RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Behaviorally Gated Reduction of Spontaneous Discharge Can Improve Detection Thresholds in Auditory Cortex
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 4076
OP 4081
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4825-13.2014
VO 34
IS 11
A1 Buran, Bradley N.
A1 von Trapp, Gardiner
A1 Sanes, Dan H.
YR 2014
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/11/4076.abstract
AB Animals often listen selectively for particular sounds, a strategy that could alter neural encoding mechanisms to maximize the ability to detect the target. Here, we recorded auditory cortex neuron responses in well trained, freely moving gerbils as they performed a tone detection task. Each trial was initiated by the animal, providing a predictable time window during which to listen. No sound was presented on nogo trials, permitting us to assess spontaneous activity on trials in which a signal could have been expected, but was not delivered. Immediately after animals initiated a trial, auditory cortex neurons displayed a 26% reduction in spontaneous activity. Moreover, when stimulus-driven discharge rate was referenced to this reduced baseline, a larger fraction of auditory cortex neurons displayed a detection threshold within 10 dB of the behavioral threshold. These findings suggest that auditory cortex spontaneous discharge rate can be modulated transiently during task performance, thereby increasing the signal-to-noise ratio and enhancing signal detection.