Organization of orbitofrontal‐auditory pathways in the Mongolian gerbil

Ying, Rose; Hamlette, Lashaka; Nikoobakht, Laudan; Balaji, Rakshita; Miko, Nicole; Caras, Melissa L.

doi:10.1002/cne.25525

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 188 publications

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“…Thus, it is plausible that the behavioral task also engages these indirect networks that involve Cg. Further, other regions may also mediate this top-down influence onto AC, such as frontal cortex (Winkowski et al 2013) including orbitofrontal cortex (Winkowski et al 2018;Ying et al 2023;Mittelstadt and Kanold 2023). In our task, cognitive mechanisms that engaged Cg and other regions noted above, may contribute to aspects of listening effort that could (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder.…”

Section: Relationship To Anatomical and Functional Regions Of The Cin...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cingulate cortex facilitates auditory perception under challenging listening conditions

Anbuhl,

Diez Castro,

Lee

et al. 2023

Preprint

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We often exert greater cognitive resources (i.e., listening effort) to understand speech under challenging acoustic conditions. This mechanism can be overwhelmed in those with hearing loss, resulting in cognitive fatigue in adults, and potentially impeding language acquisition in children. However, the neural mechanisms that support listening effort are uncertain. Evidence from human studies suggest that the cingulate cortex is engaged under difficult listening conditions, and may exert top-down modulation of the auditory cortex (AC). Here, we asked whether the gerbil cingulate cortex (Cg) sends anatomical projections to the AC that facilitate perceptual performance. To model challenging listening conditions, we used a sound discrimination task in which stimulus parameters were presented in either ‘Easy’ or ‘Hard’ blocks (i.e., long or short stimulus duration, respectively). Gerbils achieved statistically identical psychometric performance in Easy and Hard blocks. Anatomical tracing experiments revealed a strong, descending projection from layer 2/3 of the Cg1 subregion of the cingulate cortex to superficial and deep layers of primary and dorsal AC. To determine whether Cg improves task performance under challenging conditions, we bilaterally infused muscimol to inactivate Cg1, and found that psychometric thresholds were degraded for only Hard blocks. To test whether the Cg-to-AC projection facilitates task performance, we chemogenetically inactivated these inputs and found that performance was only degraded during Hard blocks. Taken together, the results reveal a descending cortical pathway that facilitates perceptual performance during challenging listening conditions.Significance StatementSensory perception often occurs under challenging conditions, such a noisy background or dim environment, yet stimulus sensitivity can remain unaffected. One hypothesis is that cognitive resources are recruited to the task, thereby facilitating perceptual performance. Here, we identify a top-down cortical circuit, from cingulate to auditory cortex in the gerbils, that supports auditory perceptual performance under challenging listening conditions. This pathway is a plausible circuit that supports effortful listening, and may be degraded by hearing loss.

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Section: Relationship To Anatomical and Functional Regions Of The Cin...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cingulate cortex facilitates auditory perception under challenging listening conditions

Anbuhl,

Diez Castro,

Lee

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Orbitofrontal cortex conveys stimulus and task information to the auditory cortex

Mittelstadt,

Kanold

2023

Current Biology

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Psilocybin biphasically modulates cortical and behavioral activity in mice

Brockett,

Francis

2024

Preprint

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Psilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic believed to have therapeutic potential for neuropsychiatric conditions. Despite well-documented prevalence of perceptual alterations, hallucinations, and synesthesia associated with psychedelic experiences, little is known about how psilocybin affects sensory cortex or alters the activity of neurons in awake animals. To investigate, we conducted 2-photon imaging experiments in auditory cortex of awake mice and video analysis of mouse behavior, both at baseline and during psilocybin treatment. We found biphasic effects of psilocybin on behavioral and cortical activity. A 2 mg/kg dose of psilocybin initially increased behavioral activity and neural responses to sound. 30 minutes post-dose, mice became behaviorally hypoactive and cortical responses to sound decreased, while neural response variance and noise correlations increased. In contrast, neuronal selectivity for auditory stimuli remained stable during psilocybin treatment. Our results suggest that psilocybin modulates the role of intrinsic versus stimulus-driven activity in sensory cortex, while preserving fundamental sensory processing.

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Organization of orbitofrontal‐auditory pathways in the Mongolian gerbil

Cited by 6 publications

References 188 publications

Cingulate cortex facilitates auditory perception under challenging listening conditions

Cingulate cortex facilitates auditory perception under challenging listening conditions

Orbitofrontal cortex conveys stimulus and task information to the auditory cortex

Psilocybin biphasically modulates cortical and behavioral activity in mice

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