scholarly journals Directional Sensitivity of Neurons in the Primary Auditory (AI) Cortex: Effects of Sound-Source Intensity Level

2003 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 1024-1038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Reale ◽  
Rick L. Jenison ◽  
John F. Brugge
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Sound Source ◽  
Response Latency ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Directional Sensitivity ◽  
Spherical Harmonic Analysis ◽  
Intensity Level ◽  
Inverse Gaussian ◽  
Operating Characteristics ◽  
Gaussian Density

Transient sounds were delivered from different directions in virtual acoustic space while recording from single neurons in primary auditory cortex (AI) of cats under general anesthesia. The intensity level of the sound source was varied parametrically to determine the operating characteristics of the spatial receptive field. The spatial receptive field was constructed from the onset latency of the response to a sound at each sampled direction. Spatial gradients of response latency composing a receptive field are due partially to a systematic co-dependence on sound-source direction and intensity level. Typically, at any given intensity level, the distribution of response latency within the receptive field was unimodal with a range of approximately 3–4 ms, although for some cells and some levels, the spread could be as much as 20 or as little as 2 ms. Response latency, averaged across directions, differed among neurons for the same intensity level, and also differed among intensity levels for the same neuron. Generally, increases in intensity level resulted in decreases in the mean and variance, which follows an inverse Gaussian distribution. Receptive field models, based on response latency, are developed using multiple parameters (azimuth, elevation, intensity), validated with Monte Carlo simulation, and their spatial filtering described using spherical harmonic analysis. Observations from an ensemble of modeled receptive fields are obtained by linking the inverse Gaussian density to the probabilistic inverse problem of estimating sound-source direction and intensity. Upper bounds on acuity is derived from the ensemble using Fisher information, and the predicted patterns of estimation errors are related to psychophysical performance.

Heterogeneous Neuronal Responses to Frequency-Modulated Tones in the Primary Auditory Cortex of Awake Cats

2008 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 1622-1634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Qin ◽  
JingYu Wang ◽  
Yu Sato
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Response Pattern ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Discrete Response ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Pure Tones ◽  
Awake Cats ◽  
Sweep Speed

Previous studies in anesthetized animals reported that the primary auditory cortex (A1) showed homogenous phasic responses to FM tones, namely a transient response to a particular instantaneous frequency when FM sweeps traversed a neuron's tone-evoked receptive field (TRF). Here, in awake cats, we report that A1 cells exhibit heterogeneous FM responses, consisting of three patterns. The first is continuous firing when a slow FM sweep traverses the receptive field of a cell with a sustained tonal response. The duration and amplitude of FM response decrease with increasing sweep speed. The second pattern is transient firing corresponding to the cell's phasic tonal response. This response could be evoked only by a fast FM sweep through the cell's TRF, suggesting a preference for fast FM. The third pattern was associated with the off response to pure tones and was composed of several discrete response peaks during slow FM stimulus. These peaks were not predictable from the cell's tonal response but reliably reflected the time when FM swept across specific frequencies. Our A1 samples often exhibited a complex response pattern, combining two or three of the basic patterns above, resulting in a heterogeneous response population. The diversity of FM responses suggests that A1 use multiple mechanisms to fully represent the whole range of FM parameters, including frequency extent, sweep speed, and direction.

Receptive Field Size and Response Latency Are Correlated Within the Cat Visual Thalamus

2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (6) ◽  
pp. 3537-3547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chong Weng ◽  
Chun-I Yeh ◽  
Carl R. Stoelzel ◽  
Jose-Manuel Alonso
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Response Latency ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Frequency Tuning ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Cortical Cell ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Receptive Field Size ◽  
Spatial Frequency Tuning

Each point in visual space is encoded at the level of the thalamus by a group of neighboring cells with overlapping receptive fields. Here we show that the receptive fields of these cells differ in size and response latency but not at random. We have found that in the cat lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) the receptive field size and response latency of neighboring neurons are significantly correlated: the larger the receptive field, the faster the response to visual stimuli. This correlation is widespread in LGN. It is found in groups of cells belonging to the same type (e.g., Y cells), and of different types (i.e., X and Y), within a specific layer or across different layers. These results indicate that the inputs from the multiple geniculate afferents that converge onto a cortical cell (approximately 30) are likely to arrive in a sequence determined by the receptive field size of the geniculate afferents. Recent studies have shown that the peak of the spatial frequency tuning of a cortical cell shifts toward higher frequencies as the response progresses in time. Our results are consistent with the idea that these shifts in spatial frequency tuning arise from differences in the response time course of the thalamic inputs.

Functional Organization of Squirrel Monkey Primary Auditory Cortex: Responses to Pure Tones

2001 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 1732-1749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven W. Cheung ◽  
Purvis H. Bedenbaugh ◽  
Srikantan S. Nagarajan ◽  
Christoph E. Schreiner
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Squirrel Monkey ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Complex Sound ◽  
Sound Coding ◽  
Field Gradients ◽  
Pure Tones

The spatial organization of response parameters in squirrel monkey primary auditory cortex (AI) accessible on the temporal gyrus was determined with the excitatory receptive field to pure tone stimuli. Dense, microelectrode mapping of the temporal gyrus in four animals revealed that characteristic frequency (CF) had a smooth, monotonic gradient that systematically changed from lower values (0.5 kHz) in the caudoventral quadrant to higher values (5–6 kHz) in the rostrodorsal quadrant. The extent of AI on the temporal gyrus was ∼4 mm in the rostrocaudal axis and 2–3 mm in the dorsoventral axis. The entire length of isofrequency contours below 6 kHz was accessible for study. Several independent, spatially organized functional response parameters were demonstrated for the squirrel monkey AI. Latency, the asymptotic minimum arrival time for spikes with increasing sound pressure levels at CF, was topographically organized as a monotonic gradient across AI nearly orthogonal to the CF gradient. Rostral AI had longer latencies (range = 4 ms). Threshold and bandwidth co-varied with the CF. Factoring out the contribution of the CF on threshold variance, residual threshold showed a monotonic gradient across AI that had higher values (range = 10 dB) caudally. The orientation of the threshold gradient was significantly different from the CF gradient. CF-corrected bandwidth, residual Q10, was spatially organized in local patches of coherent values whose loci were specific for each monkey. These data support the existence of multiple, overlying receptive field gradients within AI and form the basis to develop a conceptual framework to understand simple and complex sound coding in mammals.

Sound-Induced Synchronization of Neural Activity Between and Within Three Auditory Cortical Areas

2000 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 2708-2722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jos J. Eggermont
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Stimulus Intensity ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Noise Burst ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Feature Binding ◽  
Intensity Level ◽  
Correlation Strength ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Peak Correlation

Neural synchrony within and between auditory cortical fields is evaluated with respect to its potential role in feature binding and in the coding of tone and noise sound pressure level. Simultaneous recordings were made in 24 cats with either two electrodes in primary auditory cortex (AI) and one in anterior auditory field (AAF) or one electrode each in AI, AAF, and secondary auditory cortex. Cross-correlograms (CCHs) for 1-ms binwidth were calculated for tone pips, noise bursts, and silence (i.e., poststimulus) as a function of intensity level. Across stimuli and intensity levels the total percentage of significant stimulus onset CCHs was 62% and that of significant poststimulus CCHs was 58% of 1,868 pairs calculated for each condition. The cross-correlation coefficient to stimulus onsets was higher for single-electrode pairs than for dual-electrode pairs and higher for noise bursts compared with tone pips. The onset correlation for single-electrode pairs was only marginally larger than the poststimulus correlation. For pairs from electrodes across area boundaries, the onset correlations were a factor 3–4 higher than the poststimulus correlations. The within-AI dual-electrode peak correlation was higher than that across areas, especially for spontaneous conditions. Correlation strengths for between area pairs were independent of the difference in characteristic frequency (CF), thereby providing a mechanism of feature binding for broadband sounds. For noise-burst stimulation, the onset correlation for between area pairs was independent of stimulus intensity regardless the difference in CF. In contrast, for tone-pip stimulation a significant dependence on intensity level of the peak correlation strength was found for pairs involving AI and/or AAF with CF difference less than one octave. Across all areas, driven rate, between-area peak correlation strength, or a combination of the two did not predict stimulus intensity. However, between-area peak correlation strength performs better than firing rate to decide if a stimulus is present or absent.

scholarly journals Sensory Input Directs Spatial and Temporal Plasticity in Primary Auditory Cortex

2001 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 326-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Kilgard ◽  
Pritesh K. Pandya ◽  
Jessica Vazquez ◽  
Anil Gehi ◽  
Christoph E. Schreiner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Carrier Frequency ◽  
Basal Forebrain ◽  
Sensory Input ◽  
Cortical Plasticity ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Cortical Response ◽  
Modulation Rate ◽  
A1 Neurons

The cortical representation of the sensory environment is continuously modified by experience. Changes in spatial (receptive field) and temporal response properties of cortical neurons underlie many forms of natural learning. The scale and direction of these changes appear to be determined by specific features of the behavioral tasks that evoke cortical plasticity. The neural mechanisms responsible for this differential plasticity remain unclear partly because important sensory and cognitive parameters differ among these tasks. In this report, we demonstrate that differential sensory experience directs differential plasticity using a single paradigm that eliminates the task-specific variables that have confounded direct comparison of previous studies. Electrical activation of the basal forebrain (BF) was used to gate cortical plasticity mechanisms. The auditory stimulus paired with BF stimulation was systematically varied to determine how several basic features of the sensory input direct plasticity in primary auditory cortex (A1) of adult rats. The distributed cortical response was reconstructed from a dense sampling of A1 neurons after 4 wk of BF-sound pairing. We have previously used this method to show that when a tone is paired with BF activation, the region of the cortical map responding to that tone frequency is specifically expanded. In this report, we demonstrate that receptive-field size is determined by features of the stimulus paired with BF activation. Specifically, receptive fields were narrowed or broadened as a systematic function of both carrier-frequency variability and the temporal modulation rate of paired acoustic stimuli. For example, the mean bandwidth of A1 neurons was increased (+60%) after pairing BF stimulation with a rapid train of tones and decreased (−25%) after pairing unmodulated tones of different frequencies. These effects are consistent with previous reports of receptive-field plasticity evoked by natural learning. The maximum cortical following rate and minimum response latency were also modified as a function of stimulus modulation rate and carrier-frequency variability. The cortical response to a rapid train of tones was nearly doubled if BF stimulation was paired with rapid trains of random carrier frequency, while no following rate plasticity was observed if a single carrier frequency was used. Finally, we observed significant increases in response strength and total area of functionally defined A1 following BF activation paired with certain classes of stimuli and not others. These results indicate that the degree and direction of cortical plasticity of temporal and receptive-field selectivity are specified by the structure and schedule of inputs that co-occur with basal forebrain activation and suggest that the rules of cortical plasticity do not operate on each elemental stimulus feature independently of others.

scholarly journals Rat primary auditory cortex is tuned exclusively to the contralateral hemifield

2013 ◽  
Vol 110 (9) ◽  
pp. 2140-2151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin D. Yao ◽  
Peter Bremen ◽  
John C. Middlebrooks
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Sound Source ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Free Field ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Homogeneous Population ◽  
Spatial Sensitivity ◽  
Spatial Tuning ◽  
Sound Levels

The rat is a widely used species for study of the auditory system. Psychophysical results from rats have shown an inability to discriminate sound source locations within a lateral hemifield, despite showing fairly sharp near-midline acuity. We tested the hypothesis that those characteristics of the rat's sound localization psychophysics are evident in the characteristics of spatial sensitivity of its cortical neurons. In addition, we sought quantitative descriptions of in vivo spatial sensitivity of cortical neurons that would support development of an in vitro experimental model to study cortical mechanisms of spatial hearing. We assessed the spatial sensitivity of single- and multiple-neuron responses in the primary auditory cortex (A1) of urethane-anesthetized rats. Free-field noise bursts were varied throughout 360° of azimuth in the horizontal plane at sound levels from 10 to 40 dB above neural thresholds. All neurons encountered in A1 displayed contralateral-hemifield spatial tuning in that they responded strongly to contralateral sound source locations, their responses cut off sharply for locations near the frontal midline, and they showed weak or no responses to ipsilateral sources. Spatial tuning was quite stable across a 30-dB range of sound levels. Consistent with rat psychophysical results, a linear discriminator analysis of spike counts exhibited high spatial acuity for near-midline sounds and poor discrimination for off-midline locations. Hemifield spatial tuning is the most common pattern across all mammals tested previously. The homogeneous population of neurons in rat area A1 will make an excellent system for study of the mechanisms underlying that pattern.

Arterial and Venous Pharmacokinetics of Ropivacaine with and without Epinephrine after Thoracic Paravertebral Block

2005 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 704-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manoj K. Karmakar ◽  
Anthony M.-H. Ho ◽  
Bonita K. Law ◽  
April S. Y. Wong ◽  
Steven L. Shafer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Peak Plasma ◽  
Venous Blood ◽  
Plasma Concentrations ◽  
Paravertebral Block ◽  
Inverse Gaussian ◽  
Absorption Function ◽  
Thoracic Paravertebral Block ◽  
Gaussian Density ◽  
Absorption Phase ◽  
Slow Absorption

Background Animal and volunteer studies indicate that ropivacaine is associated with less neurologic and cardiac toxicity than bupivacaine. Ropivacaine may offer advantages when used for thoracic paravertebral block. This study was designed to describe the pharmacokinetics of ropivacaine after thoracic paravertebral block. Methods Twenty female patients undergoing elective unilateral breast surgery were randomly assigned to receive a single bolus thoracic paravertebral injection of 2 mg/kg ropivacaine, with or without 5 mug/ml epinephrine. Simultaneous arterial and venous blood samples were obtained for plasma ropivacaine assay. Data were analyzed with NONMEM, using two possible absorption models: conventional first-order absorption and absorption following the inverse gaussian density function. Results Epinephrine reduced the peak plasma concentrations and delayed the time of peak concentration of ropivacaine in both the arterial and venous blood. The time course of drug input into the systemic circulation was best described by two inverse gaussian density functions. The median bioavailability of the rapid component was approximately 20% higher when epinephrine was not used. The mean absorption times were 7.8 min for the rapid absorption phase and 697 min for the slow absorption phase, with wide dispersion of the absorption function for the acute phase. The half-time of arterial-venous equilibration was 1.5 min. Conclusion The absorption of ropivacaine after thoracic paravertebral block is described by rapid and slow absorption phases. The rapid phase approximates the speed of intravenous administration and accounts for nearly half of ropivacaine absorption. The addition of 5 mug/ml epinephrine to ropivacaine significantly delays its systemic absorption and reduces the peak plasma concentration.

Spectrotemporal Structure of Receptive Fields in Areas AI and AAF of Mouse Auditory Cortex

2003 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 2660-2675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer F. Linden ◽  
Robert C. Liu ◽  
Maneesh Sahani ◽  
Christoph E. Schreiner ◽  
Michael M. Merzenich
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Dynamic Stimuli ◽  
Tuning Curves ◽  
Response Characteristics ◽  
Spectrotemporal Receptive Fields ◽  
Auditory Field ◽  
Tonal Stimuli

The mouse is a promising model system for auditory cortex research because of the powerful genetic tools available for manipulating its neural circuitry. Previous studies have identified two tonotopic auditory areas in the mouse—primary auditory cortex (AI) and anterior auditory field (AAF)— but auditory receptive fields in these areas have not yet been described. To establish a foundation for investigating auditory cortical circuitry and plasticity in the mouse, we characterized receptive-field structure in AI and AAF of anesthetized mice using spectrally complex and temporally dynamic stimuli as well as simple tonal stimuli. Spectrotemporal receptive fields (STRFs) were derived from extracellularly recorded responses to complex stimuli, and frequency-intensity tuning curves were constructed from responses to simple tonal stimuli. Both analyses revealed temporal differences between AI and AAF responses: peak latencies and receptive-field durations for STRFs and first-spike latencies for responses to tone bursts were significantly longer in AI than in AAF. Spectral properties of AI and AAF receptive fields were more similar, although STRF bandwidths were slightly broader in AI than in AAF. Finally, in both AI and AAF, a substantial minority of STRFs were spectrotemporally inseparable. The spectrotemporal interaction typically appeared in the form of clearly disjoint excitatory and inhibitory subfields or an obvious spectrotemporal slant in the STRF. These data provide the first detailed description of auditory receptive fields in the mouse and suggest that although neurons in areas AI and AAF share many response characteristics, area AAF may be specialized for faster temporal processing.

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