Movement-related modulation in mouse auditory cortex is widespread yet locally diverse

ABSTRACT Neurons in the mouse auditory cortex are strongly influenced by behavior, including both suppression and enhancement of sound-evoked responses during movement. The mouse auditory cortex comprises multiple fields with different roles in sound processing and distinct connectivity to movement-related centers of the brain. Here, we asked whether movement-related modulation might differ across auditory cortical fields, thereby contributing to the heterogeneity of movement-related modulation at the single-cell level. We used wide-field calcium imaging to identify distinct cortical fields followed by cellular-resolution two-photon calcium imaging to visualize the activity of layer 2/3 excitatory neurons within each field. We measured each neuron’s responses to three sound categories (pure tones, chirps, and amplitude modulated white noise) as mice rested and ran on a non-motorized treadmill. We found that individual neurons in each cortical field typically respond to just one sound category. Some neurons are only active during rest and others during locomotion, and those that are responsive across conditions retain their sound-category tuning. The effects of locomotion on sound-evoked responses vary at the single cell level, with both suppression and enhancement of neural responses, and the net modulatory effect of locomotion is largely conserved across cortical fields. Movement-related modulation in auditory cortex also reflects more complex behavioral patterns, including instantaneous running speed and non-locomotor movements such as grooming and postural adjustments, with similar patterns seen across all auditory cortical fields. Our findings underscore the complexity of movement-related modulation throughout the mouse auditory cortex and indicate that movement related modulation is a widespread phenomenon. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Throughout the sensory cortex, neural activity is influenced by behavior. It remains unknown whether primary and higher-order sensory cortical centers are similarly or differentially influenced by movement. We show that movement-related modulation in the mouse auditory cortex is locally complex and heterogeneous, but that at a more macroscopic level, the net effect of movement on primary and higher-order auditory cortex is largely conserved. These data highlight the widespread nature of movement-related modulation and suggest that movement signals may inform neural computations throughout multiple nodes of the sensory cortex.