminate most densely. Single-cell recordings were performed at the area 17/18 border region of the right hemisphere, while gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) or its antagonist, bicuculline, were applied to the transcallosal projecting regions of the left hemisphere to either block or overactivate the cells which projected to the neurons at the recording site. The results showed that visually evoked responses of the cells at the area 17/18 border were affected by administration of GABA or bicuculline to the contralateral hemisphere. Blockade of transcallosal input by application of GABA in the left hemisphere diminished the visually evoked responses of 51% of the neurons in the right hemisphere, and led to an increase in response magnitude for 17% of the neurons. Disinhibition of transcallosal input by application of bicuculline increased the evoked activity of 40% of the neurons and diminished the response magnitude of 20% of the neurons in the right hemisphere. GABA and bicuculline failed to show antagonistic effects on some cells. Thirty-two percent of the cells were affected by only one type of drug administration, and 13% of the cells showed either an increase or a decrease in responses after both GABA and then bicuculline administration. This study demonstrated complex interactions between neurons connected by the transcallosal pathway. A model of the transcallosal circuitry was proposed to explain the results.

scholarly journals Robust neurophysiological correlates of the rubber hand illusion emerge at early latencies but are unrelated to changes in skin conductance accompanying the illusion

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Placido Sciortino ◽  
Christoph Kayser
Keyword(s):  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Confounding Factors ◽  
Evoked Responses ◽  
Rubber Hand ◽  
Artificial Limb ◽  
Cross Classification ◽  
Evoked Activity ◽  
Sensory Evoked

AbstractThe neurophysiological processes reflecting the illusory ownership over an artificial limb remain debated. We used multivariate (cross-)classification of evoked EEG responses to probe for signatures of the illusion that robustly generalize across a number of confounding factors identified based on previous studies: the spatial arrangement of limbs, controls involving either a misaligned artificial object or participant’s own hand, and which provide evidence of illusory ownership directly within an experimental trial. Our results show that sensory-evoked responses differ between illusion and non-illusion epochs from early latencies on. While these responses exhibit distinct sensitivity to the experimental factors at distinct times, around 140 ms the evoked activity reflects the illusory state robustly across experimental manipulations. This neurophysiological signature of illusory ownership was not correlated with increases in skin conductance accompanying the illusion, suggesting that neurophysiological and bodily signals reflect distinct processes related to the embodiment of an artificial limb.

scholarly journals Sodium-Calcium Exchanger Mediates Sensory-Evoked Glial Calcium Transients in the Developing Retinotectal System

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. Benfey ◽  
Vanessa J. Li ◽  
Anne Schohl ◽  
Edward S. Ruthazer
Keyword(s):  
Visual Stimulation ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Sensory Stimulation ◽  
Calcium Transients ◽  
Evoked Responses ◽  
Sodium Calcium Exchanger ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Sodium Calcium ◽  
Evoked Activity ◽  
Sensory Evoked

AbstractVarious types of sensory stimuli have been shown to induce calcium elevations in glia. However, a mechanistic understanding of the signalling pathways mediating sensory-evoked activity in glia in intact animals is still emerging. Here we demonstrate that during early development of the Xenopus laevis visual system, radial astrocytes in the optic tectum are highly responsive to sensory stimulation. Calcium transients occur spontaneously in radial astrocytes at rest and are abolished by silencing neuronal activity with tetrodotoxin. Visual stimulation drives temporally correlated increases in the activity patterns of neighbouring radial astrocytes. Following blockade of all glutamate receptors, visually-evoked calcium activity in radial astrocytes is enhanced, rather than suppressed, while the additional blockade of either glutamate transporters or sodium-calcium exchangers (NCX) fully prevents visually-evoked responses. Additionally, we demonstrate that blockade of NCX alone is sufficient to prevent visually-evoked responses in radial astrocytes, highlighting a pivotal role for NCX in glia during development.

scholarly journals Barrel cortex plasticity after photothrombotic stroke involves potentiating responses of pre-existing circuits but not functional remapping to new circuits

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Zeiger ◽  
Máté Marosi ◽  
Satvir Saggi ◽  
Natalie Noble ◽  
Isa Samad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Calcium Imaging ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Evoked Responses ◽  
Baseline Levels ◽  
Photothrombotic Stroke ◽  
Adaptive Circuit ◽  
Evoked Activity ◽  
Sensory Evoked ◽  
In Vivo Calcium Imaging

AbstractRecovery after stroke is thought to be mediated by adaptive circuit plasticity, whereby surviving neurons assume the roles of those that died. However, definitive longitudinal evidence of neurons changing their response selectivity after stroke is lacking. We sought to directly test whether such functional “remapping” occurs within mouse primary somatosensory cortex after a stroke that destroys the C1 barrel. Using in vivo calcium imaging to longitudinally record sensory-evoked activity under light anesthesia, we did not find any increase in the number of C1 whisker-responsive neurons in the adjacent, spared D3 barrel after stroke. To promote plasticity after stroke, we also plucked all whiskers except C1 (forced use therapy). This led to an increase in the reliability of sensory-evoked responses in C1 whisker-responsive neurons but did not increase the number of C1 whisker-responsive neurons in spared surround barrels over baseline levels. Our results argue against remapping of functionality after barrel cortex stroke, but support a circuit-based mechanism for how rehabilitation may improve recovery.

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