Sensory experience determines enrichment-induced plasticity in rat auditory cortex

Percaccio, Cherie R.; Pruette, Autumn L.; Mistry, S; Chen, Yeting H.; Kilgard, Michael P.

doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2007.07.062

Cited by 38 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 111 publications

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“…The effects of environmental enrichment on the SEP illustrates that interactions with the environment influence further sensory cerebral processing and are in line with previous findings of increased auditory-evoked potentials after auditory environmental enrichment in adult rats (Percaccio et al, 2007). Our results provide a strong argument in support of the idea that 8 Hz-induced potentiation is behaviorally relevant.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Long-Term Plasticity in Mouse Sensorimotor Circuits after Rhythmic Whisker Stimulation

et al. 2009

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Mice actively explore their environment by rhythmically sweeping their whiskers. As a consequence, neuronal activity in somatosensory pathways is modulated by the frequency of whisker movement. The potential role of rhythmic neuronal activity for the integration and consolidation of sensory signals, however, remains unexplored. Here, we show that a brief period of rhythmic whisker stimulation in anesthetized mice resulted in a frequency-specific long-lasting increase in the amplitude of somatosensory-evoked potentials in the contralateral primary somatosensory (barrel) cortex. Mapping of evoked potentials and intracortical recordings revealed that, in addition to potentiation in layers IV and II/III of the barrel cortex, rhythmic whisker stimulation induced a decrease of somatosensory-evoked responses in the supragranular layers of the motor cortex. To assess whether rhythmic sensory input-based plasticity might arise in natural settings, we exposed mice to environmental enrichment. We found that it resulted in somatosensory-evoked responses of increased amplitude, highlighting the influence of previous sensory experience in shaping sensory responses. Importantly, environmental enrichment-induced plasticity occluded further potentiation by rhythmic stimulation, indicating that both phenomena share common mechanisms. Overall, our results suggest that natural, rhythmic patterns of whisker activity can modify the cerebral processing of sensory information, providing a possible mechanism for learning during sensory perception.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Long-Term Plasticity in Mouse Sensorimotor Circuits after Rhythmic Whisker Stimulation

et al. 2009

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“…Specifically, PS was shown to reduce spine density and dendritic length, accompanied by reduced complexity of dendritic trees in the prefrontal cortex (Murmu et al, 2006). In contrast, EE was shown to increase brain weight and cortex thickness (Percaccio et al, 2007), dendrocyte branches, synapses (Gelfo et al, 2009;Johansson, 2004;Lewis, 2004) and oligodendrocytes in the cortex (Zhao et al, 2011). Finally, as a possible shared mechanism for the beneficial effects of both MPH and/or EE on PS, previous reports showed that MPH can enhance neurotrophic factor expression (Connor et al, 1999(Connor et al, , 2001Cohen et al, 2003), as can EE (Gelfo et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Methylphenidate and environmental enrichment ameliorate the deleterious effects of prenatal stress on attention functioning

Zubedat

Aga-Mizrachi

Cymerblit‐Sabba

et al. 2015

Stress

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Either pre- or post-natal environmental factors seem to play a key role in brain and behavioral development and to exert long-term effects. Increasing evidence suggests that exposure to prenatal stress (PS) leads to motor and learning deficits and elevated anxiety, while enriched environment (EE) shows protective effects. The dopaminergic system is also sensitive to environmental life circumstances and affects attention functioning, which serves as the preliminary gate to cognitive processes. However, the effects of methylphenidate (MPH) on the dopaminergic system and attentional functioning, in the context of these life experiences, remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to examine the effects of EE or PS on distinct types of attention, along with possible effects of MPH exposure. We found that PS impaired selective attention as well as partial sustained attention, while EE had beneficial effects. Both EE and MPH ameliorated the deleterious effects of PS on attention functioning. Considering the possible psychostimulant effect of MPH, we examined both anxiety-like behavior as well as motor learning. We found that PS had a clear anxiogenic effect, whereas EE had an anxiolytic effect. Nevertheless, the treatment with both MPH and/or EE recovered the deleterious effects of PS. In the motor-learning task, the PS group showed superior performance while MPH led to impaired motor learning. Performance decrements were prevented in both the PS + MPH and EE + MPH groups. This study provides evidence that peripubertal exposure to EE (by providing enhanced sensory, motor, and social opportunities) or MPH treatments might be an optional therapeutic intervention in preventing the PS long-term adverse consequences.

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“…A previous study explored the contribution of a larger cage size, social factors, and motor activity in enrichment-induced auditory cortex reorganization (Percaccio et al 2007). Rats housed in a large cage with three other rats for social interaction but no other enhancement in the acoustic environment did not have auditory cortex properties different from standard-caged rats.…”

Section: Role Of Enriched Acoustic Environment In Cortical Reorganizamentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Evidence for the latter is provided by a study in which rats separated from but within hearing range of the enriched cage underwent enrichment-induced reorganization (Percaccio et al 2007).…”

Section: Task-related and Environmental Enrichment-induced Cortical Pmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Rats housed in a cage with a running wheel but with no auditory cue associated with each revolution of the wheel did not have auditory cortex changes associated with environmental enrichment. For a rat in a single cage separate from but well within hearing range of the enriched cage, sounds heard from the enriched cage were enough to drive enrichment-induced reorganization (Percaccio et al 2007). The Percaccio et al (2007) study underscores the relevance of the acoustic stimuli in the enriched environment in driving cortical reorganization.…”

Section: Role Of Enriched Acoustic Environment In Cortical Reorganizamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reorganization in processing of spectral and temporal input in the rat posterior auditory field induced by environmental enrichment

Jakkamsetti¹,

Chang²,

Kilgard³

2012

Journal of Neurophysiology

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Environmental enrichment induces powerful changes in the adult cerebral cortex. Studies in primary sensory cortex have observed that environmental enrichment modulates neuronal response strength, selectivity, speed of response, and synchronization to rapid sensory input. Other reports suggest that nonprimary sensory fields are more plastic than primary sensory cortex. The consequences of environmental enrichment on information processing in nonprimary sensory cortex have yet to be studied. Here we examine physiological effects of enrichment in the posterior auditory field (PAF), a field distinguished from primary auditory cortex (A1) by wider receptive fields, slower response times, and a greater preference for slowly modulated sounds. Environmental enrichment induced a significant increase in spectral and temporal selectivity in PAF. PAF neurons exhibited narrower receptive fields and responded significantly faster and for a briefer period to sounds after enrichment. Enrichment increased time-locking to rapidly successive sensory input in PAF neurons. Compared with previous enrichment studies in A1, we observe a greater magnitude of reorganization in PAF after environmental enrichment. Along with other reports observing greater reorganization in nonprimary sensory cortex, our results in PAF suggest that nonprimary fields might have a greater capacity for reorganization compared with primary fields.

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Sensory experience determines enrichment-induced plasticity in rat auditory cortex

Cited by 38 publications

References 111 publications

Long-Term Plasticity in Mouse Sensorimotor Circuits after Rhythmic Whisker Stimulation

Long-Term Plasticity in Mouse Sensorimotor Circuits after Rhythmic Whisker Stimulation

Methylphenidate and environmental enrichment ameliorate the deleterious effects of prenatal stress on attention functioning

Reorganization in processing of spectral and temporal input in the rat posterior auditory field induced by environmental enrichment

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