2026-07-16 ジョンズ・ホプキンス大学（JHU）
The developing brain prepares itself by sending internal commands directly to the auditory cortex. This bypasses the ears, allowing the brain to “practice” processing sound before the outside world is audible. Image credit: Courtesy of the Kanold Lab
＜関連情報＞
- https://hub.jhu.edu/2026/07/16/babies-brains-wired-for-sound/
- https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aea2814
自己発声は、皮質内経路を介して発達中の聴覚皮質を活性化する Self-vocalizations activate the developing auditory cortex via an intracortical pathway
Didhiti Mukherjee, Chih-Ting Chen, and Patrick O. Kanold
Science Advances Published:3 Jul 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aea2814
Abstract
The development of the sensory brain relies on early periphery-generated spontaneous neural activity and later sensory-evoked activity. To investigate activity sources in the auditory cortex (ACtx) during development, we performed in vivo imaging in neonatal mouse pups. We found self-vocalization–associated ACtx activity even before ear opening and that this activity was stronger than tone-evoked activity. Self-vocalization–associated activity also existed in deaf pups, suggesting a top-down activity source. We revealed projections from the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and secondary motor cortex (M2) to the ACtx and that ACC/M2 showed vocalization-driven activity correlated with ACtx activity. ACC/M2 inactivation reduced self-vocalization and ACtx activity. Thus, self-vocalizations activate the developing ACtx even before ear opening, potentially via ACC/M2 motor commands. Our results reveal a previously unidentified early ACtx activity source that can shape development.
