Mice are of paramount importance in biomedical research and their vocalizations are a subject of interest for researchers across a wide range of health-related disciplines due to their increasingly important value as a phenotyping tool in models of neural, speech and language disorders. However, the mechanisms underlying the auditory processing of vocalizations in mice are not well understood. The mouse audiogram shows a peak in sensitivity at frequencies between 15-25 kHz, but weaker sensitivity for the higher ultrasonic frequencies at which they typically vocalize. To investigate the auditory processing of vocalizations in mice, we measured evoked potential, single-unit, and multi-unit responses to tones and vocalizations at three different stages along the auditory pathway: the auditory nerve and the cochlear nucleus in the periphery, and the inferior colliculus in the midbrain. Auditory brainstem response measurements suggested stronger responses in the midbrain relative to the periphery for frequencies higher than 32 kHz. This result was confirmed by single- and multi-unit recordings showing that high ultrasonic frequency tones and vocalizations elicited responses from only a small fraction of cells in the periphery, while a much larger fraction of cells responded in the inferior colliculus. These results suggest that the processing of communication calls in mice is supported by a specialization of the auditory system for high frequencies that emerges at central stations of the auditory pathway.
Auditory Nerve data file 1 (file 1 out of 2)
This Matlab MAT file contains single unit electrophysiological data recorded from mouse auditory nerve fibres from a sample of 15 animals. Data from individual animals are stored as columns in the cell array. For further information contact Dr. Jose A. Garcia Lazaro (jose.garcia-lazaro@ucl.ac.uk).
AN_PooledData_01.mat
Auditory Nerve data file 2 (file 2 out of 2)
This Matlab MAT file contains single unit electrophysiological data recorded from mouse auditory nerve fibers from a sample of 8 animals.
AN_PooledData_02.mat
Cochlear nucleus data file 1 (file 1 out of 8)
These Matlab MAT files (8 in total) contain multiunit activity electrophysiological data recorded from the mouse dorsal cochlear nucleus. The data were collected using silicon electrode arrays (with recording sites arranged in 4 shanks with 8 sites per shank) from a population of 8 animals. There is one file for each animal and the file name represents the date the experiment was performed. Each file contains the “data” structured array whose size depends on the number of electrode penetrations performed in each experiment (at least five per animal). For further information contact Dr. Jose A. Garcia Lazaro (jose.garcia-lazaro@ucl.ac.uk).
CN_Feb05a-2013_PooledData.mat
Cochlear nucleus data file 2 (file 2 out of 8)
CN_Apr04b-2013_PooledData.mat
Cochlear nucleus data file 3 (file 3 out of 8)
CN_Apr04a-2013_PooledData.mat
Cochlear nucleus data file 4 (file 4 out of 8)
CN_Apr08a-2013_PooledData.mat
Cochlear nucleus data file 5 (file 5 out of 8)
CN_May13-2013_PooledData.mat
Cochlear nucleus data file 6 (file 6 out of 8)
CN_May14a-2013_PooledData.mat
Cochlear nucleus file 7 (file 7 out of 8)
CN_May14b-2013_PooledData.mat
Inferior colliculus data file 1 (file 1 out of 5)
These Matlab MAT files (5 in total) contain multiunit activity electrophysiological data recorded from the mouse inferior colliculus. The data were collected using silicon electrode arrays (with recording sites arranged in 8 shanks with 8 sites per shank) from a sample of 5 animals. There is one file for each animal and the name of each file represents the date the experiment was performed. Each file contains the “data” structured array whose size depends on the number of electrode penetrations performed in each experiment (at least five per animal). For further information contact Dr. Jose A. Garcia Lazaro (jose.garcia-lazaro@ucl.ac.uk).
Mar29b-2012-MUA_PooledData.mat
Inferior colliculus data file 2 (file 2 out of 5)
Mar15-2012-MUA_PooledData.mat
Inferior colliculus data file 3 (file 3 out of 5)
Apr02-2012-MUA_PooledData.mat
Inferior colliculus data file 4 (file 4 out of 5)
Mar30-2012-MUA_PooledData.mat
Inferior colliculus data file 5 (5 out of 5)
Mar29a-2012-MUA_PooledData.mat
Cochlear nucleus data file 8 (file 8 out of 8)
CN_Apr25-2013ss_PooledData.mat