Orbitofrontal Cortex Modulates Auditory Cortical Sensitivity and Sound Perception.

Sensory perception depends on the context in which stimuli are presented. For example, perception is enhanced when stimuli are informative, such as when they are important to solve a task. Perceptual enhancements result from an increase in the sensitivity of sensory cortical neurons; however, we do not fully understand how such changes are initiated in the brain. Here, we tested the role of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in controlling auditory cortical sensitivity and sound perception. We found that OFC neurons change their activity when animals perform a sound detection task. Inactivating OFC impairs sound detection and prevents task-dependent increases in auditory cortical sensitivity. Our findings suggest that the OFC controls contextual modulations of the auditory cortex and sound perception.