ETD

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Tesi etd-11192020-185116


Tipo di tesi
Tesi di laurea magistrale
Autore
ABELA, FRANCESCA
URN
etd-11192020-185116
Titolo
Cortical circuit processing of FM tones during auditory learning
Dipartimento
BIOLOGIA
Corso di studi
NEUROSCIENCE
Relatori
relatore Prof. Ratto, Gian Michele
relatore Dott. Happel, Max
supervisore Zempeltzi, Marina
Parole chiave
  • auditory learning
  • local field potential
  • current source density analysis
  • operant conditioning
  • shuttle-box
  • frequency modulated tones
  • Mongolian gerbil
  • primary auditory cortex
Data inizio appello
09/12/2020
Consultabilità
Non consultabile
Data di rilascio
09/12/2060
Riassunto
The primary auditory cortex (AI) plays a fundamental role in auditory processing, perception and learning. During auditory learning, the spectrotemporal complexity of the acoustic stimuli determines the degree to which learning depends on the auditory cortex. Frequency-modulated (FM) components are essential for animal communication and, in contrast to pure tone detection, it has been shown that their discrimination is cortex-dependent. Therefore, we investigated the role of AI in the discrimination of FM-tones during a two-way avoidance shuttle-box training in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus). Our experimental design consisted of five different phases, in which the contingency (Go/NoGo) of FM sweeps in lower 1-2 kHz and higher 2-4kHz frequency bands is varied multiple times. During this period, the choice-outcome variations force the animals to change their behavioral strategy several times.
Simultaneously, we performed local field potential (LFP) recordings across all cortical layers of the AI with a chronically implanted multichannel electrode. We used this data to analyze synaptic spatiotemporal activation patterns by current-source-density (CSD) distributions during all training phases. We hypothesize that layer-specific cortical circuit mechanisms correlate with the auditory-guided choice behavior and the strategy adaptation of the animals.
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