Dopamine modulates auditory responses in the inferior colliculus in a heterogeneous manner

Joshua X Gittelman; David J Perkel; Christine V Portfors

doi:10.1007/s10162-013-0405-0

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Dopamine modulates auditory responses in the inferior colliculus in a heterogeneous manner

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Dopamine modulates auditory responses in the inferior colliculus in a heterogeneous manner

Joshua X Gittelman, David J Perkel and Christine V Portfors

Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, Vol.14(5), pp.719-729

10/2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10162-013-0405-0

Handle:

https://hdl.handle.net/2376/101493

PMCID: PMC3767870

PMID: 23835945

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s10162-013-0405-0View

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Abstract

Evoked Potentials, Auditory - drug effects

Consciousness

Acoustic Stimulation

Auditory Pathways - drug effects

Dopamine - pharmacology

Inferior Colliculi - physiology

Reaction Time - physiology

Inferior Colliculi - drug effects

Action Potentials - physiology

Electrodes

Iontophoresis

Animals

Auditory Pathways - physiology

Dopamine - physiology

Dopamine Agents - pharmacology

Reaction Time - drug effects

Evoked Potentials, Auditory - physiology

Mice, Inbred CBA

Female

Receptors, Dopamine D2 - physiology

Mice

Action Potentials - drug effects

Perception of complex sounds such as speech is affected by a variety of factors, including attention, expectation of reward, physiological state, and/or disorders, yet the mechanisms underlying this modulation are not well understood. Although dopamine is commonly studied for its role in reward-based learning and in disorders, multiple lines of evidence suggest that dopamine is also involved in modulating auditory processing. In this study, we examined the effects of dopamine application on neuronal response properties in the inferior colliculus (IC) of awake mice. Because the IC contains dopamine receptors and nerve terminals immunoreactive for tyrosine hydroxylase, we predicted that dopamine would modulate auditory responses in the IC. We recorded single-unit responses before, during, and after the iontophoretic application of dopamine using piggyback electrodes. We examined the effects of dopamine on firing rate, timing, and probability of bursting. We found that application of dopamine affected neural responses in a heterogeneous manner. In more than 80 % of the neurons, dopamine either increased (32 %) or decreased (50 %) firing rate, and the effects were similar on spontaneous and sound-evoked activity. Dopamine also either increased or decreased first spike latency and jitter in almost half of the neurons. In 3/28 neurons (11 %), dopamine significantly altered the probability of bursting. The heterogeneous effects of dopamine observed in the IC of awake mice were similar to effects observed in other brain areas. Our findings indicate that dopamine differentially modulates neural activity in the IC and thus may play an important role in auditory processing.

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Title: Dopamine modulates auditory responses in the inferior colliculus in a heterogeneous manner
Creators: Joshua X Gittelman - School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, 14204 NE Salmon Creek Ave., Vancouver, WA, USA
David J Perkel
Christine V Portfors
Publication Details: Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, Vol.14(5), pp.719-729
Academic Unit: Office of the Provost
Publisher: United States
Identifiers: 99900546513801842
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article