Group leaders: Catherine Del Negro, Jean-Marc Edeline

Neural Code & Auditory Perception

In brief

Our researches aim at determining the neural code involved in the processing of communication sounds. In songbirds, we showed that the neuronal responses of a high-level auditory region code for the sequential order of song elements. In mammals, we revealed that the robustness of neuronal responses to acoustic degradations is present at each level of the auditory system. The coding strategies involved in cochlear implants and the role of oxytocin in modulating the cortical responses to communication sounds are also investigated.

Our work is based on electrophysiological recordings in the thalamo-cortical auditory system. We first demonstrated that the receptive fields of thalamo-cortical neurons are selectively modified after a brief session of aversive conditioning. Then we studied the influence of Acetylcholine and Norepinephrine on the receptive fields of auditory cortex neurons. After investigating the role of tone-evoked oscillations and of bursts in the thalamo-cortical system, we spent the recent years studying the neural code underlying the discrimination of communication sounds.

Selected publications

  • Martin A, Souffi S, Huetz C, Edeline JM. (2024) Can Extensive Training Transform a Mouse into a Guinea Pig? An Evaluation Based on the Discriminative Abilities of Inferior Colliculus Neurons. Biology (Basel);13(2):92. DOI: 10.3390/biology13020092
  • Le Ster C, Selingue E, Poirier R, Edeline JM, Mériaux S, Boulant N. (2023) Behavioral and functional assessment of mice inner ear after chronic exposure to an ultrahigh B0 field of 11.7 T or 17.2 T. Magn Reson Med. 90(2):699-707. DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29659
  • Partouche E, Adenis V, Stahl P, Huetz C, (2023) Edeline JM. What Is the Benefit of Ramped Pulse Shapes for Activating Auditory Cortex Neurons? An Electrophysiological Study in an Animal Model of Cochlear Implant. Brain Sci. ;13(2):250.. DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13020250
  • Souffi S, Varnet L, Zaidi M, Bathellier B, Huetz C, Edeline JM. (2023) Reduction in sound discrimination in noise is related to envelope similarity and not to a decrease in envelope tracking abilities. J Physiol. ;601(1):123-149. Journal of Physiology (London) DOI: 10.1113/JP283526
  • Partouche E, Adenis V, Gnansia D, Stahl P, & Edeline J-M (2022) Increased threshold and reduced firing rate of auditory cortex neurons after cochlear implant insertion. Brain Sciences, 12(2) 205. DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12020205
  • Rolland M, Del Negro C, Giret N. (2022) Multisensory processes in birds: From single neurons to the influence of social interactions and sensory loss. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 143:104942. DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104942
  • Cazala A, Del Negro C, Giret N. (2021) Distinct timescales for the neuronal encoding of vocal signals in a high-order auditory area. Sci Rep. 11(1):19672. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99135-w
  • Royer J, Occelli F, Huetz C, Cancela JM & Edeline J-M (2021) Enhanced discriminative abilities of auditory cortex neurons for pup calls despite reduced evoked responses in C57BL/6 mother mice. Neuroscience. 453:1-16. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.11.031
  • Souffi S, Lorenzi C, Huetz C & Edeline JM (2021) Robustness to noise in the auditory system: A distributed and predictable property eNeuro. Mar 18; 8(2):ENEURO.0043-21.2021. DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0043-21.2021
  • Souffi S, Nodal FR, Bajo VM & Edeline JM (2021) When and how does the auditory cortex influence subcortical auditory structures? New insights about the roles of descending cortical projections. Frontiers in Neuroscience 15:690223. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.690223
  • Gaucher Q, Yger P & Edeline J-M (2020) Increasing excitation vs. decreasing inhibition in auditory cortex: Consequences on the discrimination performance between communication sounds. Journal of Physiology (London) 598(17):3765-3785. DOI: 10.1113/JP279902
  • Zai AT, Cavé-Lopez S, Rolland M, Giret N, Hahnloser RHR. (2020) Sensory substitution reveals a manipulation bias. Nat Commun. 11(1):5940. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19686-w
  • Yamahachi H, Zai AT, Tachibana RO, Stepien AE, Rodrigues DI, Cavé-Lopez S, Lorenz C, Arneodo EM, Giret N, Hahnloser RHR. (2020) Undirected singing rate as a non-invasive tool for welfare monitoring in isolated male zebra finches. PLoS One. 2020 Aug 10;15(8):e0236333. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236333
  • Souffi S, Varnet, L, Lorenzi C, Huetz C Edeline JM (2020) Noise-sensitive but more precise subcortical representations co-exist with robust cortical encoding of natural vocalizations. J. Neuroscience. 40(27):5228-5246. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2731-19.2020
  • Cazala A. Giret N, Edeline J-M & Del Negro C. (2019) Neuronal encoding in a high level auditory area: from sequential order of elements to grammatical structure, J. Neuroscience. 39(31) 6150-6161. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2767-18.2019
  • Adenis V, Gourévitch B, Mamelle E, Recugnat M, Stahl P, Gnansia D, Nguyen Y, Edeline JM. (2018) ECAP growth function to increasing pulse amplitude or pulse duration demonstrates large inter-animal variability that is reflected in auditory cortex of the guinea pig. PLoS One.13(8) e0201771 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201771
  • Martin A, Souffi S, Huetz C, Edeline JM. (2024) Can Extensive Training Transform a Mouse into a Guinea Pig? An Evaluation Based on the Discriminative Abilities of Inferior Colliculus Neurons. Biology (Basel);13(2):92. DOI: 10.3390/biology13020092
  • Le Ster C, Selingue E, Poirier R, Edeline JM, Mériaux S, Boulant N. (2023) Behavioral and functional assessment of mice inner ear after chronic exposure to an ultrahigh B0 field of 11.7 T or 17.2 T. Magn Reson Med. 90(2):699-707. DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29659
  • Partouche E, Adenis V, Stahl P, Huetz C, (2023) Edeline JM. What Is the Benefit of Ramped Pulse Shapes for Activating Auditory Cortex Neurons? An Electrophysiological Study in an Animal Model of Cochlear Implant. Brain Sci. ;13(2):250.. DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13020250
  • Souffi S, Varnet L, Zaidi M, Bathellier B, Huetz C, Edeline JM. (2023) Reduction in sound discrimination in noise is related to envelope similarity and not to a decrease in envelope tracking abilities. J Physiol. ;601(1):123-149. Journal of Physiology (London) DOI: 10.1113/JP283526
  • Partouche E, Adenis V, Gnansia D, Stahl P, & Edeline J-M (2022) Increased threshold and reduced firing rate of auditory cortex neurons after cochlear implant insertion. Brain Sciences, 12(2) 205. DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12020205
  • Rolland M, Del Negro C, Giret N. (2022) Multisensory processes in birds: From single neurons to the influence of social interactions and sensory loss. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 143:104942. DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104942
  • Cazala A, Del Negro C, Giret N. (2021) Distinct timescales for the neuronal encoding of vocal signals in a high-order auditory area. Sci Rep. 11(1):19672. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99135-w
  • Royer J, Occelli F, Huetz C, Cancela JM & Edeline J-M (2021) Enhanced discriminative abilities of auditory cortex neurons for pup calls despite reduced evoked responses in C57BL/6 mother mice. Neuroscience. 453:1-16. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.11.031
  • Souffi S, Lorenzi C, Huetz C & Edeline JM (2021) Robustness to noise in the auditory system: A distributed and predictable property eNeuro. Mar 18; 8(2):ENEURO.0043-21.2021. DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0043-21.2021
  • Souffi S, Nodal FR, Bajo VM & Edeline JM (2021) When and how does the auditory cortex influence subcortical auditory structures? New insights about the roles of descending cortical projections. Frontiers in Neuroscience 15:690223. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.690223
  • Gaucher Q, Yger P & Edeline J-M (2020) Increasing excitation vs. decreasing inhibition in auditory cortex: Consequences on the discrimination performance between communication sounds. Journal of Physiology (London) 598(17):3765-3785. DOI: 10.1113/JP279902
  • Zai AT, Cavé-Lopez S, Rolland M, Giret N, Hahnloser RHR. (2020) Sensory substitution reveals a manipulation bias. Nat Commun. 11(1):5940. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19686-w
  • Yamahachi H, Zai AT, Tachibana RO, Stepien AE, Rodrigues DI, Cavé-Lopez S, Lorenz C, Arneodo EM, Giret N, Hahnloser RHR. (2020) Undirected singing rate as a non-invasive tool for welfare monitoring in isolated male zebra finches. PLoS One. 2020 Aug 10;15(8):e0236333. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236333
  • Souffi S, Varnet, L, Lorenzi C, Huetz C Edeline JM (2020) Noise-sensitive but more precise subcortical representations co-exist with robust cortical encoding of natural vocalizations. J. Neuroscience. 40(27):5228-5246. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2731-19.2020
  • Cazala A. Giret N, Edeline J-M & Del Negro C. (2019) Neuronal encoding in a high level auditory area: from sequential order of elements to grammatical structure, J. Neuroscience. 39(31) 6150-6161. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2767-18.2019
  • Adenis V, Gourévitch B, Mamelle E, Recugnat M, Stahl P, Gnansia D, Nguyen Y, Edeline JM. (2018) ECAP growth function to increasing pulse amplitude or pulse duration demonstrates large inter-animal variability that is reflected in auditory cortex of the guinea pig. PLoS One.13(8) e0201771 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201771