Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
Cell Rep. 2024 Aug 27;43(8):114611. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114611. Epub 2024 Aug 7.
Vocal communication depends on distinguishing self-generated vocalizations from other sounds. Vocal motor corollary discharge (CD) signals are thought to support this ability by adaptively suppressing auditory cortical responses to auditory feedback. One challenge is that vocalizations, especially those produced during courtship and other social interactions, are accompanied by other movements and are emitted during a state of heightened arousal, factors that could potentially modulate auditory cortical activity. Here, we monitor auditory cortical activity, ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), and other non-vocal courtship behaviors in a head-fixed male mouse while he interacts with a female mouse. This approach reveals a vocalization-specific signature in the auditory cortex that suppresses the activity of USV playback-excited neurons, emerges before vocal onset, and scales with USV band power. Notably, this vocal modulatory signature is also present in the auditory cortex of congenitally deaf mice, revealing an adaptive vocal CD signal that manifests independently of auditory feedback or auditory experience.
声音交流依赖于区分自我产生的声音和其他声音。人们认为，发声运动传出放电（CD）信号通过自适应地抑制听觉皮层对听觉反馈的反应，从而支持这种能力。一个挑战是，发声，尤其是那些在求偶和其他社交互动期间产生的发声，伴随着其他运动，并且在高度唤醒状态下发出，这些因素可能会调节听觉皮层活动。在这里，我们在一只雄性固定头部的老鼠与一只雌性老鼠互动时，监测听觉皮层的活动、超声发声（USVs）和其他非发声求偶行为。这种方法揭示了听觉皮层中一种特定于发声的特征，它抑制了 USV 回放激发神经元的活动，在发声开始之前出现，并与 USV 频带功率成比例。值得注意的是，这种发声调节特征也存在于先天性耳聋老鼠的听觉皮层中，揭示了一种自适应的发声 CD 信号，它独立于听觉反馈或听觉经验表现出来。
