Environmental Enrichment Improves Response Strength, Threshold, Selectivity, and Latency of Auditory Cortex Neurons

Percaccio, Cherie R.; Pandya, Pritesh K.; Moucha, Raluca; Rathbun, Daniel L.; Kilgard, Michael P.

doi:10.1152/jn.00059.2004

Cited by 177 publications

(157 citation statements)

References 56 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

133

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Our findings of auditory brain plasticity before full gestation are in keeping with several studies, primarily by Merzenich and colleagues, showing that early auditory experience, either in the form of enrichment or impoverishment, can have a substantial impact on both the structural and functional development of the AC in rat pups (26,27,29,31,57,58). Similarly, an established body of work by Lickliter and colleagues has shown that bobwhite quail chicks receiving auditory stimulation early in embryogenesis demonstrated improved auditory learning and memory when tested postnatally (59)(60)(61).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Numerous animal studies have shown that brain development relies on developmentally appropriate acoustic stimulation early in life (22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32). Auditory deprivation during critical periods can adversely affect brain maturation and lead to long-lasting neural despecialization in the auditory cortex (AC), whereas auditory enrichment in the early postnatal period can enhance neural sensitivity in the primary AC, as well as improve auditory recognition and discrimination abilities.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mother’s voice and heartbeat sounds elicit auditory plasticity in the human brain before full gestation

Webb¹,

Heller

Benson

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

195

106

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Brain development is largely shaped by early sensory experience. However, it is currently unknown whether, how early, and to what extent the newborn's brain is shaped by exposure to maternal sounds when the brain is most sensitive to early life programming. The present study examined this question in 40 infants born extremely prematurely (between 25-and 32-wk gestation) in the first month of life. Newborns were randomized to receive auditory enrichment in the form of audio recordings of maternal sounds (including their mother's voice and heartbeat) or routine exposure to hospital environmental noise. The groups were otherwise medically and demographically comparable. Cranial ultrasonography measurements were obtained at 30 ± 3 d of life. Results show that newborns exposed to maternal sounds had a significantly larger auditory cortex (AC) bilaterally compared with control newborns receiving standard care. The magnitude of the right and left AC thickness was significantly correlated with gestational age but not with the duration of sound exposure. Measurements of head circumference and the widths of the frontal horn (FH) and the corpus callosum (CC) were not significantly different between the two groups. This study provides evidence for experience-dependent plasticity in the primary AC before the brain has reached full-term maturation. Our results demonstrate that despite the immaturity of the auditory pathways, the AC is more adaptive to maternal sounds than environmental noise. Further studies are needed to better understand the neural processes underlying this early brain plasticity and its functional implications for future hearing and language development. auditory | brain | mother's voice | heartbeat | preterm newborns

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mother’s voice and heartbeat sounds elicit auditory plasticity in the human brain before full gestation

Webb¹,

Heller

Benson

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

195

106

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Numerous studies have demonstrated that altered sensory experience can reorganize cortical responses (Ahissar et al, 1992;Edeline, 1999;Engineer et al, 2004). Significant changes have been observed in receptive field size, cortical topography, response latency, spectrotemporal selectivity, response strength, and neuronal discharge coherence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Asynchronous inputs alter excitability, spike timing, and topography in primary auditory cortex

Pandya¹,

Moucha²,

Engineer³

et al. 2005

Hearing Research

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Correlation-based synaptic plasticity provides a potential cellular mechanism for learning and memory. Studies in the visual and somatosensory systems have shown that behavioral and surgical manipulation of sensory inputs leads to changes in cortical organization that are consistent with the operation of these learning rules. In this study, we examine how the organization of primary auditory cortex (A1) is altered by tones designed to decrease the average input correlation across the frequency map. After one month of separately pairing nucleus basalis stimulation with 2 and 14 kHz tones, a greater proportion of A1 neurons responded to frequencies below 2 kHz and above 14 kHz. Despite the expanded representation of these tones, cortical excitability was specifically reduced in the high and low frequency regions of A1, as evidenced by increased neural thresholds and decreased response strength. In contrast, in the frequency region between the two paired tones, driven rates were unaffected and spontaneous firing rate was increased. Neural response latencies were increased across the frequency map when nucleus basalis stimulation was associated with asynchronous activation of the high and low frequency regions of A1. This set of changes did not occur when pulsed noise bursts were paired with nucleus basalis stimulation. These results are consistent with earlier observations that sensory input statistics can shape cortical map organization and spike timing.

show abstract

“…For example, explicit exposure to particular sound frequencies can enhance the number of cortical neurons driven by those stimuli and alter neuronal tuning properties and response latencies to favor behaviorally relevant sounds [19]. Environmental enrichment can also sharpen neuronal tuning curves in auditory cortex [20], while noisy environments impair the development of normal tuning [21].…”

Section: Cortical Plasticity and Perceptual Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptual training improves syllable identification in new and experienced hearing aid users

Stecker

Bowman²,

Yund³

et al. 2006

JRRD

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract-We assessed the effects of perceptual training of syllable identification in noise on nonsense syllable test (NST) performance of new (Experiment 1) and experienced (Experiment 2) hearing aid (HA) users with sensorineural hearing loss. In Experiment 1, new HA users were randomly assigned to either immediate training (IT) or delayed training (DT) groups. IT subjects underwent 8 weeks of at-home syllable identification training and in-laboratory testing, whereas DT subjects underwent identical in-laboratory testing without training. Training produced large improvements in syllable identification in IT subjects, whereas spontaneous improvement was minimal in DT subjects. DT subjects then underwent training and showed performance improvements comparable with those of the IT group. Training-related improvement in NST scores significantly exceeded improvements due to amplification. In Experiment 2, experienced HA users received identical training and testing procedures as users in Experiment 1. The experienced users also showed significant training benefit. Trainingrelated improvements generalized to untrained voices and were maintained on retention tests. Perceptual training appears to be a promising tool for improving speech perception in new and experienced HA users.

show abstract

Environmental Enrichment Improves Response Strength, Threshold, Selectivity, and Latency of Auditory Cortex Neurons

Cited by 177 publications

References 56 publications

Mother’s voice and heartbeat sounds elicit auditory plasticity in the human brain before full gestation

Mother’s voice and heartbeat sounds elicit auditory plasticity in the human brain before full gestation

Asynchronous inputs alter excitability, spike timing, and topography in primary auditory cortex

Perceptual training improves syllable identification in new and experienced hearing aid users

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About