Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026
07:12
Profiling Maternal Behavior Responses During Whole-Brain Imaging
Published on: January 24, 2025
Elevated correlations in neuronal ensembles of mouse auditory cortex following parturition
Gideon Rothschild1, Lior Cohen, Adi Mizrahi
1Department of Neurobiology, Institute of Life Sciences and Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
Summary
Motherhood dramatically alters auditory cortex neural population dynamics. While individual neuron responses changed little, neural correlations significantly increased, revealing experience-driven plasticity in auditory processing.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Neural Plasticity
Background:
- The auditory cortex exhibits plasticity, adapting to experience.
- Previous research focused on single-neuron responses and tonotopic organization changes.
- Experience-dependent alterations in local neural population dynamics remain largely unstudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of motherhood on neural population dynamics in the primary auditory cortex (A1).
- To compare neuronal activity and ensemble dynamics between lactating mothers and virgin mice.
Main Methods:
- In vivo two-photon calcium imaging and electrophysiological recordings in layer 2/3 of the primary auditory cortex (A1).
- Monitoring neural responses to artificial and natural sounds in mothers and age-matched virgin mice.
- Analysis of population dynamics using pairwise and higher-order correlations, including noise correlations.
Main Results:
- Population dynamics showed significant changes in lactating mothers, with noise correlations increasing up to twofold.
- Individual single-neuron response properties exhibited modest and selective changes.
- Despite altered correlations, auditory stimulus information remained consistent between groups.
Conclusions:
- Motherhood induces substantial changes in the correlation structure of auditory cortex neural activity.
- These findings highlight experience-dependent plasticity in neural population dynamics, distinct from changes in individual neuron properties.
