1
|
Souffi S, Varnet L, Zaidi M, Bathellier B, Huetz C, Edeline JM. Reduction in sound discrimination in noise is related to envelope similarity and not to a decrease in envelope tracking abilities. J Physiol 2023; 601:123-149. [PMID: 36373184 DOI: 10.1113/jp283526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans and animals constantly face challenging acoustic environments, such as various background noises, that impair the detection, discrimination and identification of behaviourally relevant sounds. Here, we disentangled the role of temporal envelope tracking in the reduction in neuronal and behavioural discrimination between communication sounds in situations of acoustic degradations. By collecting neuronal activity from six different levels of the auditory system, from the auditory nerve up to the secondary auditory cortex, in anaesthetized guinea-pigs, we found that tracking of slow changes of the temporal envelope is a general functional property of auditory neurons for encoding communication sounds in quiet conditions and in adverse, challenging conditions. Results from a go/no-go sound discrimination task in mice support the idea that the loss of distinct slow envelope cues in noisy conditions impacted the discrimination performance. Together, these results suggest that envelope tracking is potentially a universal mechanism operating in the central auditory system, which allows the detection of any between-stimulus difference in the slow envelope and thus copes with degraded conditions. KEY POINTS: In quiet conditions, envelope tracking in the low amplitude modulation range (<20 Hz) is correlated with the neuronal discrimination between communication sounds as quantified by mutual information from the cochlear nucleus up to the auditory cortex. At each level of the auditory system, auditory neurons retain their abilities to track the communication sound envelopes in situations of acoustic degradation, such as vocoding and the addition of masking noises up to a signal-to-noise ratio of -10 dB. In noisy conditions, the increase in between-stimulus envelope similarity explains the reduction in both behavioural and neuronal discrimination in the auditory system. Envelope tracking can be viewed as a universal mechanism that allows neural and behavioural discrimination as long as the temporal envelope of communication sounds displays some differences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Samira Souffi
- Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience (Neuro-PSI, UMR 9197), CNRS - Université Paris-Saclay, Saclay, France
| | - Léo Varnet
- Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs, UMR CNRS 8248, Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université Paris Sciences & Lettres, Paris, France
| | - Meryem Zaidi
- Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience (Neuro-PSI, UMR 9197), CNRS - Université Paris-Saclay, Saclay, France
| | - Brice Bathellier
- Institut de l'Audition, Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris, INSERM, Paris, France
| | - Chloé Huetz
- Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience (Neuro-PSI, UMR 9197), CNRS - Université Paris-Saclay, Saclay, France
| | - Jean-Marc Edeline
- Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience (Neuro-PSI, UMR 9197), CNRS - Université Paris-Saclay, Saclay, France
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
White-Schwoch T, Krizman J, Nicol T, Kraus N. Case studies in neuroscience: cortical contributions to the frequency-following response depend on subcortical synchrony. J Neurophysiol 2020; 125:273-281. [PMID: 33206575 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00104.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Frequency-following responses to musical notes spanning the octave 65-130 Hz were elicited in a person with auditory neuropathy, a disorder of subcortical neural synchrony, and a control subject. No phaselocked responses were observed in the person with auditory neuropathy. The control subject had robust responses synchronized to the fundamental frequency and its harmonics. Cortical onset responses to each note in the series were present in both subjects. These results support the hypothesis that subcortical neural synchrony is necessary to generate the frequency-following response-including for stimulus frequencies at which a cortical contribution has been noted. Although auditory cortex ensembles may synchronize to fundamental frequency cues in speech and music, subcortical neural synchrony appears to be a necessary antecedent.NEW & NOTEWORTHY A listener with auditory neuropathy, an absence of subcortical neural synchrony, did not have electrophysiological frequency-following responses synchronized to an octave of musical notes, with fundamental frequencies ranging from 65 to 130 Hz. A control subject had robust responses that phaselocked to each note. Although auditory cortex may contribute to the scalp-recorded frequency-following response in healthy listeners, our results suggest this phenomenon depends on subcortical neural synchrony.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Travis White-Schwoch
- Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
| | - Jennifer Krizman
- Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
| | - Trent Nicol
- Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
| | - Nina Kraus
- Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.,Departments of Neurobiology and Otolaryngology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Luo L, Xu N, Wang Q, Li L. Disparity in interaural time difference improves the accuracy of neural representations of individual concurrent narrowband sounds in rat inferior colliculus and auditory cortex. J Neurophysiol 2020; 123:695-706. [PMID: 31891521 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00284.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The central mechanisms underlying binaural unmasking for spectrally overlapping concurrent sounds, which are unresolved in the peripheral auditory system, remain largely unknown. In this study, frequency-following responses (FFRs) to two binaurally presented independent narrowband noises (NBNs) with overlapping spectra were recorded simultaneously in the inferior colliculus (IC) and auditory cortex (AC) in anesthetized rats. The results showed that for both IC FFRs and AC FFRs, introducing an interaural time difference (ITD) disparity between the two concurrent NBNs enhanced the representation fidelity, reflected by the increased coherence between the responses evoked by double-NBN stimulation and the responses evoked by single NBNs. The ITD disparity effect varied across frequency bands, being more marked for higher frequency bands in the IC and lower frequency bands in the AC. Moreover, the coherence between IC responses and AC responses was also enhanced by the ITD disparity, and the enhancement was most prominent for low-frequency bands and the IC and the AC on the same side. These results suggest a critical role of the ITD cue in the neural segregation of spectrotemporally overlapping sounds.NEW & NOTEWORTHY When two spectrally overlapped narrowband noises are presented at the same time with the same sound-pressure level, they mask each other. Introducing a disparity in interaural time difference between these two narrowband noises improves the accuracy of the neural representation of individual sounds in both the inferior colliculus and the auditory cortex. The lower frequency signal transformation from the inferior colliculus to the auditory cortex on the same side is also enhanced, showing the effect of binaural unmasking.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lu Luo
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Na Xu
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Qian Wang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Epilepsy, Epilepsy Center, Department of Functional Neurosurgery, Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Liang Li
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Speech and Hearing Research Center, Key Laboratory on Machine Perception (Ministry of Education), Peking University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Coffey EBJ, Nicol T, White-Schwoch T, Chandrasekaran B, Krizman J, Skoe E, Zatorre RJ, Kraus N. Evolving perspectives on the sources of the frequency-following response. Nat Commun 2019; 10:5036. [PMID: 31695046 PMCID: PMC6834633 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13003-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The auditory frequency-following response (FFR) is a non-invasive index of the fidelity of sound encoding in the brain, and is used to study the integrity, plasticity, and behavioral relevance of the neural encoding of sound. In this Perspective, we review recent evidence suggesting that, in humans, the FFR arises from multiple cortical and subcortical sources, not just subcortically as previously believed, and we illustrate how the FFR to complex sounds can enhance the wider field of auditory neuroscience. Far from being of use only to study basic auditory processes, the FFR is an uncommonly multifaceted response yielding a wealth of information, with much yet to be tapped.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emily B J Coffey
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, 1455 Boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest, Montréal, QC, H3G 1M8, Canada.
- International Laboratory for Brain, Music, and Sound Research (BRAMS), Montréal, QC, Canada.
- Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), McGill University, 3640 de la Montagne, Montréal, QC, H3G 2A8, Canada.
| | - Trent Nicol
- Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Travis White-Schwoch
- Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Bharath Chandrasekaran
- Communication Sciences and Disorders, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Forbes Tower, 3600 Atwood St, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
| | - Jennifer Krizman
- Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Erika Skoe
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, The Connecticut Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Connecticut, 2 Alethia Drive, Unit 1085, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA
| | - Robert J Zatorre
- International Laboratory for Brain, Music, and Sound Research (BRAMS), Montréal, QC, Canada
- Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), McGill University, 3640 de la Montagne, Montréal, QC, H3G 2A8, Canada
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 rue Université, Montréal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Nina Kraus
- Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, 2205 Tech Dr., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, Northwestern University, 420 E Superior St., Chicago, IL, 6011, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Ross B, Tremblay KL, Alain C. Simultaneous EEG and MEG recordings reveal vocal pitch elicited cortical gamma oscillations in young and older adults. Neuroimage 2019; 204:116253. [PMID: 31600592 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2019] [Revised: 09/13/2019] [Accepted: 10/06/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The frequency-following response with origin in the auditory brainstem represents the pitch contour of voice and can be recorded with electrodes from the scalp. MEG studies also revealed a cortical contribution to the high gamma oscillations at the fundamental frequency (f0) of a vowel stimulus. Therefore, studying the cortical component of the frequency-following response could provide insights into how pitch information is encoded at the cortical level. Comparing how aging affects the different responses may help to uncover the neural mechanisms underlying speech understanding deficits in older age. We simultaneously recorded EEG and MEG responses to the syllable /ba/. MEG beamformer analysis localized sources in bilateral auditory cortices and the midbrain. Time-frequency analysis showed a faithful representation of the pitch contour between 106 Hz and 138 Hz in the cortical activity. A cross-correlation revealed a latency of 20 ms. Furthermore, stimulus onsets elicited cortical 40-Hz responses. Both the 40-Hz and the f0 response amplitudes increased in older age and were larger in the right hemisphere. The effects of aging and laterality of the f0 response were evident in the MEG only, suggesting that both effects were characteristics of the cortical response. After comparing f0 and N1 responses in EEG and MEG, we estimated that approximately one-third of the scalp-recorded f0 response could be cortical in origin. We attributed the significance of the cortical f0 response to the precise timing of cortical neurons that serve as a time-sensitive code for pitch.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bernhard Ross
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department for Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Kelly L Tremblay
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Claude Alain
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
See JZ, Atencio CA, Sohal VS, Schreiner CE. Coordinated neuronal ensembles in primary auditory cortical columns. eLife 2018; 7:e35587. [PMID: 29869986 PMCID: PMC6017807 DOI: 10.7554/elife.35587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2018] [Accepted: 06/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The synchronous activity of groups of neurons is increasingly thought to be important in cortical information processing and transmission. However, most studies of processing in the primary auditory cortex (AI) have viewed neurons as independent filters; little is known about how coordinated AI neuronal activity is expressed throughout cortical columns and how it might enhance the processing of auditory information. To address this, we recorded from populations of neurons in AI cortical columns of anesthetized rats and, using dimensionality reduction techniques, identified multiple coordinated neuronal ensembles (cNEs), which are groups of neurons with reliable synchronous activity. We show that cNEs reflect local network configurations with enhanced information encoding properties that cannot be accounted for by stimulus-driven synchronization alone. Furthermore, similar cNEs were identified in both spontaneous and evoked activity, indicating that columnar cNEs are stable functional constructs that may represent principal units of information processing in AI.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jermyn Z See
- UCSF Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
- Coleman Memorial Laboratory, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, United States
| | - Craig A Atencio
- UCSF Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
- Coleman Memorial Laboratory, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
| | - Vikaas S Sohal
- UCSF Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, United States
| | - Christoph E Schreiner
- UCSF Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
- Coleman Memorial Laboratory, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Bidelman GM. Subcortical sources dominate the neuroelectric auditory frequency-following response to speech. Neuroimage 2018; 175:56-69. [PMID: 29604459 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.03.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2018] [Accepted: 03/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Frequency-following responses (FFRs) are neurophonic potentials that provide a window into the encoding of complex sounds (e.g., speech/music), auditory disorders, and neuroplasticity. While the neural origins of the FFR remain debated, renewed controversy has reemerged after demonstration that FFRs recorded via magnetoencephalography (MEG) are dominated by cortical rather than brainstem structures as previously assumed. Here, we recorded high-density (64 ch) FFRs via EEG and applied state-of-the art source imaging techniques to multichannel data (discrete dipole modeling, distributed imaging, independent component analysis, computational simulations). Our data confirm a mixture of generators localized to bilateral auditory nerve (AN), brainstem inferior colliculus (BS), and bilateral primary auditory cortex (PAC). However, frequency-specific scrutiny of source waveforms showed the relative contribution of these nuclei to the aggregate FFR varied across stimulus frequencies. Whereas AN and BS sources produced robust FFRs up to ∼700 Hz, PAC showed weak phase-locking with little FFR energy above the speech fundamental (100 Hz). Notably, CLARA imaging further showed PAC activation was eradicated for FFRs >150 Hz, above which only subcortical sources remained active. Our results show (i) the site of FFR generation varies critically with stimulus frequency; and (ii) opposite the pattern observed in MEG, subcortical structures make the largest contribution to electrically recorded FFRs (AN ≥ BS > PAC). We infer that cortical dominance observed in previous neuromagnetic data is likely due to the bias of MEG to superficial brain tissue, underestimating subcortical structures that drive most of the speech-FFR. Cleanly separating subcortical from cortical FFRs can be achieved by ensuring stimulus frequencies are >150-200 Hz, above the phase-locking limit of cortical neurons.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gavin M Bidelman
- School of Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA; Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA; Univeristy of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Memphis, TN, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Konerding WS, Froriep UP, Kral A, Baumhoff P. New thin-film surface electrode array enables brain mapping with high spatial acuity in rodents. Sci Rep 2018; 8:3825. [PMID: 29491453 PMCID: PMC5830616 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-22051-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2017] [Accepted: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In neuroscience, single-shank penetrating multi-electrode arrays are standard for sequentially sampling several cortical sites with high spatial and temporal resolution, with the disadvantage of neuronal damage. Non-penetrating surface grids used in electrocorticography (ECoG) permit simultaneous recording of multiple cortical sites, with limited spatial resolution, due to distance to neuronal tissue, large contact size and high impedances. Here we compared new thin-film parylene C ECoG grids, covering the guinea pig primary auditory cortex, with simultaneous recordings from penetrating electrode array (PEAs), inserted through openings in the grid material. ECoG grid local field potentials (LFP) showed higher response thresholds and amplitudes compared to PEAs. They enabled, however, fast and reliable tonotopic mapping of the auditory cortex (place-frequency slope: 0.7 mm/octave), with tuning widths similar to PEAs. The ECoG signal correlated best with supragranular layers, exponentially decreasing with cortical depth. The grids also enabled recording of multi-unit activity (MUA), yielding several advantages over LFP recordings, including sharper frequency tunings. ECoG first spike latency showed highest similarity to superficial PEA contacts and MUA traces maximally correlated with PEA recordings from the granular layer. These results confirm high quality of the ECoG grid recordings and the possibility to collect LFP and MUA simultaneously.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- W S Konerding
- Institute of AudioNeuroTechnology and Department of Experimental Otology, ENT Clinics, Stadtfelddamm 34, Hannover Medical School, 30625, Hannover, Germany.
| | - U P Froriep
- Translational Biomedical Engineering, Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine (ITEM), Nikolai-Fuchs-Strasse 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - A Kral
- Institute of AudioNeuroTechnology and Department of Experimental Otology, ENT Clinics, Stadtfelddamm 34, Hannover Medical School, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - P Baumhoff
- Institute of AudioNeuroTechnology and Department of Experimental Otology, ENT Clinics, Stadtfelddamm 34, Hannover Medical School, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| |
Collapse
|