PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (DISABILITY)

本论文的目的是阐明耳蜗核(CN)和下丘中央核(CNIC)听神经元的功能。理解功能的第一步是找出神经元对什么刺激做出反应，理想情况下没有先验假设。因此，目标1是发展一种估计具有伪随机噪声刺激的单个听觉神经元的谱时间加权函数(STWF)的方法。STWF，即神经元在特定时间和频率分配给声能的权重，可以直接应用于预测线性或近线性的神经对任意刺激的反应。目的2是估计去大脑猫CN中神经元的STWF，并使用局部注射阻断抑制输入的药物来确定这些STWF是如何被抑制所塑造的。目标3是在估计去大脑猫CNIC中的权重函数时，将该方法扩展到包括双耳频域时间相互作用。总之，这些目标的实验将增加对CN和CNIC中电路和功能的理解，并反过来表明听力障碍和其他听觉障碍如何影响语音和其他复杂声音的处理。

The goal of this thesis proposal is to elucidate the function of auditory neurons in the cochlear nucleus (CN) and central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (CNIC). A first step toward understanding function is to find out what stimuli the neuron responds to, ideally without a priori assumptions. Thus, Aim 1 is to develop a method for estimating the spectrotemporal weighting functions (STWFs) of single auditory neurons with pseudorandom noise stimuli. The STWF, or weights that a neuron assigns to sound energy at certain times and frequencies, can be directly applied to predict linear, or nearly linear, neural responses to arbitrary stimuli. Aim 2 is to estimate the STWFs of neurons in the CN of the decerebrate cat, and use local injection of agents that block inhibitory inputs to determine how these STWFs are shaped by inhibition. Aim 3 is to extend the method to include binaural spectrotemporal interactions when estimating weighting functions in the CNIC of the decerebrate cat. Together, experiments of these aims will increase understanding of circuitry and function in the CN and CNIC, and will in turn suggest how hearing impairment and other auditory disorders affect processing of speech and other complex sounds.