Forebrain control of auditory processing in the barn owl

描述（由申请人提供）：前脑对介导听觉定向行为的中脑通路施加执行控制。这种控制的功能尚不清楚，但可能包括注意力和目标选择的影响。前脑和中脑通路中的信息处理有助于定向行为，已经得到了很好的研究，这些通路已经被证明是解剖学上相互连接的。然而，这些途径之间的功能相互作用还没有得到很好的理解。本研究的重点是研究仓鸮注视控制的前脑通路对中脑通路的影响。前脑通路的输出将通过电微刺激进行操纵。这些操作对听觉刺激的中脑单位反应的影响将被评估为调谐、反应增益和灵敏度的变化。此外，将确定听觉通路中发生增益调制的部位和负责这种变化的神经递质。探索这些特征明确的通路之间的相互作用可能会揭示调节感觉过程的基本策略和机制。这种机制可能有助于大脑中的注意力。了解感觉调节的机制可能会为治疗某些精神疾病的影响提供最佳治疗方法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The forebrain exerts executive control over the midbrain pathway that mediates auditory orienting behavior. The functions of this control are not known but are likely to include the effects of attention and target selection. The processing of information in the forebrain and midbrain pathways that contributes to orienting behavior has been well studied, and these pathways have been shown to be anatomically interconnected. Yet, the functional interactions between these pathways are not well understood. The focus of this application is to study the influences of the forebrain pathway on the midbrain pathway for gaze control in the barn owl. The output of the forebrain pathway will be manipulated with electrical microstimulation. The effects of these manipulations on midbrain unit responses to auditory stimulation will be evaluated for changes in tuning, response gain, and sensitivity. In addition, the site in the auditory pathway at which gain modulation occurs and the neurotransmitters responsible for such changes will be identified. Exploring the interaction between these well-characterized pathways may uncover fundamental strategies and mechanisms for modulating sensory processes. Such mechanisms may contribute to attention generally in the brain. Understanding mechanisms of sensory modulation may provide insight to optimal therapeutic approaches for remediating the effects of certain kinds of mental illness.