The hearing hippocampus. (November 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Billig, Alexander J.; Lad, Meher; Sedley, William; Griffiths, Timothy D.
• Is Part Of: Progress in neurobiology. Volume 218(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-11
• Subjects: Hippocampus -- Hearing -- Auditory cognition -- Sound -- Medial temporal lobe -- Auditory -- Perception; Neurobiology -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Neurobiologie -- Périodiques; 612.8
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2022.102326
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0301-0082

Abstract

Abstract: The hippocampus has a well-established role in spatial and episodic memory but a broader function has been proposed including aspects of perception and relational processing. Neural bases of sound analysis have been described in the pathway to auditory cortex, but wider networks supporting auditory cognition are still being established. We review what is known about the role of the hippocampus in processing auditory information, and how the hippocampus itself is shaped by sound. In examining imaging, recording, and lesion studies in species from rodents to humans, we uncover a hierarchy of hippocampal responses to sound including during passive exposure, active listening, and the learning of associations between sounds and other stimuli. We describe how the hippocampus' connectivity and computational architecture allow it to track and manipulate auditory information – whether in the form of speech, music, or environmental, emotional, or phantom sounds. Functional and structural correlates of auditory experience are also identified. The extent of auditory-hippocampal interactions is consistent with the view that the hippocampus makes broad contributions to perception and cognition, beyond spatial and episodic memory. More deeply understanding these interactions may unlock applications including entraining hippocampal rhythms to support cognition, and intervening in links between hearing loss and dementia. Highlights: Hippocampus responds to sound during passive exposure, active listening and learning. Auditory experience shapes the structure and function of hippocampus. Sound can entrain hippocampal oscillations, with potential clinical implications. Recording, imaging and lesion studies are reviewed in species from mouse to human.