Auditory cortical tuning to communication sounds and genetic constraints on the vocal learning landscape

听觉皮层对交流声音的调节和声乐学习环境的遗传限制

• 批准号: 10607688
• 负责人: Jacob Aaron Edwards
• 金额: $ 4.68万
• 依托单位: COLUMBIA UNIV NEW YORK MORNINGSIDE
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10607688
• 关键词: Acoustics; Adolescent; Adult; Affect; Animal Model; Animals; Auditory; Auditory Perceptual Disorders; Auditory area; Behavior; Behavioral; Behavioral Genetics; Birds; Carrying Capacities; Characteristics; Child; Code; Communication; Data; Data Analyses; Development; Disease; Electrophysiology (science); Fathers; Fostering; Foundations; Gene Mutation; Genes; Genetic; Genetic Identity; Goals; Grant; Hearing; Hearing problem; Heritability; Home; Human; Hybrids; Impairment; Infant; Institutes; Investigation; Journals; Language; Lead; Learning; Life; Life Experience; Measures; Morphology; Neurons; Outcome; Parents; Pattern; Perception; Process; Production; Publications; Research; Sensory; Shapes; Short-Term Memory; Single Parent; Social Interaction; Songbirds; Source; Speech; Speech Sound; Stimulus; Structure; Support System; Testing; Time; Training; Twin Studies; Universities; Voice; Work; Writing; autism spectrum disorder; awake; base; career; code development; communication behavior; developmental disease; experience; experimental study; genetic makeup; genome-wide; insight; language processing; learning ability; long term memory; neuroimaging; prevent; receptive field; relating to nervous system; response; sensory mechanism; sensory system; skills; social; sound; specific language impairment; speech processing; symposium; syntax; tutoring; vocal learning; vocalization

Project Summary Hearing and speech are fundamental to human communication. Before infants are 12 months old, they have learned the statistical regularities of speech sounds around them, which guides vocal learning throughout early life and permanently alters auditory coding in cortical neurons. Deficits in cortical speech coding are hallmarks of central auditory disorders such as auditory processing disorder (APD), specific language impairment (SLI), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which together affect an estimated 7% of children. These disorders are highly heritable and involve additive effects of multiple gene mutations. But, how genes constrain the landscape through which auditory coding unfolds over development is entirely unknown. The proposed aims test specific hypotheses regarding genetic constraints on auditory coding in songbirds, an animal model of speech processing. Like humans and unlike other animals, songbirds learn to sing by learning regularities in the vocal sounds of adults they interact with socially, and auditory cortical coding is permanently altered by experience. The songbird secondary auditory cortex, caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) is required for vocal learning, and contains neurons that are selectively tuned for acoustics of songs heard in early life. Preliminary behavioral data indicate that juveniles raised by birds of a different species learn the morphologic structure of their foster father’s song, but arrange their song with temporal structure typical of their genetic relatives, despite never having heard those songs. In contrast, hybrid birds born of mixed-species parents copy both the morphology and temporal structure of their father’s song, despite having only half the genetic makeup. These data lead me to hypothesize that separate subpopulations of NCM neurons selectively code for song morphology and temporal structure (Aim 1), and that temporal coding is constrained by genetics (Aim 2). I propose to analyze singing behavior in songbirds with differing genetic backgrounds and specific differences in singing behavior. I will compare electrophysiological responses of their NCM neurons to natural songs, songs with altered temporal structure, and synthetic sounds that systematically vary in acoustics and timing. I will use neural encoding analyses to measure which stimulus features drive responses, and decoding analyses to measure what information neurons carry about stimuli. Expected outcomes will provide fundamental insights into the genetic sources of limitations on cortical auditory coding capacity, and will inform mechanism-based approaches to treating central auditory disorders such as APD, SLI, and ASD. The training plan includes training in electrophysiology in awake animals, advanced neural data analyses, developing expertise in behavioral genetics, and writing for journal publications, grants, and conference presentations. Training will take place in the sponsor’s and co-sponsor’s labs, housed in Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute. The Institute is home to world-renowned neuroscientists and state-of-the-art facilities.

项目概要 在婴儿 12 个月大之前，听力和言语是人类交流的基础。 了解了周围语音的统计规律，这指导了整个声乐学习 早期生命并永久改变皮质神经元的听觉编码缺陷。 中枢听觉障碍的特征，例如听觉处理障碍（APD）、特定语言 损伤（SLI）和自闭症谱系障碍（ASD），这两种疾病共同影响了大约 7% 的儿童。 这些疾病具有高度遗传性，并且涉及多种基因突变的叠加效应。 听觉编码在发展过程中的限制情况是完全未知的。 提出的目标测试有关鸣禽听觉编码遗传限制的具体假设， 与人类一样，与其他动物不同的是，鸣禽通过学习来学习唱歌。 与他们进行社交互动的成年人的声音有规律性，并且听觉皮层编码永久存在 鸣禽次级听觉皮层，尾内侧巢皮质 (NCM) 是根据经验而改变的。 声音学习，包含有选择性地针对早期生活中听到的歌曲声学进行调整的神经元。 初步的行为数据表明，由不同物种的鸟类饲养的幼鸟学习了形态学 他们的养父的歌曲的结构，但按照他们遗传的典型时间结构来安排他们的歌曲 尽管从未听过这些歌曲，但由混种父母出生的杂交鸟类却会模仿。 尽管只有一半的基因构成，但其形态和时间结构都与他们父亲的歌曲相同。 这些数据使我认为 NCM 神经元的不同亚群有选择性地编码 歌曲形态和时间结构（目标 1），并且时间编码受到遗传学的限制 （目标 2）我建议分析具有不同遗传背景和特定特征的鸣禽的歌唱行为。 我将比较他们的 NCM 神经元与自然歌唱行为的差异。 歌曲、具有时间结构的歌曲以及声学和声音方面任意变化的合成声音 我将使用神经编码分析来测量哪些刺激特征驱动反应，并进行解码。 分析以测量神经元携带的有关刺激的信息将提供预期结果。 对皮质听觉编码能力限制的遗传来源的基本见解，并将提供信息 治疗中枢听觉障碍（如 APD、SLI 和 ASD）的基于机制的方法。 计划包括对清醒动物进行电生理学培训、高级神经数据分析、开发 行为遗传学方面的专业知识，以及为期刊出版物、资助和会议演讲撰写文章。 培训将在赞助商和共同赞助商位于哥伦比亚大学祖克曼的实验室进行 该研究所拥有世界著名的神经科学家和最先进的设施。