Gain modulation of synaptic inputs by network state in auditory cortex in vivo

The cortical network recurrent circuitry generates spontaneous activity organized into Up (active) and Down (quiescent) states during slow-wave sleep or anesthesia. These different states of cortical activation gain modulate synaptic transmission. However, the reported modulation that Up states impose on synaptic inputs is disparate in the literature, including both increases and decreases of responsiveness. Here, we tested the hypothesis that such disparate observations may depend on the intensity of the stimulation. By means of intracellular recordings, we studied synaptic transmission during Up and Down states in rat auditory cortex in vivo. Synaptic potentials were evoked either by auditory or electrical (thalamocortical, intracortical) stimulation while randomly varying the intensity of the stimulus. Synaptic potentials evoked by the same stimulus intensity were compared in Up/Down states. Up states had a scaling effect on the stimulus-evoked synaptic responses: the amplitude of weaker responses was potentiated whereas that of larger responses was maintained or decreased with respect to the amplitude during Down states. We used a computational model to explore the potential mechanisms explaining this nontrivial stimulus–response relationship. During Up/Down states, there is different excitability in the network and the neuronal conductance varies. We demonstrate that the competition between presynaptic recruitment and the changing conductance might be the central mechanism explaining the experimentally observed stimulus–response relationships. We conclude that the effect that cortical network activation has on synaptic transmission is not constant but contingent on the strength of the stimulation, with a larger modulation for stimuli involving both thalamic and cortical networks.Fil: Reig, Ramon. Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer; España. Karolinska Huddinge Hospital. Karolinska Institutet; SueciaFil: Zerlaut, Yann. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Unité de Neurosciences, Information et Complexité; FranciaFil: Vergara, Ramiro Oscar. Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; ArgentinaFil: Destexhe, Alain. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Unité de Neurosciences, Information et Complexité; FranciaFil: Sánchez Vives, María V.. Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer; España. Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avancats; Españ

The role of vision in auditory distance perception

In humans, multisensory interaction is an important strategy for improving the detection of stimuli of different nature and reducing the variability of response. It is known that the presence of visual information affects the auditory perception in the horizontal plane (azimuth), but there are few researches that study the influence of vision in the auditory distance perception. In general, the data obtained from these studies are contradictory and do not completely define the way in which visual cues affect the apparent distance of a sound source. Here psychophysical experiments on auditory distance perception in humans are performed, including and excluding visual cues. The results show that the apparent distance from the source is affected by the presence of visual information and that subjects can store in their memory a representation of the environ- ment that later improves the perception of distance.Fil: Calcagno, Esteban. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Abregú, Ezequiel Lucas. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Eguia, Manuel Camilo. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Vergara, Ramiro Oscar. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Auditory environmental context affects visual distance perception

In this article, we show that visual distance perception (VDP) is influenced by the auditory environmental context through reverberation-related cues. We performed two VDP experiments in two dark rooms with extremely different reverberation times: an anechoic chamber and a reverberant room. Subjects assigned to the reverberant room perceived the targets farther than subjects assigned to the anechoic chamber. Also, we found a positive correlation between the maximum perceived distance and the auditorily perceived room size. We next performed a second experiment in which the same subjects of Experiment 1 were interchanged between rooms. We found that subjects preserved the responses from the previous experiment provided they were compatible with the present perception of the environment; if not, perceived distance was biased towards the auditorily perceived boundaries of the room. Results of both experiments show that the auditory environment can influence VDP, presumably through reverberation cues related to the perception of room size.Fil: Etchemendy, Pablo Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; ArgentinaFil: Abregú, Ezequiel Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; ArgentinaFil: Calcagno, Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; ArgentinaFil: Eguia, Manuel Camilo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; ArgentinaFil: Vechiatti, Nilda. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; ArgentinaFil: Iasi, Federico. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; ArgentinaFil: Vergara, Ramiro Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; Argentin

Distance as Structural Dimension in Music

El presente trabajo trata sobre el manejo del espacio sonoro en la música. Específicamente es revisado el plano auditivo de distancia y su relación con la composición musical tanto instrumental como electroacústica. En primera instancia se presenta una breve revisión de los avances científicos relacionados con los indicios involucrados en la percepción auditiva de distancia. En segundo lugar realizamos una revisión de algunas estrategiasutilizadas por compositores para simular la ubicación de fuentes sonoras en el plano de distancia tanto en ambientes reales como virtuales. Por último desarrollamos conceptos sobre la creación del espacio sonoro a través de múltiples capas sonoras como también mediante la utilización de fuentes fijas de referencia.This paper deals with the treatment of soundscapes in music. Specifically the plan is to review the auditory perception of distance and its relation to the composition, both in instrumental and electroacoustic music. Firstly, a brief review of scientific evidence related —to involved in auditory— perception of distance. Secondly we review some strategies used by composers to simulate the location of sound sources in terms of distance, in real and virtual environments. Finally we develop concepts about sound production through multiple layers of emitting sound source as well as through the use of stationary sources of reference.Fil: Abregú, Ezequiel Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; ArgentinaFil: Calcagno, Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; ArgentinaFil: Vergara, Ramiro Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; Argentin

Distance as Structural Dimension in Music

El presente trabajo trata sobre el manejo del espacio sonoro en la música. Específicamente es revisado el plano auditivo de distancia y su relación con la composición musical tanto instrumental como electroacústica. En primera instancia se presenta una breve revisión de los avances científicos relacionados con los indicios involucrados en la percepción auditiva de distancia. En segundo lugar realizamos una revisión de algunas estrategiasutilizadas por compositores para simular la ubicación de fuentes sonoras en el plano de distancia tanto en ambientes reales como virtuales. Por último desarrollamos conceptos sobre la creación del espacio sonoro a través de múltiples capas sonoras como también mediante la utilización de fuentes fijas de referencia.This paper deals with the treatment of soundscapes in music. Specifically the plan is to review the auditory perception of distance and its relation to the composition, both in instrumental and electroacoustic music. Firstly, a brief review of scientific evidence related —to involved in auditory— perception of distance. Secondly we review some strategies used by composers to simulate the location of sound sources in terms of distance, in real and virtual environments. Finally we develop concepts about sound production through multiple layers of emitting sound source as well as through the use of stationary sources of reference.Fil: Abregú, Ezequiel Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; ArgentinaFil: Calcagno, Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; ArgentinaFil: Vergara, Ramiro Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Acústica y Percepción Sonora; Argentin

Cortical Auditory Adaptation in the Awake Rat and the Role of Potassium Currents

Responses to sound in the auditory cortex are influenced by the preceding history of firing. We studied the time course of auditory adaptation in primary auditory cortex (A1) from awake, freely moving rats. Two identical stimuli were delivered with different intervals ranging from 50 ms to 8 s. Single neuron recordings in the awake animal revealed that the response to a sound is influenced by sounds delivered even several seconds earlier, the second one usually yielding a weaker response. To understand the role of neuronal intrinsic properties in this phenomenon, we obtained intracellular recordings from rat A1 neurons in vitro and mimicked the same protocols of adaptation carried out in awake animals by means of depolarizing pulses of identical duration and intervals. The intensity of the pulses was adjusted such that the first pulse would evoke a similar number of spikes as its equivalent in vivo. A1 neurons in vitro adapted with a similar time course but less than in awake animals. At least two potassium currents participated in the in vitro adaptation: a Na +-dependent K + current and an apamin-sensitive K + current. Our results suggest that potassium currents underlie at least part of cortical auditory adaptation during the awake state.Fil: Abolafia, Juan M.. INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES BIOMEDICAS AUGUST PI I SUNYER (IDIBAPS);Fil: Vergara, Ramiro Oscar. INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES BIOMEDICAS AUGUST PI I SUNYER (IDIBAPS); . Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Neurociencia de Alicante; España. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Arnold, M. M.. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Neurociencia de Alicante; España. INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES BIOMEDICAS AUGUST PI I SUNYER (IDIBAPS);Fil: Reig, R.. INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES BIOMEDICAS AUGUST PI I SUNYER (IDIBAPS);Fil: Sanchez Vives, M. V.. INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES BIOMEDICAS AUGUST PI I SUNYER (IDIBAPS)

Reaching measures and feedback effects in auditory peripersonal space

We analyse the effects of exploration feedback on reaching measures of perceived auditory peripersonal space (APS) boundary and the auditory distance perception (ADP) of sound sources located within it. We conducted an experiment in which the participants had to estimate if a sound source was (or not) reachable and to estimate its distance (40 to 150 cm in 5-cm steps) by reaching to a small loudspeaker. The stimulus consisted of a train of three bursts of Gaussian broadband noise. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups: Experimental (EG) and Control (CG). There were three phases in the following order: Pretest–Test–Posttest. For all phases, the listeners performed the same task except for the EG-Test phase where the participants reach in order to touch the sound source. We applied models to characterise the participants’ responses and provide evidence that feedback significantly reduces the response bias of both the perceived boundary of the APS and the ADP of sound sources located within reach. In the CG, the repetition of the task did not affect APS and ADP accuracy, but it improved the performance consistency: the reachable uncertainty zone in APS was reduced and there was a tendency to decrease variability in ADP.Fil: Hug, Mercedes Ximena. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Córdoba. Centro de Investigación y Transferencia en Acústica. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Centro de Investigación y Transferencia en Acústica; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Psicología; ArgentinaFil: Vergara, Ramiro Oscar. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Escuela Universitaria de Artes. Laboratorio de Acustica y Percepcion Sonora.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Tommasini, Fabián Carlos. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Córdoba. Centro de Investigación y Transferencia en Acústica. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Centro de Investigación y Transferencia en Acústica; ArgentinaFil: Etchemendy, Pablo Esteban. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Escuela Universitaria de Artes. Laboratorio de Acustica y Percepcion Sonora.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Bermejo, Fernando Raul. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Córdoba. Centro de Investigación y Transferencia en Acústica. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Centro de Investigación y Transferencia en Acústica; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Psicología; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez, Laura Gabriela. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Córdoba. Centro de Investigación y Transferencia en Acústica. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Centro de Investigación y Transferencia en Acústica; Argentina. Hôpital Saint-Antoine. Centre d’évaluation et de traitement de la douleur. Service de psychologie; Franci

Altimetry for the future: Building on 25 years of progress

In 2018 we celebrated 25 years of development of radar altimetry, and the progress achieved by this methodology in the fields of global and coastal oceanography, hydrology, geodesy and cryospheric sciences. Many symbolic major events have celebrated these developments, e.g., in Venice, Italy, the 15th (2006) and 20th (2012) years of progress and more recently, in 2018, in Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 25 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry. On this latter occasion it was decided to collect contributions of scientists, engineers and managers involved in the worldwide altimetry community to depict the state of altimetry and propose recommendations for the altimetry of the future. This paper summarizes contributions and recommendations that were collected and provides guidance for future mission design, research activities, and sustainable operational radar altimetry data exploitation. Recommendations provided are fundamental for optimizing further scientific and operational advances of oceanographic observations by altimetry, including requirements for spatial and temporal resolution of altimetric measurements, their accuracy and continuity. There are also new challenges and new openings mentioned in the paper that are particularly crucial for observations at higher latitudes, for coastal oceanography, for cryospheric studies and for hydrology. The paper starts with a general introduction followed by a section on Earth System Science including Ocean Dynamics, Sea Level, the Coastal Ocean, Hydrology, the Cryosphere and Polar Oceans and the ‘‘Green” Ocean, extending the frontier from biogeochemistry to marine ecology. Applications are described in a subsequent section, which covers Operational Oceanography, Weather, Hurricane Wave and Wind Forecasting, Climate projection. Instruments’ development and satellite missions’ evolutions are described in a fourth section. A fifth section covers the key observations that altimeters provide and their potential complements, from other Earth observation measurements to in situ data. Section 6 identifies the data and methods and provides some accuracy and resolution requirements for the wet tropospheric correction, the orbit and other geodetic requirements, the Mean Sea Surface, Geoid and Mean Dynamic Topography, Calibration and Validation, data accuracy, data access and handling (including the DUACS system). Section 7 brings a transversal view on scales, integration, artificial intelligence, and capacity building (education and training). Section 8 reviews the programmatic issues followed by a conclusion

Altimetry for the future: building on 25 years of progress

In 2018 we celebrated 25 years of development of radar altimetry, and the progress achieved by this methodology in the fields of global and coastal oceanography, hydrology, geodesy and cryospheric sciences. Many symbolic major events have celebrated these developments, e.g., in Venice, Italy, the 15th (2006) and 20th (2012) years of progress and more recently, in 2018, in Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 25 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry. On this latter occasion it was decided to collect contributions of scientists, engineers and managers involved in the worldwide altimetry community to depict the state of altimetry and propose recommendations for the altimetry of the future. This paper summarizes contributions and recommendations that were collected and provides guidance for future mission design, research activities, and sustainable operational radar altimetry data exploitation. Recommendations provided are fundamental for optimizing further scientific and operational advances of oceanographic observations by altimetry, including requirements for spatial and temporal resolution of altimetric measurements, their accuracy and continuity. There are also new challenges and new openings mentioned in the paper that are particularly crucial for observations at higher latitudes, for coastal oceanography, for cryospheric studies and for hydrology. The paper starts with a general introduction followed by a section on Earth System Science including Ocean Dynamics, Sea Level, the Coastal Ocean, Hydrology, the Cryosphere and Polar Oceans and the “Green” Ocean, extending the frontier from biogeochemistry to marine ecology. Applications are described in a subsequent section, which covers Operational Oceanography, Weather, Hurricane Wave and Wind Forecasting, Climate projection. Instruments’ development and satellite missions’ evolutions are described in a fourth section. A fifth section covers the key observations that altimeters provide and their potential complements, from other Earth observation measurements to in situ data. Section 6 identifies the data and methods and provides some accuracy and resolution requirements for the wet tropospheric correction, the orbit and other geodetic requirements, the Mean Sea Surface, Geoid and Mean Dynamic Topography, Calibration and Validation, data accuracy, data access and handling (including the DUACS system). Section 7 brings a transversal view on scales, integration, artificial intelligence, and capacity building (education and training). Section 8 reviews the programmatic issues followed by a conclusion

Assessment of noise pollution of fireworks during Christmas and New Year in the city of Buenos Aires: comparison with a different management strategy applied to the city of Santiago de Chile

Fireworks are widely celebrated worldwide but have raised environmental concerns due to pollutant emissions. Thishas prompted evolving legislation in many countries, necessitating scientific evidence for policy development. Existingliterature mainly focuses on characterizing individual fireworks and quantifying noise variations between festive andnon-festive periods. However, no such studies have been conducted in Argentina. This study aims to characterize noiselevels generated by fireworks during the 2020 Christmas and New Year celebrations in Buenos Aires. Nine measurementsystems were used, obtaining acoustic descriptors reflecting noise levels during these events. Results were comparedwith typical ambient noise levels in the city and those during the New Year’s fireworks display in Santiago de Chile, wherepublic access to individual fireworks is restricted. Findings indicate significant noise level increases during the Christmasand New Year celebrations, supported by the L01 percentile acoustic parameter, more effective in characterizing impulsiveevents than Equivalent continuous sound pressure level LeqA. Comparing results with Santiago de Chile, noise valuesin Argentina remained similar within a 1.1 km proximity to the fireworks show, whereas beyond that distance, Chileanresidents experienced lower noise levels.Fil: Lombera, Esteban. Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Escuela Universitaria de Artes.; ArgentinaFil: Bori, Guillermo. Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero; ArgentinaFil: Vergara, Ramiro Oscar. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Escuela Universitaria de Artes.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin