Neural correlates of perceptual plasticity in the auditory midbrain and thalamus

dc.contributor.advisorCaras, Melissa L
dc.contributor.authorYing, Rose
dc.contributor.authorStolzberg, Daniel J
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-28T13:10:27Z
dc.date.available2024-08-28T13:10:27Z
dc.date.issued2024-08-28
dc.descriptionThe goal of this study was to characterize context-dependent and learning-related changes in sound sensitivity in the auditory midbrain and thalamus. Here, we recorded single- and multi-unit activity from the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC) and the ventral subdivision of the medial geniculate nucleus (MGV) of Mongolian gerbils under two different behavioral contexts: as animals performed an amplitude modulation (AM) detection task and as they were passively exposed to AM sounds.
dc.description.abstractHearing is an active process in which listeners must detect and identify sounds, segregate and discriminate stimulus features, and extract their behavioral relevance. Adaptive changes in sound detection can emerge rapidly, during sudden shifts in acoustic or environmental context, or more slowly as a result of practice. Although we know that context- and learning-dependent changes in the spectral and temporal sensitivity of auditory cortical (ACX) neurons support many aspects of perceptual plasticity, the contribution of subcortical auditory regions to this process is less understood. Here, we recorded single- and multi-unit activity from the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC) and the ventral subdivision of the medial geniculate nucleus (MGV) of Mongolian gerbils under two different behavioral contexts: as animals performed an amplitude modulation (AM) detection task and as they were passively exposed to AM sounds. Using a signal detection framework to estimate neurometric sensitivity, we found that neural thresholds in both regions improved during task performance, and this improvement was driven by changes in firing rate rather than phase locking. We also found that ICC and MGV neurometric thresholds improved as animals learn to detect small AM depths during a multi-day perceptual training paradigm. Finally, we reveal that in the MGV, but not the ICC, context-dependent enhancements in AM sensitivity grow stronger during perceptual training, mirroring prior observations in the ACX. Together, our results suggest that the auditory midbrain and thalamus contribute to changes in sound processing and perception over rapid and slow timescales.
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was supported by National Institute of Health Grant T32DC00046 and F31DC021355 to R.Y.
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.13016/rfua-qpeo
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/33156
dc.relation.isAvailableAtCollege of Computer, Mathematical & Physical Sciencesen_us
dc.relation.isAvailableAtDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_us
dc.relation.isAvailableAtBiologyen_us
dc.relation.isAvailableAtUniversity of Maryland (College Park, MD)en_us
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United Statesen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/
dc.titleNeural correlates of perceptual plasticity in the auditory midbrain and thalamus
dc.typeDataset
local.equitableAccessSubmissionNo

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