TEMPORAL-FREQUENCY PROCESSING OF THE CONSPECIFIC COMMUNICATION CALLS IN MOUSE AUDITORY MIDBRAIN NEURONS WITH DIFFERENT RESPONSE PATTERNS

The majority of sensory physiology experiments have used anesthesia to facilitate the recording of neural activity. Current techniques allow researchers to study sensory function in the context of varying behavioral states. To reconcile results across multiple behavioral and anesthetic states, it is important to consider how and to what extent anesthesia plays a role in shaping neural response properties. The role of anesthesia has been the subject of much debate, but the extent to which sensory coding properties are altered by anesthesia has yet to be fully defined. In this study we asked how urethane, an anesthetic commonly used for avian and mammalian sensory physiology, affects the coding of complex communication vocalizations (songs) and simple artificial stimuli in the songbird auditory midbrain. We measured spontaneous and song-driven spike rates, spectrotemporal receptive fields, and neural discriminability from responses to songs in single auditory midbrain neurons. In the same neurons, we recorded responses to pure tone stimuli ranging in frequency and intensity. Finally, we assessed the effect of urethane on population-level representations of birdsong. Results showed that intrinsic neural excitability is significantly depressed by urethane but that spectral tuning, single neuron discriminability, and population representations of song do not differ significantly between unanesthetized and anesthetized animals.

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Some clues to the nature of semantic development

Journal of Child Language ◽

10.1017/s0305000900000635 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 185-194 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

Author(s):

Margaret Donaldson ◽

James McGarrigle

Keyword(s):

The Other ◽

Response Patterns ◽

Semantic Development ◽

Different Response

ABSTRACTStudies of comprehension of the quantifiers all and more are reported. The subjects were children between the ages of three and five. There were two main conditions. In one of these the objects to which the quantifiers related were enclosed in containers which either were or were not filled by the objects. In the other no containers were present. These conditions yielded substantially different response patterns. The relation of the findings to those typically obtained from Piagetian conservation tasks is discussed; and the implications for theories of semantic development are considered.

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Two novel tetraphenylethylene-skeleton salamo-type fluorescent probes: Specific recognition of cyanide through different response patterns

New Journal of Chemistry ◽

10.1039/d1nj03608d ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yin-Xia Sun ◽

Zhuang-Zhuang Chen ◽

Geng Guo ◽

Ruo-Yu Li ◽

Ting Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fluorescent Probes ◽

Response Patterns ◽

Specific Recognition ◽

Different Response

Based on tetraphenylethylene as the skeleton, two novel salamo-type fluorescent probes (TPES1 = 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde O-(3-(((-2-hydroxy-5-(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)benzylidene)amino)oxy)propyl) oxime and TPES2 = bis(2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde O-(3-(((2-hydroxy-5-(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)benzylidene)amino)oxy)propyl) dioxime) were designed and synthesized. Through the colorimetric and...

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Exploring the Role of Complexity, Content and Individual Differences in Aesthetic Reactions to Semi-Abstract Art Photographs

Art & Perception ◽

10.1163/22134913-20191139 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 89-119

Author(s):

Nathalie Vissers ◽

Pieter Moors ◽

Dominique Genin ◽

Johan Wagemans

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

A Priori ◽

Data Driven ◽

Future Research ◽

Response Patterns ◽

Online Study ◽

Exploratory Data ◽

Science Collaboration ◽

Set Up ◽

Different Response

Artistic photography is an interesting, but often overlooked, medium within the field of empirical aesthetics. Grounded in an art–science collaboration with art photographer Dominique Genin, this project focused on the relationship between the complexity of a photograph and its aesthetic appeal (beauty, pleasantness, interest). An artistic series of 24 semi-abstract photographs that play with multiple layers, recognisability vs unrecognizability and complexity was specifically created and selected for the project. A large-scale online study with a broad range of individuals (n = 453, varying in age, gender and art expertise) was set up. Exploratory data-driven analyses revealed two clusters of individuals, who responded differently to the photographs. Despite the semi-abstract nature of the photographs, differences seemed to be driven more consistently by the ‘content’ of the photograph than by its complexity levels. No consistent differences were found between clusters in age, gender or art expertise. Together, these results highlight the importance of exploratory, data-driven work in empirical aesthetics to complement and nuance findings from hypotheses-driven studies, as they allow to go further than a priori assumptions, to explore underlying clusters of participants with different response patterns, and to point towards new venues for future research. Data and code for the analyses reported in this article can be found at https://osf.io/2fws6/.

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Neuronal pair and triplet interactions in the auditory midbrain of the leopard frog

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.1991.66.5.1549 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 66 (5) ◽

pp. 1549-1563 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

J. J. Eggermont

Keyword(s):

Stimulus Type ◽

Extreme Values ◽

Feedback Inhibition ◽

Interaction Strength ◽

Stimulus Level ◽

Leopard Frog ◽

Torus Semicircularis ◽

Auditory Midbrain ◽

Neural Correlation ◽

Midbrain Neurons

1. With the use of two independent microelectrodes and multiunit spike separation, 26 neural pairs, 17 triplets, and 8 quadruplets were recorded in the auditory midbrain of the leopard frog, resulting in a total of 125 neural pairs. 2. Functional interrelationships between neurons were studied by analyzing 638 cross-coincidence histograms as functions of stimulus type, stimulus level, and estimated neuron distance. Significance criteria for correlograms were established on the basis of the distribution of extreme values in a large number of correlograms for nonsimultaneously recorded pairs. 3. Simultaneous recordings from three neurons, that all showed significant neural pair correlations were analyzed with the use of the joint occurrence diagram, which displays the joint coincidences for the firings of two units (a and b) with the firings of the trigger unit (c). 4. It was found that 97.5% of the pairs showed a significant stimulus-induced correlation; neighboring neurons exhibited a stronger stimulus correlation (synchrony) than more distant neurons. 5. Positive neural interaction strength (75% to shared excitatory input) was independent of neuron distance (taking into account that the estimated electrode distance in the present investigation was never greater than 300 microns) and occurred in 25% of the pairs investigated. About 25% of the positive neural correlations could be attributed to unidirectional excitation, the majority of which was found for single-electrode pairs. Negative neural correlation occurred in 8% of the pairs and, with one exception, was found only for neurons recorded on the same electrode. 6. Evidence for the presence of feed-forward and/or feedback inhibition was found. 7. There was a strong stimulus-type influence on stimulus correlation and on positive neural correlation, whereas stimulus intensity affected the stimulus correlation but not the neural correlation. 8. From the incidence of triplet correlations, it was concluded that the divergence of afferents onto midbrain neurons was limited; it was unlikely that more than three neurons were contacted by one afferent. In contrast, convergence of afferents on torus semicircularis cells was widespread; 40-50% of the midbrain neurons were bimodally tuned and received input originating from the two auditory papillae. Convergence of fibers from the same papilla was also extensive. 9. Fast modulation of functional neural connectivity through the activity of other neurons was found, although this was probably not the result of actual changes in synaptic strength but of synchronized changes in firing rate.

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Response Properties of Single Neurons in the Zebra Finch Auditory Midbrain: Response Patterns, Frequency Coding, Intensity Coding, and Spike Latencies

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00633.2003 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 91 (1) ◽

pp. 136-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Sarah M. N. Woolley ◽

John H. Casseday

Keyword(s):

Zebra Finch ◽

Auditory Processing ◽

Sound Level ◽

Auditory Information ◽

Response Patterns ◽

Auditory Midbrain ◽

Complex Signals ◽

Tuning Curves ◽

Intensity Coding ◽

Frequency Coding

The avian mesencephalicus lateralis, dorsalis (MLd) is the auditory midbrain nucleus in which multiple parallel inputs from lower brain stem converge and through which most auditory information passes to reach the forebrain. Auditory processing in the MLd has not been investigated in songbirds. We studied the tuning properties of single MLd neurons in adult male zebra finches. Pure tones were used to examine tonotopy, temporal response patterns, frequency coding, intensity coding, spike latencies, and duration tuning. Most neurons had no spontaneous activity. The tonotopy of MLd is like that of other birds and mammals; characteristic frequencies (CFs) increase in a dorsal to ventral direction. Four major response patterns were found: 1) onset (49% of cells); 2) primary-like (20%); 3) sustained (19%); and 4) primary-like with notch (12%). CFs ranged between 0.9 and 6.1 kHz, matching the zebra finch hearing range and the power spectrum of song. Tuning curves were generally V-shaped, but complex curves, with multiple peaks or noncontiguous excitatory regions, were observed in 22% of cells. Rate-level functions indicated that 51% of nononset cells showed monotonic relationships between spike rate and sound level. Other cells showed low saturation or nonmonotonic responses. Spike latencies ranged from 4 to 40 ms, measured at CF. Spike latencies generally decreased with increasing sound pressure level (SPL), although paradoxical latency shifts were observed in 16% of units. For onset cells, changes in SPL produced smaller latency changes than for cells showing other response types. Results suggest that auditory midbrain neurons may be particularly suited for processing temporally complex signals with a high degree of precision.

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Specific loss of neural sensitivity to interaural time difference of unmodulated noise stimuli following noise-induced hearing loss

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00349.2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 124 (4) ◽

pp. 1165-1182

Author(s):

Hariprakash Haragopal ◽

Ryan Dorkoski ◽

Austin R. Pollard ◽

Gareth A. Whaley ◽

Timothy R. Wohl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Interaural Time Difference ◽

Acoustic Trauma ◽

Sound Level ◽

Broadband Noise ◽

Neural Responses ◽

Auditory Midbrain ◽

Midbrain Neurons ◽

Perceptual Abilities ◽

Encode Time

Sensorineural hearing loss compromises perceptual abilities that arise from hearing with two ears, yet its effects on binaural aspects of neural responses are largely unknown. We found that, following severe hearing loss because of acoustic trauma, auditory midbrain neurons specifically lost the ability to encode time differences between the arrival of a broadband noise stimulus to the two ears, whereas the encoding of sound level differences between the two ears remained uncompromised.

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