title: Response properties of auditory activated cells in the occipital cortex of the blind mole rat: an electrophysiological study.
abstract: Previous studies have demonstrated that despite its blindness, the subterranean blind mole rat (Spalax ehrenbergi) possesses a noticeable lateral geniculate nucleus and a typical cyto-architectural occipital cortex that are reciprocally connected. These two areas, as revealed by the metabolic tracer 2-deoxyglucose, are activated by auditory stimuli. Using single unit recordings, we show that about 57% of 325 cells located within the occipital cortex of anesthetized mole rats responded to at least one of the following auditory stimuli--white noise, pure tones, clicks, and amplitude modulated tones--with the latter two being the most effective. About 85% of cells driven by either contralateral or ipsilateral stimulation also responded to binaural stimulation; about 13% responded only to binaural stimulation; and 2% were driven exclusively by contralateral stimulation. Comparing responsiveness and response strength to these three modes of stimulation revealed a contralateral predominance. Mean latency (+/-SD) of ipsilateral and contralateral responses were 48.5+/-32.6 ms and 33.5+/-9.4 ms, respectively. Characteristic frequencies could be divided into two distinct subgroups ranging between 80 and 125 Hz and between 2,500 and 4,400 Hz, corresponding to the most intensive spectral components of the vibratory intraspecific communication signals and airborne vocalizations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel.
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Sadka
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wollberg
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development*; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D001766:Blindness / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D019577:Mole Rats / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development*; D010898:Pitch Perception / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000502:physiology