Hippocampus Modulates Vocalizations Responses at Early Auditory Centers

Alex T L Leong; Eddie C Wong; Xunda Wang; Ed X Wu

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119943

Hippocampus Modulates Vocalizations Responses at Early Auditory Centers

Neuroimage. 2023 Apr 15:270:119943. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119943. Epub 2023 Feb 23.

Authors

Alex T L Leong¹, Eddie C Wong², Xunda Wang², Ed X Wu³

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China; Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China. Electronic address: tlleong@eee.hku.hk.
² Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China; Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
³ Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China; Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China; School of Biomedical Sciences, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China. Electronic address: ewu@eee.hku.hk.

PMID: 36828157
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119943

Abstract

Despite its prominence in learning and memory, hippocampal influence in early auditory processing centers remains unknown. Here, we examined how hippocampal activity modulates sound-evoked responses in the auditory midbrain and thalamus using optogenetics and functional MRI (fMRI) in rodents. Ventral hippocampus (vHP) excitatory neuron stimulation at 5 Hz evoked robust hippocampal activity that propagates to the primary auditory cortex. We then tested 5 Hz vHP stimulation paired with either natural vocalizations or artificial/noise acoustic stimuli. vHP stimulation enhanced auditory responses to vocalizations (with a negative or positive valence) in the inferior colliculus, medial geniculate body, and auditory cortex, but not to their temporally reversed counterparts (artificial sounds) or broadband noise. Meanwhile, pharmacological vHP inactivation diminished response selectivity to vocalizations. These results directly reveal the large-scale hippocampal participation in natural sound processing at early centers of the ascending auditory pathway. They expand our present understanding of hippocampus in global auditory networks.

Keywords: Auditory cortex; Auditory system; Hippocampus; Inferior colliculus; Medial geniculate body; Optogenetics; Vocalizations; fMRI.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Acoustic Stimulation / methods
Auditory Cortex* / physiology
Auditory Pathways / physiology
Auditory Perception / physiology
Geniculate Bodies / physiology
Hippocampus
Inferior Colliculi* / physiology