home   genetic news   bioinformatics   biotechnology   literature   journals   ethics   positions   events   sitemap
 
  HUM-MOLGEN -> Genetic News | search  
 

Tuning Out The Noise

 
  June, 21 2006 7:56
your information resource in human molecular genetics
 
     
Over-exposure to irrelevant sounds can cause the brain to tune them out in favor of other auditory stimuli, reports a study in the July issue of Nature Neuroscience. This finding is surprising because previous work has suggested that exposure to certain sounds increases the brain's response to them.

The authors exposed adolescent cats to random sequences of tones whose frequency varied within a fixed range, and then looked at the neural responses to the different frequencies in the cats' auditory cortex. Following exposure, which lasted 24 hours a day for about 5 months, neurons in the cats' auditory cortex showed much weaker responses to frequencies that had been present in the exposure stimulus. In contrast, responses to other frequencies were enhanced. The results suggest that overexposure to a stimulus can impair its representation in the brain.

The auditory stimulus in this case was of no relevance to the cats, and presumably was ignored. It remains to be seen what would happen with overexposure of behaviorally relevant stimuli.

Author contact:
Jos Eggermont (University of Calgary, Canada)
Tel: +1 403 220 5214; E-mail: eggermon@ucalgary.ca

Abstract available online.

(C) Nature Neuroscience press release.


Message posted by: Trevor M. D'Souza

print this article mail this article
Latest News
Variants Associated with Pediatric Allergic Disorder

Mutations in PHF6 Found in T-Cell Leukemia

Genetic Risk Variant for Urinary Bladder Cancer

Antibody Has Therapeutic Effect on Mice with ALS

Regulating P53 Activity in Cancer Cells

Anti-RNA Therapy Counters Breast Cancer Spread

Mitochondrial DNA Diversity

The Power of RNA Sequencing

‘Pro-Ageing' Therapy for Cancer?

Niche Genetics Influence Leukaemia

Molecular Biology: Clinical Promise for RNA Interference

Chemoprevention Cocktail for Colon Cancer

more news ...

Generated by News Editor 2.0 by Kai Garlipp
WWW: Kai Garlipp, Frank S. Zollmann.
7.0 © 1995-2023 HUM-MOLGEN. All rights reserved. Liability, Copyright and Imprint.