The Anterior Cingulate Cortex Top-down Modulates Auditory Responses in the Auditory Cortex through Direct and Indirect Pathways in Mice

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a crucial cognitive center that regulates neuronal activity in the brain. Our previous study showed that direct activation of ACC projections in the auditory cortex (ACx) enhances auditory responses and flight behavior in mice. This study discovered that the ACC promotes the long-term enhancement of auditory responses in the ACx through the lateral rhinal cortex (lRCx). Activation of ACC projections in lRCx facilitated sound-evoked flight responses in mice even after an hour. Additionally, we identified two distinct groups of neurons in the anterior ACC that separately project to the ACx and lRCx.Furthermore, the ACC was found to encode different types of information, such as air-puff and noise, and played a role in mice's auditory go-no-go tasks with sustained activity in the delay period. These results suggest that the ACC modulates the ACx with both direct and indirect strategies, contributing to higher-level sensory perception and cognition. Our findings provide critical insights into the ACC's top-down modulation of ACx processing, paving the way for further exploration of its diverse functions in the brain.