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The Journal of Neuroscience, July 1, 2009, 29(26):8350-8362; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6001-08.2009

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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Differential Modulatory Influences between Primary Auditory Cortex and the Anterior Auditory Field

Andres Carrasco¹ and Stephen G. Lomber^2,3

¹Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B8, Canada, ²Centre for Brain and Mind, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5C1, Canada, and ³Cerebral Systems Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Science, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5C2, Canada

Correspondence should be addressed to Stephen G. Lomber, Cerebral Systems Laboratory, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, M216 Medical Sciences Building, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada. Email: steve.lomber{at}uwo.ca

Neuroanatomical studies have revealed a vast network of corticocortical connections among the various fields that form cat auditory cortex. However, few studies have explored the functional communicative properties of these connections. The purpose of the present study was to examine the bidirectional processing contributions between the primary auditory cortex (A1) and the nonprimary anterior auditory field (AAF). Using acute recording techniques, multiunit neuronal activity was collected from the right hemisphere of nine mature cats. Cortical maps were generated, and the precise location of A1 and AAF was identified. Subsequently, the synaptic activity of A1 or AAF was suppressed with reversible thermal deactivation procedures while the neuronal response to tonal stimuli of the non-inactivated area (A1 or AAF) was measured. We examined response strength and latency, characteristic frequency, bandwidth, and neuronal threshold of A1 and AAF receptive fields before and during epochs of deactivation. Three major changes in A1 response properties were observed during AAF neuronal suppression: a decrease in response strength, an increase in neuronal thresholds, and a sharpening of receptive field bandwidths. In contrast, A1 deactivation did not produce any discernible changes in AAF neuronal responses. Collectively, these results suggest that the modulation of acoustic information between A1 and AAF in cat auditory cortex is dominated by a unidirectional AAF to A1 pathway.

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Received Dec. 17, 2008; revised May 19, 2009; accepted May 23, 2009.

Correspondence should be addressed to Stephen G. Lomber, Cerebral Systems Laboratory, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, M216 Medical Sciences Building, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada. Email: steve.lomber{at}uwo.ca

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