Synaptic Organization and Plasticity in Auditory Cortex

这是一个开始一个新的研究冒险的建议，在研究听觉皮层，在一个实验室，以前一直专门工作在耳蜗核。本研究的目的有三：（1）利用细胞内同步记录技术，研究大鼠听觉皮层神经元之间的突触功能和联系。(2)我们将研究初级和非初级听觉皮层的颗粒上层的突触反应的长时程增强和抑制，特别关注突触活动和突触后尖峰之间的时序关系，对识别的细胞之间。(3)我们将研究从听力开始前到成年早期突触功能的变化，看看突触可塑性在关键时期是否有不同的表达。这些目标利用我们现有的技术专长和硬件，开发额外的实验能力，并开始探索一类新的问题，在听觉信息处理。

This is a proposal to begin a new research venture in studies of auditory cortex, in a laboratory that has previously been exclusively working in the cochlear nucleus. The aims of our exploration are threefold: (1) We will study synaptic function and connections between pairs of identified cortical neurons in auditory areas of the rat, using simultaneous intracellular recordings. (2) We will study long-term potentiation and depression of synaptic responses in the supragranular layers of primary and non-primary auditory cortex, with a particular focus on the timing relationship between synaptic activity and post-synaptic spiking, between pairs of identified cells. (3) We will examine changes in synaptic function from before the onset of hearing through early adulthood, to see whether synaptic plasticity is expressed differently during critical periods. These aims take advantage of our existing technical expertise and hardware, develop additional experimental capabilities, and begin the exploration of a new class of problems in auditory information processing.