Fos imaging reveals differential neuronal activation of areas of rat temporal cortex by novel and familiar sounds

To provide information about the possible regions involved in auditory recognition memory, this study employed an imaging technique that has proved valuable in the study of visual recognition memory. The technique was used to image populations of neurons that are differentially activated by novel and familiar auditory stimuli, thereby paralleling previous studies of visual familiarity discrimination. Differences evoked by novel and familiar sounds in the activation of neurons were measured in different parts of the rat auditory pathway by immunohistochemistry for the protein product (Fos) of the immediate early gene c-fos. Significantly higher counts of stained neuronal nuclei (266 +/- 21/mm(2)) were evoked by novel than by familiar sounds (192 +/- 17/mm(2)) in the auditory association cortex (area Te3; AudA). No such significant differences were found for the inferior colliculus, primary auditory cortex, postrhinal cortex, perirhinal cortex (PRH), entorhinal cortex, amygdala or hippocampus. These findings are discussed in relation to the results of lesion studies and what is known of areas involved in familiarity discrimination for visual stimuli. Differential activation is produced by novel and familiar individual stimuli in sensory association cortex for both auditory and visual stimuli, whereas the PRH is differentially activated by visual but not auditory stimuli. It is suggested that this latter difference is related to the nature of the particular auditory and visual stimuli used.