(from left) Noah Roy, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research associate in Dr. Zakharenko’s lab, and first author Jay Blundon, Ph.D., an associate scientist in Dr. Zakharenko’s lab
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists have discovered that curtailing activity of the neuromodulator adenosine extends the critical period of auditory learning in mice and offers promising results for humans
“By disrupting adenosine signaling in the auditory thalamus, we have extended the window for auditory learning for the longest period yet reported, well into adulthood and far beyond the usual critical period in mice,” said corresponding author Stanislav Zakharenko, M.D., Ph.D., a member of the St. Jude Department of Developmental Neurobiology. “These results offer a promising strategy to extend the same window in humans to acquire language or musical ability by restoring plasticity in critical regions of the brain, possibly by developing drugs that selectively block adenosine activity.”
The auditory thalamus is the brain’s relay station where sound is collected and sent to the auditory cortex for processing. The auditory thalamus and cortex rely on the neurotransmitter glutamate to communicate. Adenosine was known to reduce glutamate levels by inhibiting this neurotransmitter’s release. This study also linked adenosine inhibition to reduced brain plasticity and the end of efficient auditory learning.
Researchers used a variety of methods to demonstrate that reducing adenosine or blocking the A1 adenosine receptor that is essential to the chemical messenger’s function changed how adult mice responded to sound.
Much as young children pick up language simply by hearing it spoken, researchers showed that when adenosine was reduced or the A1 receptor blocked in the auditory thalamus, adult mice passively exposed to a tone responded to the same tone stronger when it was played weeks or months later. These adult mice also gained an ability to distinguish between very close tones (or tones with similar frequencies). Mice usually lack this “perfect pitch” ability.
Researchers also showed that the experimental mice retained the improved tone discrimination for weeks.
“Taken together, the results demonstrated that the window for effective auditory learning re-opened in the mice and that they retained the information,” Zakharenko said.
Among the strategies researchers used to inhibit adenosine activity was the experimental compound FR194921, which selectively blocks the A1 receptor. If paired with sound exposure, the compound rejuvenated auditory learning in adult mice. “That suggests it might be possible to extend the window in humans by targeting the A1 receptor for drug development,” Zakharenko said.
Zakharenko and his colleagues also linked the age-related decline in ease of auditory learning to an age-related increase in an enzyme (ecto-5’-nucleotidase) involved in adenosine production in the auditory thalamus. Researchers reported that mature mice had higher levels than newborn mice of the enzyme and adenosine in the auditory thalamus. Deletion of this enzyme returned the adenosine level in adult mice to the level of newborn mice. Therefore, researchers are currently looking for compounds that target ecto-5’-nucleotidase as an alternative approach for extending the window of auditory learning.
Learn more:Controlling a single brain chemical may help expand window for learning language and music
The Latest on: Extending the window of auditory learning
[google_news title=”” keyword=”extending the window of auditory learning” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
- Elite Universities Call for Change in Reading Educationon September 18, 2023 at 11:18 am
Both Teachers College, Columbia and La Trobe University are making historic changes in reading instruction. The changes correct decades of teacher training disassociated from cognitive psychology and ...
- EDITORIAL: Extend Child Victims Act window a yearon September 4, 2023 at 5:00 pm
In the cases of those sex-abuse victims, the one year window — which expires in August — simply isn’t enough time to bring their cases forward. Extending the window one more year ...
- Auditory Versus Visual Learners and Gender Differenceson August 16, 2023 at 9:34 pm
This experiment will test whether people are better auditory or visual learners and if there is a link between gender and either of these learning types. Some people learn best by seeing information ...
- 3 Millionaire-Maker Machine Learning Stocks to Buy Before the Window Closeson August 14, 2023 at 5:41 am
Alteryx (NYSE:AYX) is another under-the-radar machine learning company providing an end-to-end data analytics platform that allows users to prep, blend, analyze, and easily share data.
- How to Extend the PIN Length in Windows 10 & 11on June 12, 2023 at 9:19 am
This is how you can extend the PIN length in Windows 10 and 11. How to Extend the PIN Length by Editing the Registry Windows 11/10 Home doesn’t have any built-in setting for extending the ...
- Perfect pitch, explainedon September 14, 2021 at 12:28 pm
Though perfect pitch was thought to be a rare ability that depended primarily on early musical training in a “critical period” of sensitivity in childhood, auditory learning studies ... pitch once ...
- How to Enable or Disable Automatic Learning in Windows 11/10on May 12, 2021 at 4:01 am
Be its speech recognition, Automatic Learning, etc. Microsoft is trying to embed as many features in their Windows OS as they can. Automatic Learning allows the computer to keep an eye on your ...
- Collaboration between Beijing Normal University and CICERO Learning on auditory brain plasticityon February 25, 2021 at 4:06 am
There it was supervised by Professor Tao Sha and conducted in the National Key Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning with help from students Cuicui Wang and Yang Li and lab manager Du ...
- Differentiated Learning Styles in Businesson July 29, 2018 at 7:31 am
For business training purposes, the three learning styles you're most likely to run into are the visual, kinesthetic and auditory styles. Visual learners find it easiest to learn by seeing.
- A New Study Has Uncovered a Way to Potentially Improve Auditory Memory in Adultson July 10, 2017 at 12:01 pm
Researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered that limiting the quantity or delivery mechanism of the neuromodulator adenosine in the auditory thalamus — the part of the ...
via Google News and Bing News
