Non-sensory Circuits for Auditory Perceptual Learning

用于听觉感知学习的非感觉回路

基本信息

批准号：
10563542
负责人：
Melissa Lynne Caras
金额：
$ 50.02万
依托单位：
UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
财政年份：
2023
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2023-01-01 至 2027-12-31
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10563542
关键词：
Anesthesia procedures Animal Testing Animals Arousal Attention Auditory Auditory area Auditory system Behavioral Brain Brain region Calcium Clinical Cochlear Implants Cues Data Detection Devices Dyslexia Electrodes Electrophysiology (science)Fiber Frequencies Gerbils Goals Hearing Aids Impairment Individual Language Measures Mediating Methods Monitor Music Neurobiology Neurodevelopmental Disorder Neurons Noise Pathway interactions Perception Perceptual learning Photometry Population Prefrontal Cortex Presbycusis Process Psychometrics Rewards Role Sensory Thresholds Shapes Signal Transduction Speech Speech Development Speech Perception Stimulus Testing Time Training Viral Work autism spectrum disorder calcium indicator design expectation experimental study hearing impairment improved in vivo model organism neural neural circuit neuromechanism non-Native optogenetics pharmacologic presynaptic response sensory cortex skills sound sound frequency speech recognition therapy design tool

项目摘要

PROJECT SUMMARY Training can sharpen and refine our perceptual skills. In the auditory system, this process— termed perceptual learning— shapes the acquisition of both native and non-native languages, and can improve speech and music recognition in users of assisted listening devices. Previous work has highlighted important contributions of non-sensory processes (such as attention and reward) to perceptual learning, but the underlying neural circuit mechanisms remain poorly understood. Recent evidence suggests the involvement of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), a prefrontal cortical region implicated in signaling reward and expectation, and in exerting top-down control of sensory cortical processing. This project will explore the contribution of the OFC to auditory perceptual learning in a classic model organism for auditory studies, the Mongolian gerbil. Our overarching hypothesis, informed by previous and ongoing work, is that training on an auditory task strengthens a descending projection from the OFC to the auditory cortex, leading to gradual improvements in auditory cortical sensitivity that underlie perceptual learning. We propose three specific aims to test this hypothesis. In Aim 1, we use multichannel electrophysiology and pathway-specific fiber photometry to determine whether training on an auditory task strengthens a descending projection from the OFC to auditory cortex by increasing presynaptic activity. In Aim 2, we combine pharmacological and optogenetic methods to determine whether the OFC modulates auditory cortical processing and/or perception in behaving animals via a descending monosynaptic projection, and reveal whether this capability is enhanced after perceptual learning. Finally, in Aim 3 we determine whether optogenetic activation of auditory cortical-projecting neurons in the OFC is sufficient for improving auditory cortical and perceptual sensitivity in behaving animals in the absence of training. In summary, our experiments combine a powerful array of in vivo tools to dissect the neural circuit mechanisms that support auditory perceptual learning. The importance of perceptual learning for improving auditory skills in hearing impaired listeners, and the disruption of perceptual learning in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, like dyslexia and autism, highlight an urgent need for a more complete description of how perceptual learning is implemented in the brain.

项目概要在听觉系统中，训练可以提高和完善我们的感知技能。感知学习——塑造母语和非母语的习得，并可以提高先前的工作已经强调了辅助听力设备用户的语音和音乐识别的重要性。非感觉过程（例如注意力和奖励）对知觉学习的贡献，但是潜在的神经回路机制仍然知之甚少，最近的证据表明其参与。眶额皮质（OFC），一个与奖励和期望信号有关的前额皮质区域，以及该项目将探索 OFC 的贡献。听觉研究的经典模型生物——蒙古沙鼠的听觉感知学习。根据之前和正在进行的工作，总体假设是听觉任务的训练加强从 OFC 到听觉皮层的下降投射，从而逐渐改善我们提出了三个具体目标来测试这一点。在目标 1 中，我们使用多通道电生理学和通路特异性光纤光度测定法来进行假设。确定听觉任务训练是否加强了从 OFC 到听觉的下降投射在目标 2 中，我们结合药理学和光遗传学方法来增强突触前活性。确定 OFC 是否调节行为动物的听觉皮层处理和/或感知下降的单突触投射，并揭示这种能力在感知后是否得到增强最后，在目标 3 中，我们确定听觉皮层投射神经元的光遗传学激活是否有效。 OFC 中的功能足以改善行为动物的听觉皮层和知觉敏感性总之，我们的实验结合了一系列强大的体内工具来剖析。支持听觉感知学习的神经回路机制感知学习的重要性。提高听力受损听众的听觉技能，并扰乱个人的知觉学习神经发育障碍，如阅读障碍和自闭症，凸显了迫切需要更完整的描述感知学习如何在大脑中实现。