Song Peirun, Xu Haoxuan, Ye Hangting, Du Xinyu, Zhai Yuying, Bao Xuehui, Huang Qianyue, Mehmood Ishrat, Tanigawa Hisashi, Niu Wanqiu, Tu Zhiyi, Chen Pei, Zhang Tingting, Zhao Xuan, Yu Xiongjie
Department of Anesthesia, Women's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China.
Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Therapy for Major Gynecological Diseases, Women's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310029, China.
Natl Sci Rev. 2025 Jan 22;12(6):nwaf026. doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwaf026. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Temporal integration stands as a cornerstone of auditory perception, yet its underlying neural mechanisms have remained relatively elusive. The intricate process by which discrete auditory stimuli integrate into cohesive perception is defined as 'temporal merging' in this study. We use a paradigm-the transitional click train-to probe the intricacies of temporal merging within the auditory cortex. The protocol underscores a robust change response in an adapted auditory cortex upon introducing a perceptual switch between distinct pitches. Our findings delineate four pivotal determinants that modulate this change response: train duration, inter-click interval (ICI) length, ICI contrast and train regularity. Comparative analyses between the auditory cortex and the medial geniculate body underscore a cortical origin for this temporal merging, diverging from traditional thalamic inputs. Furthermore, the clinical potential of the change response is explored, demonstrating its promise as a biomarker in anesthesia monitoring and psychiatric conditions. Collectively, this research elucidates the neuronal underpinnings of temporal integration in auditory perception, provides initial evidence for the neuronal mechanisms underlying pitch perception with click trains and introduces a potent paradigm with vast clinical implications.
时间整合是听觉感知的基石，但其潜在的神经机制仍相对难以捉摸。在本研究中，离散的听觉刺激整合为连贯感知的复杂过程被定义为“时间融合”。我们使用一种范式——过渡性点击序列——来探究听觉皮层内时间融合的复杂性。该方案强调了在不同音高之间引入感知转换时，适应后的听觉皮层会产生强烈的变化反应。我们的研究结果确定了调节这种变化反应的四个关键决定因素：序列持续时间、点击间隔（ICI）长度、ICI对比度和序列规律性。听觉皮层与内侧膝状体之间的比较分析强调了这种时间融合的皮层起源，这与传统的丘脑输入不同。此外，还探讨了这种变化反应的临床潜力，证明了其作为麻醉监测和精神疾病生物标志物的前景。总的来说，这项研究阐明了听觉感知中时间整合的神经元基础，为点击序列音高感知的神经元机制提供了初步证据，并引入了一种具有广泛临床意义的有效范式。
