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Persistent and specific influences of early acoustic environments on primary auditory cortex

Nature Neuroscience volume 4, pages 1123–1130 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

This study demonstrates that the adult form of 'tonotopic maps' of sound frequency in the rat primary auditory cortex (A1) arises from parallel developmental processes involving two cortical zones: the progressive differentiation and refinement of selectively tone-responsive receptive fields within an initially broadly-tuned posterior zone, and the progressive loss of tone-evoked, short-latency response over an initially large, very broadly tuned anterior zone. The formation of tonotopic maps in A1 was specifically influenced by a rat pup's early acoustic environments. Exposure to pulsed tones resulted in accelerated emergence and an expansion of A1 representations of those specific tone frequencies, as well as a deteriorated tonotopicity and broader-than-normal receptive fields. Thus, auditory experiences during early postnatal development are important in shaping the functional development of auditory cortical representations of specific acoustic environments.

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Figure 1: Tonotopic organization in the auditory cortex of rats determined at different postnatal ages.
Figure 2: Normal progressive development of the rat auditory cortex.
Figure 3: Effects of early monotone exposure on the development of response selectivity and tonotopy.
Figure 4: Development of the auditory cortex in monotone exposed rats.
Figure 5: Persistent effects of early monotone exposure.
Figure 6: Summary of effects induced by early monotone exposure on the adult primary auditory cortex.

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Acknowledgements

We thank D. Blake, T. Moallem, H. Tao and M. Poo for discussion. This work was supported by NIH grants NS-10414 and NS-34835 and by grants from the Sandler and MIND Foundations.

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  1. Keck Center for Integrative Neurosciences, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, 94143, California, USA

    Li I. Zhang, Shaowen Bao & Michael M. Merzenich

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  1. Li I. Zhang
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Correspondence to Li I. Zhang.

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Zhang, L., Bao, S. & Merzenich, M. Persistent and specific influences of early acoustic environments on primary auditory cortex. Nat Neurosci 4, 1123–1130 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn745

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