Temporal plasticity in the primary auditory cortex induced by operant perceptual learning

Bao, Shaowen; Chang, Edward F.; Woods, Jennifer; Merzenich, Michael M.

doi:10.1038/nn1293

Cited by 234 publications

(202 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…We observed significant negative correlations between f h1͞ 2 and response latency in naïve rats (Fig. 3D, black circles; correlation analysis, r ϭ Ϫ0.5, P Ͻ 0.0001), as demonstrated by previous studies (6,15). The same tendency, however, was not found in PN-exposed rats (Fig.…”

Section: P35supporting

confidence: 87%

“…To document cortical tMTFs (15), trains of six tonal pulses (25-ms duration with 5-ms ramps at 60-dB SPL) were delivered through the speaker four times at each of eight repetition rates (2, 4, 7, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, and 20 pps) in a randomly interleaved sequence. The tone frequency was set at the CF of each site.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vector strength and Rayleigh statistic were used to quantify how well responses were time-locked to the repetitive pulses (15), using the following equation:…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Enduring effects of early structured noise exposure on temporal modulation in the primary auditory cortex

Zhou

Merzenich

2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Studies have shown that acoustic experiences significantly contribute to the functional shaping of the structural organization and signal processing capacities of the mammalian auditory system during postnatal development. Here, we show how an early epoch of exposure to structured noise influences temporal processing in the rat primary auditory cortex documented immediately after exposure and again in adulthood. Pups were continuously exposed to broadband-pulsed noise across the critical period for auditory system development. Immediately after cessation of exposure at postnatal day Ϸ35 (P35) or Ϸ55 days later (i.e., P90) in other rats, the temporal modulation-transfer functions of cortical neurons were documented. We found that pulsed noise exposure at a low modulation rate significantly decreased cortical responses to repetitive stimuli presented across a range of higher modulation rates. The highest temporal rate at which temporal modulationtransfer function was at half of its maximum was reduced when compared with naïve rats. Low-rate pulsed noise exposure also decreased cortical response synchronization at higher stimulus rates, as shown by vector strength and Rayleigh statistic measures. These postexposure changes endured into adulthood. These findings bear significant implications for the role of early sound experiences as contributors to the ontogeny of human auditory and language-related abilities and impairments.cortical plasticity ͉ critical period ͉ temporal modulation-transfer function ͉ temporal processing S ounds in natural environments, such as animal vocalizations and human speech, have complex temporal structures. The importance of temporal structure in acoustic communication and orientation has been demonstrated in many behavioral, psychological, and neurophysiological studies. The auditory cortex plays a critical role in the perception of time-varying features of aural speech and of other complex acoustic stimuli. In humans, speech comprehension is correlated with responses of cortical neurons to temporal envelopes of speech (1), and individuals with impaired language abilities have impaired successive signal evoked cortical responses (2, 3).Earlier studies in different subprimate animal species have shown that cortical neurons display different temporal filtering properties (e.g., low-pass, responding to sound trains below certain rates, or band-pass, responding best to a specific rate, etc.) (4-7). In general, cortical neurons respond to repetitive sounds at far lower rates and with poorer temporal precision when compared with auditory nerve fibers or neurons in subcortical auditory nuclei and, in most mammalian species, are not able to follow individual sound presented at rates faster than Ϸ20 pulses per second (pps). It has been argued that for those more rapidly occurring stimuli (e.g., stimuli with repetition rate Ͼ100 pps), cortical neurons might apply a rate code instead of a temporal code (stimulus-synchronized responses) to represent the temporal structure (7). Most natural sounds, ...

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Section: P35supporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Enduring effects of early structured noise exposure on temporal modulation in the primary auditory cortex

Zhou

Merzenich

2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Previous studies of cortical plasticity in animals and humans have shown that when a task requires that attention be consistently directed towards a behaviorally relevant sensory stimulus (e.g. a somatosensory [9] or auditory stimulus [10]) over repeated practice sessions [11], robust changes in sensory cortical maps result ( [12] and Kerr CE, Wasserman RH and Moore CI. Cortical plasticity as a therapeutic mechanism for touch healing, under reveiw).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness

Lazar

Kerr

Wasserman³

et al. 2005

NeuroReport

1,279

825

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Previous research indicates that long-term meditation practice is associated with altered resting electroencephalogram patterns, suggestive of long lasting changes in brain activity. We hypothesized that meditation practice might also be associated with changes in the brain's physical structure. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess cortical thickness in 20 participants with extensive Insight meditation experience, which involves focused attention to internal experiences. Brain regions associated with attention, interoception and sensory processing were thicker in meditation participants than matched controls, including the prefrontal cortex and right anterior insula. Betweengroup differences in prefrontal cortical thickness were most pronounced in older participants, suggesting that meditation might offset age-related cortical thinning. Finally, the thickness of two regions correlated with meditation experience. These data provide the first structural evidence for experience-dependent cortical plasticity associated with meditation practice.

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“…The normalized cortical response at each repetition rate was calculated as the average response magnitude to the last five noise pulses divided by the response magnitude to the first noise pulse. The RRTF is the normalized cortical response as a function of temporal rate (16,17). In addition, cortical ability for processing high-rate stimuli was estimated with the highest temporal rate at which the RRTF was at least half of its maximum, referred to as f 1/2 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of spectral and temporal response selectivity in the auditory cortex

Chang

Bao²,

Imaizumi³

et al. 2005

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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146

159

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The mechanisms by which hearing selectivity is elaborated and refined in early development are very incompletely determined. In this study, we documented contributions of progressively maturing inhibitory influences on the refinement of spectral and temporal response properties in the primary auditory cortex. Inhibitory receptive fields (IRFs) of infant rat auditory cortical neurons were spectrally far broader and had extended over far longer duration than did those of adults. The selective refinement of IRFs was delayed relative to that of excitatory receptive fields by an Ϸ2-week period that corresponded to the critical period for plasticity. Local application of a GABA A receptor antagonist revealed that intracortical inhibition contributes to this progressive receptive field maturation for response selectivity in frequency. Conversely, it had no effect on the duration of IRFs or successive-signal cortical response recovery times. The importance of exposure to patterned acoustic inputs was suggested when both spectral and temporal IRF maturation were disrupted in rat pups reared in continuous, moderate-intensity noise. They were subsequently renormalized when animals were returned to standard housing conditions as adults.

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Temporal plasticity in the primary auditory cortex induced by operant perceptual learning

Cited by 234 publications

References 39 publications

Enduring effects of early structured noise exposure on temporal modulation in the primary auditory cortex

Enduring effects of early structured noise exposure on temporal modulation in the primary auditory cortex

Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness

Development of spectral and temporal response selectivity in the auditory cortex

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