Communication calls produced by electrical stimulation of four structures in the guinea pig brain.
Female; Male; Animals; Acoustic Stimulation/methods; Auditory Perception/physiology; Brain/*physiology; Electric Stimulation/methods; Guinea Pigs; Neurons/physiology; Animal/physiology; Vocalization
One of the main central processes affecting the cortical representation of conspecific vocalizations is the collateral output from the extended motor system for call generation. Before starting to study this interaction we sought to compare the characteristics of calls produced by stimulating four different parts of the brain in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus). By using anaesthetised animals we were able to reposition electrodes without distressing the animals. Trains of 100 electrical pulses were used to stimulate the midbrain periaqueductal grey (PAG), hypothalamus, amygdala, and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Each structure produced a similar range of calls, but in significantly different proportions. Two of the spontaneous calls (chirrup and purr) were never produced by electrical stimulation and although we identified versions of chutter, durr and tooth chatter, they differed significantly from our natural call templates. However, we were routinely able to elicit seven other identifiable calls. All seven calls were produced both during the 1.6 s period of stimulation and subsequently in a period which could last for more than a minute. A single stimulation site could produce four or five different calls, but the amygdala was much less likely to produce a scream, whistle or rising whistle than any of the other structures. These three high-frequency calls were more likely to be produced by females than males. There were also differences in the timing of the call production with the amygdala primarily producing calls during the electrical stimulation and the hypothalamus mainly producing calls after the electrical stimulation. For all four structures a significantly higher stimulation current was required in males than females. We conclude that all four structures can be stimulated to produce fictive vocalizations that should be useful in studying the relationship between the vocal motor system and cortical sensory representation.
Green David B; Shackleton Trevor M; Grimsley Jasmine M S; Zobay Oliver; Palmer Alan R; Wallace Mark N
PloS one
2018
1905-07
Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194091" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1371/journal.pone.0194091</a>
The cost of assuming the life history of a host: acoustic startle in the parasitoid fly Ormia ochracea.
Female; Male; Animals; Auditory Perception/physiology; Walking/physiology; Ultrasonics; *Acoustics; Diptera/*physiology; Gryllidae/*growth & development/*parasitology; Life Cycle Stages/*physiology; Parasites/*physiology; Reflex; Animal/physiology; Startle/*physiology; Vocalization; Flight
In the obligatory reproductive dependence of a parasite on its host, the parasite must trade the benefit of 'outsourcing' functions like reproduction for the risk of assuming hazards associated with the host. In the present study, we report behavioral adaptations of a parasitic fly, Ormia ochracea, that resemble those of its cricket hosts. Ormia females home in on the male cricket's songs and deposit larvae, which burrow into the cricket, feed and emerge to pupate. Because male crickets call at night, gravid female Ormia in search of hosts are subject to bat predation, in much the same way as female crickets are when responding to male song. We show that Ormia has evolved the same evasive behavior as have crickets: an acoustic startle response to bat-like ultrasound that manifests clearly only during flight. Furthermore, like crickets, Ormia has a sharp response boundary between the frequencies of song and bat cries, resembling categorical perception first described in the context of human speech.
Rosen M J; Levin E C; Hoy R R
The Journal of experimental biology
2009
2009-12
Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.033183" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1242/jeb.033183</a>
Projections from auditory cortex to midbrain cholinergic neurons that project to the inferior colliculus.
Acetylcholine/*metabolism; Amidines; Animals; Auditory Cortex/*cytology/metabolism; Auditory Perception/physiology; Brain Mapping; Choline O-Acetyltransferase/metabolism; Cholinergic Fibers/metabolism/ultrastructure; Dextrans; Female; Functional Laterality/physiology; Guinea Pigs; Immunohistochemistry; Inferior Colliculi/*cytology/metabolism; Male; Mesencephalon/*cytology/metabolism; Neural Pathways/cytology/metabolism; Neuroanatomical Tract-Tracing Techniques; Neuronal Tract-Tracers; Neurons/*cytology/metabolism; Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus/*cytology/metabolism; Rhodamines; Synaptic Transmission/physiology
We have shown that auditory cortex projects to cholinergic cells in the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPT) and laterodorsal tegmental nucleus (LDT). PPT and LDT are the sources of cholinergic projections to the inferior colliculus, but it is not known if the cortical inputs contact the cholinergic cells that project to the inferior colliculus. We injected FluoroRuby into auditory cortex in pigmented guinea pigs to label cortical projections to PPT and LDT. In the same animals, we injected Fast Blue into the left or right inferior colliculus to label PPT and LDT cells that project to the inferior colliculus. We processed the brain to identify cholinergic cells with an antibody to choline acetyltransferase, which was visualized with a green fluorescent marker distinguishable from both FluoroRuby and Fast Blue. We then examined the PPT and LDT to determine whether boutons of FluoroRuby-labeled cortical axons were in close contact with cells that were double-labeled with the retrograde tracer and the immunolabel. Apparent contacts were observed ipsilateral and, less often, contralateral to the injected cortex. On both sides, the contacts were more numerous in PPT than in LDT. The results indicate that auditory cortex projects directly to brainstem cholinergic cells that innervate the ipsilateral or contralateral inferior colliculus. This suggests that cortical projections could elicit cholinergic effects on both sides of the auditory midbrain.
Schofield B R
Neuroscience
2010
2010-03
Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2009.12.008" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1016/j.neuroscience.2009.12.008</a>
Early development of intrinsic and synaptic properties of chicken nucleus laminaris neurons.
Action Potentials/physiology; Aging/physiology; Animals; Auditory Pathways/cytology/*embryology/physiology; Auditory Perception/physiology; Body Patterning/physiology; Brain Stem/cytology/*embryology/physiology; Cell Differentiation/*physiology; Chick Embryo; Chickens; Cochlear Nucleus/cytology/*embryology/physiology; Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials/physiology; Neurons/cytology/*physiology; Patch-Clamp Techniques; Potassium Channels; Sound Localization/physiology; Synapses/*physiology/ultrastructure; Time Factors; Voltage-Gated/physiology
Onset of auditory brainstem responses in chickens takes place at about embryonic day 11/12 (E11/12). We investigated early development of neuronal properties of chicken nucleus laminaris neurons, the third-order auditory neurons critically involved in sound localization. Whole-cell patch recordings were performed in brainstem slices obtained at E10, E11, E12, E14, E16, and E18. At E18 neurons acquired an adult-like firing pattern in response to prolonged depolarizing current injections, with a single spike at the onset of the current injection followed by a plateau of membrane potential. At earlier ages, however, multiple spikes and/or subthreshold membrane potential oscillations were generated. We observed a \textgreaterthreefold reduction in input resistance from E10 to E18, and progressive changes in excitability properties, such as elevated threshold currents for spike generation, increased spike rising and falling rates, accompanied by reduced spike width and enhanced ability to follow high frequency inputs. Consistent with development of firing properties, the amplitude of voltage-gated potassium channel (Kv) currents increased by approximately threefold from E10 to E18, with a dramatic increase ( approximately ninefold) in the low threshold component. Excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) were first recorded at E10, prior to and independent of the cochlear afferent inputs from the auditory nerve to the cochlear nucleus. EPSPs became markedly briefer in duration during the period studied. We conclude that the basic features of the key neuronal properties of NL neurons are well constructed during early development from E10 to E18.
Gao H; Lu Y
Neuroscience
2008
2008-04
Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2008.01.059" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1016/j.neuroscience.2008.01.059</a>