scholarly journals Pairing vagus nerve stimulation with tones drives plasticity across the auditory pathway

2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 659-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Borland ◽  
Will A. Vrana ◽  
Nicole A. Moreno ◽  
Elizabeth A. Fogarty ◽  
Elizabeth P. Buell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Vagus Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Auditory Pathway ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Tone Frequency ◽  
Auditory Field ◽  
Paired Tone

Previous studies have demonstrated that pairing vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) with sounds can enhance the primary auditory cortex (A1) response to the paired sound. The neural response to sounds following VNS-sound pairing in other subcortical and cortical auditory fields has not been documented. We predicted that VNS-tone pairing would increase neural responses to the paired tone frequency across the auditory pathway. In this study, we paired VNS with the presentation of a 9-kHz tone 300 times a day for 20 days. We recorded neural responses to tones from 2,950 sites in the inferior colliculus (IC), A1, anterior auditory field (AAF), and posterior auditory field (PAF) 24 h after the last pairing session in anesthetized rats. We found that VNS-tone pairing increased the percentage of IC, A1, AAF, and PAF that responds to the paired tone frequency. Across all tested auditory fields, the response strength to tones was strengthened in VNS-tone paired rats compared with control rats. VNS-tone pairing reduced spontaneous activity, frequency selectivity, and response threshold across the auditory pathway. This is the first study to document both cortical and subcortical plasticity following VNS-sound pairing. Our findings suggest that VNS paired with sound presentation is an effective method to enhance auditory processing. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Previous studies have reported primary auditory cortex plasticity following vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) paired with a sound. This study extends previous findings by documenting that fields across the auditory pathway are altered by VNS-tone pairing. VNS-tone pairing increases the percentage of each field that responds to the paired tone frequency. This is the first study to document both cortical and subcortical plasticity following VNS-sound pairing.

scholarly journals Short-term Effects of Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Learning and Evoked Activity in Auditory Cortex

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesyin Lai ◽  
Stephen V. David
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Neural Coding ◽  
Vagus Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Tone Frequency

ABSTRACTChronic vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) can facilitate learning of sensory and motor behaviors. VNS is believed to trigger release of neuromodulators, including norepinephrine and acetylcholine, which can mediate cortical plasticity associated with learning. Most previous work has studied effects of VNS over many days, and less is known about how acute VNS influences neural coding and behavior over the shorter term. To explore this question, we measured effects of VNS on learning of an auditory discrimination over 1-2 days. Ferrets implanted with cuff electrodes on the vagus nerve were trained by classical conditioning on a tone frequency-reward association. One tone was associated with reward while another tone, was not. The frequencies and reward associations of the tones were changed every two days, requiring learning of a new relationship. When the tones (both rewarded and non-rewarded) were paired with VNS, rates of learning increased on the first day following a change in reward association. To examine VNS effects on auditory coding, we recorded single- and multi-unit neural activity in primary auditory cortex (A1) of passively listening animals following brief periods of VNS (20 trials/session) paired with tones. Because afferent VNS induces changes in pupil size associated with fluctuations in neuromodulation, we also measured pupil during recordings. After pairing VNS with a neuron’s best-frequency (BF) tone, responses in a subpopulation of neurons were reduced. Pairing with an off-BF tone or performing VNS during the inter-trial interval had no effect on responses. We separated the change in A1 activity into two components, one that could be predicted by fluctuations in pupil and one that persisted after VNS and was not accounted for by pupil. The BF-specific reduction in neural responses remained, even after regressing out changes that could be explained by pupil. In addition, the size of VNS-mediated changes in pupil predicted the magnitude of persistent changes in the neural response. This interaction suggests that changes in neuromodulation associated with arousal gate the long-term effects of VNS on neural activity. Taken together, these results support a role for VNS in auditory learning and help establish VNS as a tool to facilitate neural plasticity.

scholarly journals Dissociable influences of primary auditory cortex and the posterior auditory field on neuronal responses in the dorsal zone of auditory cortex

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (2) ◽  
pp. 475-486
Author(s):  
Melanie A. Kok ◽  
Daniel Stolzberg ◽  
Trecia A. Brown ◽  
Stephen G. Lomber
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Noise Burst ◽  
Hierarchical Organization ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Tone Frequency ◽  
Hierarchical Processing ◽  
Auditory Field

Current models of hierarchical processing in auditory cortex have been based principally on anatomical connectivity while functional interactions between individual regions have remained largely unexplored. Previous cortical deactivation studies in the cat have addressed functional reciprocal connectivity between primary auditory cortex (A1) and other hierarchically lower level fields. The present study sought to assess the functional contribution of inputs along multiple stages of the current hierarchical model to a higher order area, the dorsal zone (DZ) of auditory cortex, in the anaesthetized cat. Cryoloops were placed over A1 and posterior auditory field (PAF). Multiunit neuronal responses to noise burst and tonal stimuli were recorded in DZ during cortical deactivation of each field individually and in concert. Deactivation of A1 suppressed peak neuronal responses in DZ regardless of stimulus and resulted in increased minimum thresholds and reduced absolute bandwidths for tone frequency receptive fields in DZ. PAF deactivation had less robust effects on DZ firing rates and receptive fields compared with A1 deactivation, and combined A1/PAF cooling was largely driven by the effects of A1 deactivation at the population level. These results provide physiological support for the current anatomically based model of both serial and parallel processing schemes in auditory cortical hierarchical organization.

Abstract #128: Chronic Vagus Nerve Stimulation Enables Long-term Plasticity in Mouse Auditory Cortex

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. e44
Author(s):  
Eleni S. Papadoyannis ◽  
Kathleen A. Martin ◽  
Jennifer K. Schiavo ◽  
Nesibe Z. Temiz ◽  
Robert C. Froemke
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Vagus Nerve Stimulation

Effects of Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Neural Adaptation in Rat Auditory Cortex

2015 ◽  
Vol 135 (9) ◽  
pp. 1112-1119
Author(s):  
Rie Hitsuyu ◽  
Tomoyo Isoguchi Shiramatsu ◽  
Takahiro Noda ◽  
Ryohei Kanzaki ◽  
Takeshi Uno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Vagus Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Neural Adaptation

Effects of Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Neutral Adaptation in Rat Auditory Cortex

2017 ◽  
Vol 100 (5) ◽  
pp. 34-43
Author(s):  
RIE HITSUYU ◽  
TOMOYO ISOGUCHI SHIRAMATSU ◽  
TAKAHIRO NODA ◽  
RYOHEI KANZAKI ◽  
TAKESHI UNO ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Vagus Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Neutral Adaptation

Spatial Representation of Neural Responses to Natural and Altered Conspecific Vocalizations in Cat Auditory Cortex

2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 144-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Gourévitch ◽  
Jos J. Eggermont
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Spatial Representation ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Neural Representation ◽  
Neural Synchrony ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Temporal Response ◽  
Auditory Field ◽  
Rate Type

This study shows the neural representation of cat vocalizations, natural and altered with respect to carrier and envelope, as well as time-reversed, in four different areas of the auditory cortex. Multiunit activity recorded in primary auditory cortex (AI) of anesthetized cats mainly occurred at onsets (<200-ms latency) and at subsequent major peaks of the vocalization envelope and was significantly inhibited during the stationary course of the stimuli. The first 200 ms of processing appears crucial for discrimination of a vocalization in AI. The dorsal and ventral parts of AI appear to have different roles in coding vocalizations. The dorsal part potentially discriminated carrier-altered meows, whereas the ventral part showed differences primarily in its response to natural and time-reversed meows. In the posterior auditory field, the different temporal response types of neurons, as determined by their poststimulus time histograms, showed discrimination for carrier alterations in the meow. Sustained firing neurons in the posterior ectosylvian gyrus (EP) could discriminate, among others, by neural synchrony, temporal envelope alterations of the meow, and time reversion thereof. These findings suggest an important role of EP in the detection of information conveyed by the alterations of vocalizations. Discrimination of the neural responses to different alterations of vocalizations could be based on either firing rate, type of temporal response, or neural synchrony, suggesting that all these are likely simultaneously used in processing of natural and altered conspecific vocalizations.

Pairing tone trains with vagus nerve stimulation induces temporal plasticity in auditory cortex

2012 ◽  
Vol 233 (1) ◽  
pp. 342-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jai A. Shetake ◽  
Navzer D. Engineer ◽  
Will A. Vrana ◽  
Jordan T. Wolf ◽  
Michael P. Kilgard
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Vagus Nerve Stimulation

The application of vagus nerve stimulation in individuals with misophonia

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 36-43
Author(s):  
Abishek Umashankar ◽  
Prashanth Prabhu
Keyword(s):  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Vagus Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Random Noise ◽  
Auditory Pathway ◽  
Autonomic Tone ◽  
Auditory Neuroscience ◽  
Transcranial Random Noise Stimulation ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation ◽  
Auricular Branch

Stimulating the Vagus nerve helps maintain the autonomic tone, indicating stabilising any hyperactivity in the nervous system. The vagus nerve stimulation is applied in individuals with seizures, depression, sepsis, pain, obesity, cardiovascular disease, lung disease, diabetes, stroke, and traumatic brain injury. Auditory neuroscience has been widely applied in individuals with tinnitus and has been demonstrated as a successful neuromodulation technique. Individuals with peripheral lesions of the hair cells induce a maladaptive change in the plasticity resulting in hyperactivity in the auditory and non-auditory structures. In order to reduce this hyperactivity, neuromodulation techniques such as; transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation, transcranial alternating current stimulation, transcranial random noise stimulation, neurofeedback, epidural and subdural cortical and deep brain stimulation. The vagus nerve stimulation is also one form of neuromodulation technique considered to reduce the symptoms of tinnitus. It is believed that the ramus Auricularis Nervi vagi, an afferent sensory branch of the vagus nerve, innervates the afferent sensory branch of the vagus nerve, the ramus auricularis nervi vagi also innervate the outer ear canal and parts of the auricle. This auricular branch of the vagus nerve also called Arnold's nerve, which gives a projection to the nucleus of the solitary tract. The vagus nerve stimulation in individuals with tinnitus works to activate the auricular branch of the vagus nerve to reduce its symptoms. A similar principle of vagus nerve stimulation can be tried upon in individuals with misophonia. Literatures states that individuals with misophonia have hyperactivity in their non-classical auditory pathway that can be suppressed with the help of vagus nerve stimulation. The article discusses the possible effects of vagus nerve stimulation in individuals with misophonia.

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