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Stimulus dependent transformations between synaptic and spiking receptive fields in auditory cortex
Kyunghee X Kim1, Craig A Atencio2, Christoph E Schreiner2,3
1Coleman Memorial Laboratory, Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, USA. Kyunghee.Kim@ucsf.edu.
Nature Communications
|February 29, 2020
Summary
Neurons in the auditory cortex transform sound inputs into outputs nonlinearly. This study reveals stimulus-dependent processing differences between synaptic integration and neuronal spiking in the primary auditory cortex.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Auditory System Research
- Computational Neuroscience
Background:
- Auditory cortex neurons integrate complex synaptic inputs.
- Understanding the input-output transformation of neural activity is crucial for deciphering auditory processing.
- Previous studies have investigated receptive fields but direct comparisons of synaptic and spiking activity under naturalistic stimuli are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To directly compare synaptic and spiking activity in the primary auditory cortex.
- To determine if the input-output transformation of auditory neurons is stimulus-dependent.
- To characterize the nonlinearities and modifications in neural processing from input to output stages.
Main Methods:
- In vivo whole-cell recordings in mouse primary auditory cortex.
- Stimulation with pure tones and broadband dynamic moving ripple stimuli.
- Analysis of tonal (TRFs) and spectrotemporal (STRFs) receptive fields from synaptic, subthreshold, and spiking responses.
Main Results:
- Spectral tuning in STRFs derived from synaptic, subthreshold, and spiking responses was significantly more selective than for TRFs.
- Diverse spectral and temporal modulation preferences and distinct nonlinearities were observed.
- Modifications in these properties were identified between input and output stages of neural processing.
Conclusions:
- Neural processing in the primary auditory cortex exhibits stimulus-dependent transformation patterns.
- Differences in synaptic convergence, integration, and spike generation contribute to these stimulus-dependent patterns.
- This study provides insights into the specific mechanisms underlying auditory information processing.
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