Pharmacological inactivation of ventral hippocampus disrupts central auditory processing

Abstract

Audition is vital for communication, learning and memory processes. However, the hippocampus, which can support these functions, is absent from networks of auditory processing. To bridge this gap, we employed auditory fMRI and pharmacological inactivation techniques to directly characterize how hippocampal outputs affect auditory responses to auditory stimuli in primary auditory-associated structures. Using behaviorally-relevant, natural sounds for rodent behaviors, or their temporally-reversed counterparts, we revealed that absence of hippocampal output disrupts auditory responses to vocalizations in auditory midbrain, thalamus and cortex. For the first time, our results demonstrated the critical role of hippocampus in shaping response selectivity to behaviorally-relevant sounds.