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The Journal of Neuroscience, November 11, 2009, 29(45):14323-14333; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2905-09.2009

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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Evidence for Hierarchical Processing in Cat Auditory Cortex: Nonreciprocal Influence of Primary Auditory Cortex on the Posterior 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

The auditory cortex of the cat is composed of 13 distinct fields that have been defined on the basis of anatomy, physiology, and behavior. Although an anatomically based hierarchical processing scheme has been proposed in auditory cortex, few functional studies have examined how these areas influence one another. The purpose of the present study was to examine the bidirectional processing contributions between primary auditory cortex (A1) and the nonprimary posterior auditory field (PAF). Multiunit acute recording techniques in eight mature cats were used to measure neuronal responses to tonal stimuli in A1 or PAF while synaptic activity from PAF or A1 was suppressed with reversible cooling deactivation techniques. Specifically, in four animals, electrophysiological recordings in A1 were conducted before, during, and after deactivation of PAF. Similarly, in the other four animals, PAF activity was measured before, during, and after deactivation of A1. The characteristic frequency, bandwidth, and neuronal threshold were calculated at each receptive field collected and the response strength and response latency measures were calculated from cumulative peristimulus time histograms. Two major changes in PAF response properties were observed during A1 deactivation: a decrease in response strength and a reduction in receptive field bandwidths. In comparison, we did not identify any significant changes in A1 neuronal responses during deactivation of PAF neurons. These findings support proposed models of hierarchal processing in cat auditory cortex.

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Received June 17, 2009; revised Sept. 14, 2009; accepted Sept. 19, 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

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Carrasco and S. G. Lomber Reciprocal Modulatory Influences between Tonotopic and Nontonotopic Cortical Fields in the Cat J. Neurosci., January 27, 2010; 30(4): 1476 - 1487. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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