Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Center for Hearing Research, University of California-Irvine, CA 92697-4550, United States.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2011 Nov;35(10):2058-63. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.11.010. Epub 2010 Dec 7.
Although it is known that primary auditory cortex (A1) contributes to the processing and perception of sound, its precise functions and the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Recent studies point to a remarkably broad spectral range of largely subthreshold inputs to individual neurons in A1--seemingly encompassing, in some cases, the entire audible spectrum--as evidence for potential, and potentially unique, cortical functions. We have proposed a general mechanism for spectral integration by which information converges on neurons in A1 via a combination of thalamocortical pathways and intracortical long-distance, "horizontal", pathways. Here, this proposal is briefly reviewed and updated with results from multiple laboratories. Since spectral integration in A1 is dynamically regulated, we also show how one regulatory mechanism--modulation by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh)--could act within the hypothesized framework to alter integration in single neurons. The results of these studies promote a cellular understanding of information processing in A1.
虽然已知初级听觉皮层（A1）有助于声音的处理和感知，但它的确切功能和潜在机制尚未得到很好的理解。最近的研究表明，个体神经元在 A1 中存在着明显广泛的亚阈值输入频谱，在某些情况下似乎包含整个可听频谱，这为潜在的、可能独特的皮层功能提供了证据。我们提出了一种用于频谱整合的一般机制，通过该机制，信息通过丘脑皮质通路和皮质内长程“水平”通路的组合汇聚到 A1 中的神经元。在这里，简要回顾并更新了来自多个实验室的结果。由于 A1 中的频谱整合是动态调节的，我们还展示了一种调节机制——神经递质乙酰胆碱（ACh）的调制——如何在假设的框架内作用于单个神经元的整合。这些研究的结果促进了对 A1 中信息处理的细胞理解。
