Changes in the auditory-evoked potentials induced by fear-evoking stimulations

It is long established that the inferior colliculus is involved in conveying all kinds of auditory information to higher cortical structures. Moreover, gradual increases in the electrical stimulation of this structure produces progressive aversive responses from vigilance, through freezing, until escape. Recently, we have shown that microinjections of the excitatory amino acids, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and glutamate, into the inferior colliculus mimic these aversive effects. In the present study, we extend these observations showing that unilateral microinjections of 5 nmol of glutamate into the inferior colliculus--a dose that causes freezing behavior--in rats with bilateral recording electrodes into this structure produce an increase in the magnitude of the collicular-evoked potential in the ipsilateral side of the injection in relation to saline-injected animals. Besides, the application of two kinds of fear-evoking stimulations--light as a conditioned stimuli (CS) and ultrasound signals at the frequency of 22 kHz--also produced an increase in the amplitude of the evoked potentials recorded from the inferior colliculus in comparison to control situations without aversive stimuli presentations. These data support previous reports showing that fast-acting excitatory amino acid receptors in this midbrain region are involved in the processing of auditory information. Moreover, fear-eliciting stimulations, such as light-CS and ultrasound signals, increase acoustically evoked firing of neurons in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus of rats.