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Updated: May 30, 2026

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
A critical period for auditory thalamocortical connectivity
Tania Rinaldi Barkat1, Daniel B Polley, Takao K Hensch
1Center for Brain Science, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Early auditory experience refines neural circuits. Loss of Icam5 accelerates this critical period plasticity in the auditory cortex (A1), revealing cellular mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Auditory System
Background:
- Neural circuits mature through experience during early life.
- Acoustic experiences shape auditory system development via complex cellular mechanisms.
- The precise cellular origins of auditory plasticity remain largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cellular mechanisms and origins of auditory thalamocortical pathway refinement.
- To identify the critical period for auditory cortex (A1) plasticity.
- To determine the role of the cell-adhesion molecule Icam5 in auditory plasticity.
Main Methods:
- In vivo recordings and voltage-sensitive dye imaging in acute brain slices.
- Passive tone-rearing in mice to induce auditory experience.
- Gene-targeted deletion of Icam5 to assess its role in plasticity.
- Analysis of dendritic spine maturation in neocortical layer 4 (L4) pyramidal neurons.
Main Results:
- Passive tone-rearing induced experience-dependent changes in A1 response strength and topography within a 3-day window.
- Thalamic tonotopic maps remained unaltered by tone-rearing.
- Deletion of Icam5 accelerated A1 plasticity during the critical period.
- Loss of Icam5 led to precocious maturation of stubby dendritic spines in L4 pyramidal neurons.
Conclusions:
- Auditory thalamocortical connectivity undergoes refinement during a critical period early in postnatal life.
- Icam5 acts as a brake on spinogenesis, regulating the timing of critical period plasticity in the auditory cortex.
- Neocortical layer 4 pyramidal neurons are a primary site for experience-dependent tonotopic map refinement.
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