Auditory training remodels hippocampus-related memory in adult rats

Abstract Consequences of perceptual training, such as improvements in discriminative ability, are highly stimulus and task specific. Therefore, most studies on auditory training-induced plasticity in adult brain have focused on the sensory aspects, particularly on functional and structural effects in the auditory cortex. Auditory training often involves, other than auditory demands, significant cognitive components. Yet, how auditory training affects cognition-related brain regions, such as the hippocampus, remains unclear. Here, we found in female rats that auditory cue-based go/no-go training significantly improved the memory-guided behaviors associated with hippocampus. The long-term potentiations of the trained rats recorded in vivo in the hippocampus were also enhanced compared with the naïve rats. In parallel, the phosphorylation level of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II and the expression of parvalbumin-positive interneurons in the hippocampus were both upregulated. These findings demonstrate that auditory training substantially remodels the processing and function of brain regions beyond the auditory system, which are associated with task demands.