Topography of acoustic response characteristics in the auditory cortex of the Kunming mouse

Topography of acoustic response characteristics in the auditory cortex (AC) of the Kunming (KM) mouse has been examined by using microelectrode recording techniques. Based on best-frequency (BF) maps, both the primary auditory field (AI) and the anterior auditory field (AAF) are tonotopically organized with a counter running frequency gradient. Within an isofrequency stripe, the width of the frequency-threshold curves of single neurons increases, and minimum threshold (MT) decreases towards more ventral locations. BFs in AI and AAF range from 4 to 38 kHz. Auditory neurons with BFs above 40 kHz are located at the rostrodorsal part of the AC. The findings suggest that the KM mouse is a good model suitable for auditory research.     

Sustained firing in auditory cortex evoked by preferred stimuli

It has been well documented that neurons in the auditory cortex of anaesthetized animals generally display transient responses to acoustic stimulation, and typically respond to a brief stimulus with one or fewer action potentials. The number of action potentials evoked by each stimulus usually does not increase with increasing stimulus duration. Such observations have long puzzled researchers across disciplines and raised serious questions regarding the role of the auditory cortex in encoding ongoing acoustic signals. Contrary to these long-held views, here we show that single neurons in both primary (area A1) and lateral belt areas of the auditory cortex of awake marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus) are capable of firing in a sustained manner over a prolonged period of time, especially when they are driven by their preferred stimuli. In contrast, responses become more transient or phasic when auditory cortex neurons respond to non-preferred stimuli. These findings suggest that when the auditory cortex is stimulated by a sound, a particular population of neurons fire maximally throughout the duration of the sound. Responses of other, less optimally driven neurons fade away quickly after stimulus onset. This results in a selective representation of the sound across both neuronal population and time.     

调频声频率变化率对大鼠听皮层神经元声反应的影响

采用在体细胞外单细胞记录方法,研究调频声频率变化率及时程对调频声所诱发的听皮层神经元反应的影响.实验在34只乌拉坦麻醉的SD大鼠上进行,在皮层41区记录了113个对调频声有反应的细胞电活动.观察发现,调频声刺激的时程和频率变化率发生改变,可对诱发的听皮层神经元反应的反应型式和放电频数产生影响.这种影响表明,听皮层在复杂声上传信息的处理过程中可能存在复杂的编码机制.     

Influence of a preceding auditory stimulus on evoked potential of the succeeding stimulus

In the present study, we investigated the influ.ence of the preceding auditory stimulus on the audi-tory-evoked potential (AEP) of the succeeding stimuli, whenthe human subjects were presented with a pair of auditorystimuli. We found that the evoked potential of the succeedingstimulus was inhibited completely by the preceding stimulus,as the inter-stimulus interval (ISI) was shorter than 150 ms.This influence was dependent on the IS1 of two stimuli, theshorter the ISI the stronger the influence would be. The in-hibitory influence of the preceding stimulus might be causedby the neural refractory effect.     

A possible neuronal basis for Doppler-shift compensation in echo-locating horseshoe bats

The auditory system of the horseshoe bat is finely tuned to the bat's individual vocalization frequency. To compensate for flight-induced Doppler shifts in the echo frequency, the horseshoe bat adjusts the frequency of its echo-location call to maintain the echo frequency within the narrow range to which its auditory system is best tuned. In this report I describe neurons in the midbrain tegmentum of the horseshoe bat, with properties that strongly indicate their involvement in this Doppler-shift compensation. The activity of these neurons was influenced by both sound emission and auditory stimuli. Neuronal discharges in response to vocalization, however, differed from those in response to purely auditory stimuli that mimicked the bat call. When an auditory stimulus was temporally locked to a preceding vocalization, the response was dependent on the time delay between the two. This delay-sensitivity completely disappeared when vocalizations were simulated acoustically. Only those vocalization and 'echo' parameters were encoded that occur in Doppler-shift compensation. In conclusion, I suggest a model for the regulation of the vocalization frequency through auditory feedback.     

电刺激大鼠mPFC对听皮层神经元听反应的影响

实验在40只成年SD大鼠上进行,使用常规电生理学方法,观察了电刺激大鼠内侧额叶前皮质(medial prefrontal cortex, mPFC)对听皮层神经元听反应的影响.在122个神经元上观察了电刺激mPFC对听反应的影响.对其中93个神经元作了详细分析发现,有73个神经元的听反应受到易化（39个,41.9%）或抑制（34个,36.6%）.刺激mPFC对听反应的影响存在最佳刺激间隔,大多数神经元（51个,69%）在10~15 ms之间.结果提示,大鼠mPFC可对听皮层神经元的听反应调制,这种调制可能是通过多级神经元环路实现的.     

自行车骑行过程中频率及生理节律对下肢肌电的影响研究

通过在不同生理节律下改变踏蹬频率的骑行实验,获得了如下结论:①臀大肌、股二头肌在早晨的肌电爆发点比下午早,腓肠肌在早晨的肌电爆发点比下午晚,而胫骨前肌、股直肌的肌电爆发点与频率有关;股二头肌下午的肌电结束点比早晨早;股直肌及股二头肌的放电区间下午比早晨短.②频率增加引起臀大肌、股直肌、股二头肌、股外肌肌电爆发点、结束点近似同步前移,但频率增加却引起胫骨前肌爆发点前移而结束点延迟.③臀大肌、股外肌、胫骨前肌、腓肠肌放电区域随频率的增加而发生显著波动,当频率处于80～90 r/min之间时,其放电区域较短,超出这个范围,则显著延长.     

基于非正弦激励的模拟电路故障诊断

传统交流故障字典法通过施加不同频率的正弦激励,以获得对待测电路中频率敏感元件更高的故障覆盖率。为减少多次对待测电路施加激励的时间开销,该文提出可将多个不同频率激励进行叠加,得到非正弦的激励信号作为待测电路激励。在此背景下,讨论了产生一个非正弦激励信号,使之能够包含所需测试频率分量的方法。并分析了在施加非正弦激励下情形下,对待测电路响应中不同频率分量进行解耦,识别各分量交流参数的可行性和需要解决的问题。结果表明:在已知叠加前波形频域特征时,可以反推出叠加前各个原始波形的特征参数。因此,可以在实现压缩传统交流故障字典法测试时间的同时,达到与传统方法相近的诊断能力。     

A synaptic memory trace for cortical receptive field plasticity

Receptive fields of sensory cortical neurons are plastic, changing in response to alterations of neural activity or sensory experience. In this way, cortical representations of the sensory environment can incorporate new information about the world, depending on the relevance or value of particular stimuli. Neuromodulation is required for cortical plasticity, but it is uncertain how subcortical neuromodulatory systems, such as the cholinergic nucleus basalis, interact with and refine cortical circuits. Here we determine the dynamics of synaptic receptive field plasticity in the adult primary auditory cortex (also known as AI) using in vivo whole-cell recording. Pairing sensory stimulation with nucleus basalis activation shifted the preferred stimuli of cortical neurons by inducing a rapid reduction of synaptic inhibition within seconds, which was followed by a large increase in excitation, both specific to the paired stimulus. Although nucleus basalis was stimulated only for a few minutes, reorganization of synaptic tuning curves progressed for hours thereafter: inhibition slowly increased in an activity-dependent manner to rebalance the persistent enhancement of excitation, leading to a retuned receptive field with new preference for the paired stimulus. This restricted period of disinhibition may be a fundamental mechanism for receptive field plasticity, and could serve as a memory trace for stimuli or episodes that have acquired new behavioural significance.     

Cortical remodelling induced by activity of ventral tegmental dopamine neurons.

Representations of sensory stimuli in the cerebral cortex can undergo progressive remodelling according to the behavioural importance of the stimuli. The cortex receives widespread projections from dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which are activated by new stimuli or unpredicted rewards, and are believed to provide a reinforcement signal for such learning-related cortical reorganization. In the primary auditory cortex (AI) dopamine release has been observed during auditory learning that remodels the sound-frequency representations. Furthermore, dopamine modulates long-term potentiation, a putative cellular mechanism underlying plasticity. Here we show that stimulating the VTA together with an auditory stimulus of a particular tone increases the cortical area and selectivity of the neural responses to that sound stimulus in AI. Conversely, the AI representations of nearby sound frequencies are selectively decreased. Strong, sharply tuned responses to the paired tones also emerge in a second cortical area, whereas the same stimuli evoke only poor or non-selective responses in this second cortical field in naive animals. In addition, we found that strong long-range coherence of neuronal discharge emerges between AI and this secondary auditory cortical area.     

基于多元线性逆滤波器的视顶盖神经元集群亮度信息解码研究

通过解码鸽子视顶盖(the optic tectum,OT)神经元集群亮度信息的方法,研究了OT区神经元集群编码亮度信息的神经机制。首先设计了具有瞬态闪变特性的亮度视觉刺激模式,采用微电极阵列记录了多通道的锋电位(spike)发放序列;然后提取了神经元集群的spike发放率特征,构造多元线性逆滤波器解码视觉刺激亮度;最后采用互相关和信息论的方法对解码结果进行了分析。结果表明:采用的多元线性逆滤波器有效解码了OT区神经元集群编码的亮度信息。通过对解码参数变化与解码精度的分析可知神经元集群数目13个、bin的宽度5 ms、刺激后15 ms、刺激后持续时间35 ms具有最高的解码精度。通过神经元集群中逆滤波器形态的分析发现,单神经元在亮度信息的编码过程中受周围神经元的动态调制。通过对解码精度与刺激闪变频率关系的分析,发现在刺激闪变频率19 Hz到53 Hz的范围内,重建质量较好,在刺激闪变频率为33.5 Hz时,重建质量达到最优。     

脑干听觉诱发电位慢成分

以短声和短纯音刺激大鼠、分别观察刺激强度和刺激音持续时间对大鼠脑干听觉诱发电位慢成分的影响。经叠加后记录在ＢＡＥＰ慢成分，其时程约１－８ｍｓ；在刺激后５－６ｍｓ处可见一阳性波波峰，且波峰潜伏期与ＢＡＥＰ快成分的Ｖ波峰潜伏斯相近。     

Role of frequency band integration in sharpening frequency tunings of the inferior colliculus neurons in the big brown bat,<Emphasis Type="Italic">Eptesicus fuscus</Emphasis>

By means of a particular two-tone stimulationparadigm in combination of using a pair of electrodes forsimultaneously recording from two inferior colliculus (IC)neurons, the current in vivo study is undertaken to explorethe role of frequency band integration (FBI) in sharpening offrequency tuning in the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus.Three major results are found: (1) The paired neurons cor-related to FBI are located not only within the same frequencyfilter bandwidth (FFB), but also across different FFBs. Therelations of their frequency tuning curves (FTCs) are mainlyof two types: the flank-overlapped and overlaid patterns. (2)Although the sharpness of FTCs between paired neurons ismutual, the sharpening efficiency of neurons located withinthe same FFB is higher than that of neurons across FFBs,and the FTCs of neurons with the best frequencies (BF) of 20--30 kHz are most strongly sharpened. (3) The strength ofFBI is weak near the BF but gradually increased with fre-quencies away from the BF of sound stimuli. This suggeststhat the dynamical FBI of the IC neurons located within and across the FFBs might be involved in the formation of func-tional FFB structures.     

Dopamine-mediated modulation of odour-evoked amygdala potentials during pavlovian conditioning

Pavlovian conditioning results when an innocuous stimulus, such as an odour, is paired with a behaviourally relevant stimulus, such as a foot-shock, so that eventually the former stimulus alone will elicit the behavioural response of the latter. The lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LAT) is necessary for the emotional memory formation in this paradigm. Enhanced neuronal firing in LAT to conditioned stimuli emerge in parallel with the behavioural changes and are dependent on local dopamine. To study the changes in neuronal excitability and synaptic drive that contribute to the pavlovian conditioning process, here we used in vivo intracellular recordings to examine LAT neurons during pavlovian conditioning in rats. We found that repeated pairings of an odour with a foot-shock resulted in enhanced post-synaptic potential (PSP) responses to the odour and increased neuronal excitability. However, a non-paired odour displayed PSP decrement. The dopamine antagonist haloperidol blocked the PSP enhancement and associated increased neuronal excitability, without reversing previous conditioning. These results demonstrate that conditioning and habituation processes produce opposite effects on LAT neurons and that dopamine is important in these events, consistent with its role in emotional memory formation.     

家鸽前脑声反应神经元的分布及其特性的研究

实验在61只家鸽上完成。动物用三碘季胺酚麻痹,记录了前脑36个神经元的电活动。实验结果表明,对短声刺激具有反应的前脑神经元分散地分布在旧纹状体、上纹状体以及新纹状体内,但是大多数听神经元集聚在相当于Karten和Hodos氏鸽脑立体定位图谱P_(1-3),L或R_(1-3)以及H_(2-6)的坐标范围之内。这些对声刺激有反应的听神经元的潜伏期为5～42msec。在正常情况下,神经元的潜伏期很少变化。前脑听神经元既可以接受对侧耳的信息,也可以接受同侧耳的信息。在旧纹状体内来自双耳信息的聚合可能引起相互抑制的结果。     

家鸽前脑声反应神经元的分布及其特性的研究

实验在61只家鸽上完成。动物用三碘季胺酚麻痹,记录了前脑36个神经元的电活动。实验结果表明,对短声刺激具有反应的前脑神经元分散地分布在旧纹状体、上纹状体以及新纹状体内,但是大多数听神经元集聚在相当于Karten和Hodos氏鸽脑立体定位图谱P_(1～3),L或R_(1～3)以及H_(2～6)的坐标范围之内。这些对声刺激有反应的听神经元的潜伏期为5～42msec。在正常情况下,神经元的潜伏期很少变化。前脑听神经元既可以接受对侧耳的信息,也可以接受同侧耳的信息。在旧纹状体内来自双耳信息的聚合可能引起相互抑制的结果。     

兔内膝体神经元声反应的观察

实验在10只三碘季胺酚麻痹的新西兰兔上进行.采用记录单个神经元放电的方法,观察了短纯音引起的内膝体(MGB)神经元的声反应.实验结果表明:兔MGB神经元的声反应类型与猫、鼠等类似;并且声反应型式随纯音刺激频率、强度、时程的变化而变化.     

豚鼠听觉频率跟随反应中的非线性特性

本文研究了豚鼠听觉频率跟随反应(FFR)的非线性特性,认为FFR的非线性主要呈倍频效应,且随着刺激频率的改变而变化。刺激频率改变对FFR的影响比刺激强度对FFR的影响大。     

基于壳聚糖载体的蛋白质药物纳米颗粒制备研究

采用基于壳聚糖(CS)与聚阴离子(多聚磷酸纳)间静电作用的离子凝胶化方法,以牛血清白蛋白(BSA)为模型,在室温下制备了包载蛋白质的亲水性壳聚糖纳米颗粒.对BSA-壳聚糖纳米颗粒的形成条件进行了考察,结果表明:在pH值为5.0,CS与TPP的质量比为4,壳聚糖分子量为40 kDa的最优化的条件下可制备粒径小于100 nm的BSA-壳聚糖纳米颗粒,对BSA的包封率达到50%以上.并将该体系初步应用于蛋白类药物丙种球蛋白-壳聚糖纳米颗粒的制备研究,这种壳聚糖纳米颗粒对丙种球蛋白具有良好的缓释作用.