scholarly journals Delineation of a frequency-organized region isolated from the mouse primary auditory cortex

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (7) ◽  
pp. 2900-2920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Tsukano ◽  
Masao Horie ◽  
Takeshi Bo ◽  
Arikuni Uchimura ◽  
Ryuichi Hishida ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Pyramidal Neurons ◽  
Medial Geniculate Body ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Medial Geniculate ◽  
Distinct Frequency ◽  
Nonpyramidal Neurons ◽  
Frequency Area

The primary auditory cortex (AI) is the representative recipient of information from the ears in the mammalian cortex. However, the delineation of the AI is still controversial in a mouse. Recently, it was reported, using optical imaging, that two distinct areas of the AI, located ventrally and dorsally, are activated by high-frequency tones, whereas only one area is activated by low-frequency tones. Here, we show that the dorsal high-frequency area is an independent region that is separated from the rest of the AI. We could visualize the two distinct high-frequency areas using flavoprotein fluorescence imaging, as reported previously. SMI-32 immunolabeling revealed that the dorsal region had a different cytoarchitectural pattern from the rest of the AI. Specifically, the ratio of SMI-32-positive pyramidal neurons to nonpyramidal neurons was larger in the dorsal high-frequency area than the rest of the AI. We named this new region the dorsomedial field (DM). Retrograde tracing showed that neurons projecting to the DM were localized in the rostral part of the ventral division of the medial geniculate body with a distinct frequency organization, where few neurons projected to the AI. Furthermore, the responses of the DM to ultrasonic courtship songs presented by males were significantly greater in females than in males; in contrast, there was no sex difference in response to artificial pure tones. Our findings offer a basic outline on the processing of ultrasonic vocal information on the basis of the precisely subdivided, multiple frequency-organized auditory cortex map in mice.

Auditory Imagery Modulates Frequency-specific Areas in the Human Auditory Cortex

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jihoon Oh ◽  
Jae Hyung Kwon ◽  
Po Song Yang ◽  
Jaeseung Jeong
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Auditory Imagery ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
Control Functional ◽  
Response Area

Neural responses in early sensory areas are influenced by top–down processing. In the visual system, early visual areas have been shown to actively participate in top–down processing based on their topographical properties. Although it has been suggested that the auditory cortex is involved in top–down control, functional evidence of topographic modulation is still lacking. Here, we show that mental auditory imagery for familiar melodies induces significant activation in the frequency-responsive areas of the primary auditory cortex (PAC). This activation is related to the characteristics of the imagery: when subjects were asked to imagine high-frequency melodies, we observed increased activation in the high- versus low-frequency response area; when the subjects were asked to imagine low-frequency melodies, the opposite was observed. Furthermore, we found that A1 is more closely related to the observed frequency-related modulation than R in tonotopic subfields of the PAC. Our findings suggest that top–down processing in the auditory cortex relies on a mechanism similar to that used in the perception of external auditory stimuli, which is comparable to early visual systems.

scholarly journals Antidromic Activation Reveals Tonotopically Organized Projections From Primary Auditory Cortex to the Central Nucleus of the Inferior Colliculus in Guinea Pig

2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 1413-1427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hubert H. Lim ◽  
David J. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Inferior Colliculus ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Medial Geniculate Body ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Central Nucleus ◽  
Antidromic Activation ◽  
Antidromic Stimulation ◽  
Medial Geniculate ◽  
Layer V

The inferior colliculus (IC) is highly modulated by descending projections from higher auditory and nonauditory centers. Traditionally, corticofugal fibers were believed to project mainly to the extralemniscal IC regions. However, there is some anatomical evidence suggesting that a substantial number of fibers from the primary auditory cortex (A1) project into the IC central nucleus (ICC) and appear to be tonotopically organized. In this study, we used antidromic stimulation combined with other electrophysiological techniques to further investigate the spatial organization of descending fibers from A1 to the ICC in ketamine-anesthetized guinea pigs. Based on our findings, corticofugal fibers originate predominantly from layer V of A1, are amply scattered throughout the ICC and only project to ICC neurons with a similar best frequency (BF). This strict tonotopic pattern suggests that these corticofugal projections are involved with modulating spectral features of sound. Along the isofrequency dimension of the ICC, there appears to be some differences in projection patterns that depend on BF region and possibly isofrequency location within A1 and may be indicative of different descending coding strategies. Furthermore, the success of the antidromic stimulation method in our study demonstrates that it can be used to investigate some of the functional properties associated with corticofugal projections to the ICC as well as to other regions (e.g., medial geniculate body, cochlear nucleus). Such a method can address some of the limitations with current anatomical techniques for studying the auditory corticofugal system.

Comparison of noise and tone azimuth tuning of neurons in cat primary auditory cortex and medical geniculate body

1995 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 961-980 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Clarey ◽  
P. Barone ◽  
W. A. Irons ◽  
F. K. Samson ◽  
T. J. Imig
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Medial Geniculate Body ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Broadband Noise ◽  
Statistical Analyses ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Degree Elevation ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Medial Geniculate ◽  
Ventral Nucleus

1. A comparison of the azimuth tuning of single neurons to broadband noise and to best frequency (BF) tone bursts was made in primary auditory cortex (AI: n = 173) and the medial geniculate body (MGB: n = 52) of barbiturate-anesthetized cats. Observations were largely restricted to cells located within the tonotopically organized divisions of the MGB (i.e., the ventral nucleus and the lateral division of the posterior nuclear group) and the middle layers of AI. All cells studied had BFs > or = 4 kHz. 2. The responses of each cell to sounds presented from seven frontal azimuthal locations (-90 to +90 degrees in 30 degrees steps; 0 degree elevation) and at five sound pressure levels (SPLs: 0-80 dB or 5-85 dB in 20-dB steps) provided an azimuth-level data set. Responses were averaged over SPL to obtain an azimuth function, and a number of features of this function were used to describe azimuth tuning to noise and to tone stimulation. Azimuth function modulation was used to assess azimuth sensitivity, and cells were categorized as sensitive or insensitive depending on whether modulation was > or = 75% or < 75% of maximum, respectively. The majority (88%) of cells in the sample were azimuth sensitive to noise stimulation, and statistical analyses were restricted to these cells, which are presumably best suited to encode sound source azimuth. Azimuth selectivity was assessed by a preferred azimuth range (PAR) over which azimuth function values exceeded 75% (PAR75) or 50% of maximum response. Cells were categorized according to the location and extent of their noise PARs. Unbounded cells had laterally located PARs that extended to the lateral pole (+/- 90 degrees); bounded cells had PARs that were contained entirely within the frontal hemifield, and a subset of these had PARs centered on the midline (+/- 15 degrees). A final group of cells exhibited multipeaked azimuth functions to noise stimulation. 3. Azimuth functions to noise were generally more selective and/or more sensitive than those to tones. Statistical analyses showed that these differences were significant for cells in each azimuth function category, and for the thalamic and cortical samples. With the exception of multipeaked cells, responsiveness to noise was significantly lower than that to tones in all categories, and for the thalamic and cortical samples.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Origins of medial geniculate body projections to physiologically defined zones of rat primary auditory cortex

1999 ◽  
Vol 130 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 42-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffery A Winer ◽  
Sharon L Sally ◽  
David T Larue ◽  
Jack B Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Medial Geniculate Body ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Medial Geniculate

scholarly journals Thalamocortical Projectional Divergence Leads to Complexity in Functional Organizations in Mouse Auditory Cortex

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinpei Ohga ◽  
Hiroaki Tsukano ◽  
Masao Horie ◽  
Hiroki Terashima ◽  
Nana Nishio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Medial Geniculate Body ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Auditory Information ◽  
Complex Behaviour ◽  
Thalamocortical Projections ◽  
Medial Geniculate ◽  
Auditory Field

AbstractFrequency-related topological projections from the ventral division of the medial geniculate body (MGv) relay the tonotopic organization found in primary auditory cortex (A1). However, relaying circuits of the functional organization to higher-order, secondary auditory field (A2) have not been identified so far. Here, using tracing, we found that A2 receives dense topological projections from MGv in mice, and that tonotopy was established in A2 even when primary fields including A1 were removed. These indicate that thalamic inputs to A2 are sufficient for generating its tonotopy. Moreover, neuronal responses in the thalamocortical recipient layer of A2 showed wider bandwidth and greater heterogeneity of the best frequency distribution than those of A1, which was attributed to larger divergence of thalamocortical projections from MGv to A2 than those from MGv to A1. The current study identifies that the functional organization in the auditory cortex can be determined by the structure of thalamocortical input.Significant StatementAlthough peripheral input patterns to the primary auditory cortex (A1) of the brain are well understood, how tonal information is relayed to higher-order regions such as the secondary auditory field (A2) remains unclear. This work revealed a new source of auditory information to A2; the tonal map in mouse A2 is primarily produced by orderly projections from the primary auditory thalamus. We also found that the complex behaviour and organization of neurons in A2 is generated by divergent projections from the primary thalamus that converge on neurons in A2. Our findings indicate that thalamocortical projections constitute a major factor that determines the regional properties and functional organization of mouse A2.

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