Cranial Morphology of the Late Oligocene Patagonian Notohippid Rhynchippus equinus Ameghino, 1897 (Mammalia, Notoungulata) with Emphases in Basicranial and Auditory Region.

"Notohippidae" is a probably paraphyletic family of medium sized notoungulates with complete dentition and early tendency to hypsodonty. They have been recorded from early Eocene to early Miocene, being particularly diverse by the late Oligocene. Although Rhynchippus equinus Ameghino is one of the most frequent notohippids in the fossil record, there are scarce data about cranial osteology other than the classical descriptions which date back to the early last century. In this context, we describe the exceptionally preserved specimen MPEF PV 695 (based on CT scanning technique and 3D reconstruction) with the aim of improving our knowledge of the species, especially regarding auditory region (petrosal, tympanic and surrounding elements), sphenoidal and occipital complexes. Besides a modular description of the whole skull, osteological correlates identified on the basicranium are used to infer some soft-tissue elements, especially those associated with vessels that supply the head, mainly intracranially. One of the most informative elements was the petrosal bone, whose general morphology matches that expected for a toxodont. The endocranial surface, together with the surrounding parietal, basisphenoid, occipital, and squamosal, enabled us to propose the location and communication of main venous sinuses of the lateral head wall (temporal, inferior and sigmoid sinuses), whereas the tympanic aspect and the identification of a posterior carotid artery canal provided strong evidence in support of an intratympanic course of the internal carotid artery, a controversial issue among notoungulates. Regarding the arrangement of tympanic and paratympanic spaces, the preservation of the specimen allowed us to appreciate the three connected spaces that constitute a heavily pneumatized middle ear; the epitympanic sinus, the tympanic cavity itself, and the ventral expansion of the tympanic cavity through the notably inflated bullae. We hope this study stimulates further inquires and provides potentially informative data for future research involving other representatives of the order.

Avances en corteza auditiva / Advances in auditory cortex

El sistema auditivo nos permite detectar e interpretar las señales acústicas del medio ambiente y así modificar nuestro comportamiento. En humanos la corteza auditiva se ubica en el giro temporal superior del lóbulo temporal. Esta corteza presenta una organización estructural y funcional característica, que se ha identificado en muchas especies de mamíferos. Las áreas de organización de la corteza auditiva son: (i) una región central denominada corteza auditiva primaria o core, que corresponde al primer nivel de procesamiento, cuyas características cito-arquitectónicas y funcionales principales son poseer una capa IV prominente y presentar una organización tonotópica especular. Además, (ii) una región circundante conocida como cinturón o belt, que corresponde a las cortezas secundarias que participan de la localización espacial y reconocimiento del sonido, como también en el procesamiento del habla. Por último, (iii) las áreas de asociación auditiva integran la información auditiva con la de otros sistemas sensoriales. En este artículo se revisan las bases neuroanatómicas y las propiedades funcionales de la corteza auditiva, las que constituyen pilares fundamentales para el desarrollo de métodos diagnósticos y terapéuticos del procesamiento auditivo central.

The auditory system allows us to detect and interpret the acoustic signals of the environment and thus change our behavior. In humans, the auditory cortex is located in the superior temporal gyrus of the temporal lobe. This cortex has a characteristic structural organization and functionality that have been identified in many mammalian species. The auditory cortex has different organizational areas: (i) a core called "primary auditory cortex," which corresponds to the first level of processing, and its cyto-architectural and physiological main features are to present a prominent layer IV and to display a mirror-tonotopic organization. In addition, (ii) a surrounding region known as belt that corresponds to the secondary auditory cortices and participates in the location and recognition of sound, as well as in speech processing. Finally, (iii) auditory association areas that integrate auditory information with other sensory systems. In this article, the neuroanatomical bases and functional properties of auditory cortex processing are reviewed. These topics constitute the foundations for the development of diagnostic tools and therapeutic procedures of central auditory processing.

The auditory cortex of the bat Molossus molossus: disproportionate search call frequency representation.

The extent of the auditory cortex in the bat Molossus molossus was electrophysiologically investigated. Best frequencies and minimum thresholds of neural tuning curves were analyzed to define the topography of the auditory cortex. The auditory cortex encompasses an average cortical surface area of 5mm(2). Characteristic frequencies are tonotopically organized with low frequencies being represented caudally and high frequencies rostrally. However, a large interindividual variability in the tonotopic organization was found. In most animals, the caudal 50% was tonotopically organized. More anterior, a variable area was found. A distinct field with reversed topography was not consistently found. Within the demarcated auditory cortex, frequencies of 30-40 kHz, which correspond to the frequency range of search calls emitted during hunting, are overrepresented, occupying 49% of the auditory cortex surface. High minimum thresholds >50 dB SPL were found in a narrow dorsal narrow area. Neurons with multipeaked tuning curves (20%) preferentially were located in the dorsal part of the auditory cortex. In accordance with studies in other bat species, the auditory cortex of M. molossus is highly sensitive to the dominant frequencies of biosonar search calls.

Stimulus-dependent oscillations and evoked potentials in chinchilla auditory cortex.

Besides the intensity and frequency of an auditory stimulus, the length of time that precedes the stimulation is an important factor that determines the magnitude of early evoked neural responses in the auditory cortex. Here we used chinchillas to demonstrate that the length of the silent period before the presentation of an auditory stimulus is a critical factor that modifies late oscillatory responses in the auditory cortex. We used tetrodes to record local-field potential (LFP) signals from the left auditory cortex of ten animals while they were stimulated with clicks, tones or noise bursts delivered at different rates and intensity levels. We found that the incidence of oscillatory activity in the auditory cortex of anesthetized chinchillas is dependent on the period of silence before stimulation and on the intensity of the auditory stimulus. In 62.5% of the recordings sites we found stimulus-related oscillations at around 8-20 Hz. Stimulus-induced oscillations were largest and consistent when stimuli were preceded by 5 s of silence and they were absent when preceded by less than 500 ms of silence. These results demonstrate that the period of silence preceding the stimulus presentation and the stimulus intensity are critical factors for the presence of these oscillations.

Comparative study of inter- and intrahemispheric cortico-cortical connections in gerbil auditory cortex.

Topographic distributions and laminar pattern of cortico-cortical projections from the primary auditory field (AI), anterior auditory field (AAF), dorsoposterior field (DP), ventroposterior field (VP), dorsal field (D) and ventral field (V) were studied in relation to tonotopic maps in combined anatomical, electrophysiological and 2-deoxyfluoro-D-glucose (2DG) experiments. Distributions of axons were examined by means of retrogradely-transported fluorescent tracer Fast Blue (FB) injected in the primary (AI) and anterior (AAF) auditory field. Injections of fluorescent tracer were placed in electrophysiologically-identified locations of AI and AAF. Neurons in AAF, DP, VP and V project to AI in the ipsilateral hemisphere. This area also receives projections from AI, AAF and D from the contralateral hemisphere. In AI, DP and VP, neurons are connected with AAF in the ipsilateral hemisphere and AI and AAF in the opposite hemisphere. In all cases, patches of labeling are distributed along 2DG bands oriented parallel to the isofrequency line. Substantial numbers of retrogradedly labeled neurons with similar best frequencies (BFs) were observed in the ipsilateral and moderate to scant numbers in the contralateral hemisphere. In general, regions near the injection sites receive more densely-labeled projections than do more distant targets. In both hemispheres, the supragranular layer III contains the greatest concentration of cortico-cortical cells bodies; the granular and infragranular layer V contains a somewhat lower concentration.

Bilateral ablation of the auditory cortex in the rat alters conditioned emotional suppression to a sound as appraised through a latent inhibition study.

Latent inhibition consists of a retardation of conditioning seen when the to be conditioned stimulus is presented a number of times with no other consequence. This phenomenon likely reflects processes of selective attention whereby irrelevant stimuli come to be ignored. Using physiological models for auditory attention, some investigators have suggested that selective attention acts as a filtering mechanism capable of inhibiting or gating unattended stimuli relative to attended ones in the auditory cortex. In the present work, an on-baseline conditioned suppression response procedure was used to study the effects of stimulus preexposure in rats submitted to bilateral auditory cortex ablation. Our results indicate that both auditory cortex lesioned and control animals exhibit latent inhibition to a sound. However, learning after preexposure to that sound was particularly slow in animals with bilateral auditory cortex lesion, i.e. in these animals, the latent inhibition effect appeared to be enhanced. Conditioning from one day to the next also varied slightly. Thus, the auditory cortex appears to modulate learning when the conditioned stimulus is a sound.

Functional localization and cortical architecture in the nine-banded armadilli (Dasypus novemcinctus mexicanus).

A functional map of the armadillo neocortex was produced by cortical stimulation and recording evoked potentials following somatic, auditory and visual stimuli. The results obtained were then correlated with the cortical architecture as revealed by Nissl, Golgi and myelin-stained sections. Cortex rostral to the supraorbital sulcus has a wide layer IV and is mostly silent, except for a motor eye field and a part of the tongue sensory region in its caudal part. Two types of motor-sensory cortex are present caudal to the supraorbital sulcus. Postsupraorbital I is mostly motor and has prominent pyramidal layers. Layer V is particularly well developed and in rostral sections its superficial zone is broken up into clusters similar to the solid "barrels" seen in layer IV of other species. Postsupraorbital II has less prominent pyramidal layers and layers II and III are organized into clusters. This region corresponds to the sensory area for the limbs and trunk and the partially overlapping (surface recordings) sensory and motor areas for head, snout and tongue. Digits and limbs are rostral to the trunk representation in both the sensory and motor "homunculi." Even though surface recording was employed, potentials evoked by visual stimuli could only be recorded from a small caudal area with a very thin layer IV. Although striate and peristriate areas appear similar in Nissl stained preparations, they can be readily differentiated in Weil stained sections. The stellate character of neurons in layer IV of the visual cortex is particularly apparent in Golgi material. Auditory evoked surface potentials were recorded from a broad oval region in the caudal lateral cortex which has a wide layer IV and aggregates of neurons in layers II and III. A Weil stain demonstrates inner and outer bands of Baillarger in this same region. The presumptive insular cortex is electrically silent to sensory stimulation and presents as a narrow band just dorsal to the rhinal fissure with indefinite cell lamination and little myelin.