Neural processing of communication sounds: acoustic features and semantic content

项目摘要 声音交流对包括人类在内的许多物种的社会互动至关重要。 了解支配交流声音产生和处理的神经基础是 最重要的是推进听觉神经科学和社会行为领域。调查言语和语言的研究 人类的声音处理大多采用了非侵入性的方法，留下了关于 潜在的神经机制。我的项目通过利用回声定位的科学优势来弥合这一差距 蝙蝠是一种哺乳动物，它能产生和处理丰富的声音信号，以研究 有助于辨别具有不同含义的复杂声音。蝙蝠是群居哺乳动物，有 良好的音频发声系统，并为导航和社会生产超声波发声 交流，提供了一个独特的机会来研究通路、分子和大脑区域，这些 启用复杂的声音处理。目的1结合行为和神经生理学来研究特定的 通信呼叫的声学特征是唤起行为反应和神经系统的关键 与声音辨别有关。目标2结合了心理物理、神经生理学和药理学 失活方法研究中脑-杏仁核回路在调节声音辨别中的作用 在时空特征上表现出重叠，但具有不同的语义内容。AIM 3调查电路 结合神经生理学记录和靶向药理学的社会背景下的现象 自由互动蝙蝠的失活。这个研究项目的首要假设是，社会-- 听觉刺激的情绪加工通过中脑-杏仁核环路调节辨别 具有不同含义的声音。这个项目的意义在于非凡的科学研究 为研究听觉行为、单神经元记录、电路解剖和 哺乳动物模型中的计算建模。这项工作将对自然声音的关键新知识做出贡献 哺乳动物的处理机制可能有助于更深层次地理解人类的听觉 沟通障碍。约翰霍普金斯大学为开展这一项目提供了一个出色的环境， 因为它提供了进入听力中心提供的世界级研究设施、研讨会和讲习班的途径 和Balance，语言和语音处理中心；以及一个非凡的导师网络 以及将提供培训和指导以确保该项目成功的合作者。

Project Summary Acoustic communication is crucial for social interactions in many species, including humans. Understanding the neural underpinnings that govern the production and processing of communication sounds is paramount to advance the fields of auditory neuroscience and social behavior. Studies investigating speech and sound processing in humans have mostly implemented non-invasive methods, leaving a gap in knowledge about underlying neural mechanisms. My project bridges this gap by exploiting scientific advantages of echolocating bats, mammals that produce and process a rich repertoire of acoustic signals, to investigate the circuits that contribute to the discrimination of complex sounds that carry different meanings. Bats are social mammals with well-developed audio-vocal systems and produce ultrasonic vocalizations for navigation and social communication, providing a distinct opportunity to study the pathways, molecules and brain regions, which enable complex sound processing. Aim 1 combines behavior and neurophysiology to investigate the specific acoustic features of communication calls that are key to evoke behavioral responses and the neural systems involved in sound discrimination. Aim 2 combines psychophysical, neurophysiological, and pharmacological inactivation methods to study the midbrain-amygdala circuit's role in mediating discrimination of sounds that show overlap in spectro-temporal features but carry different semantic content. Aim 3 investigates circuit phenomena in a social context by combining neurophysiological recordings and targeted pharmacological inactivation in freely interacting bats. The overarching hypothesis of this research program is that social- emotional processing of auditory stimuli through a midbrain-amygdala circuit mediates the discrimination of sounds that carry different meaning. The significance of this project resides in the extraordinary scientific opportunities to bridge studies of auditory behaviors, single neuron recordings, circuit dissection and computational modeling in a mammalian model. This work will contribute key new knowledge of natural sound processing mechanisms in mammals that could inform a deeper understanding of human auditory communication disorders. Johns Hopkins University offers an outstanding environment to conduct this project, as it provides access to world class research facilities, seminars and workshops offered by the Center for Hearing and Balance, the Center for Language and Speech Processing; along with an extraordinary network of mentors and collaborators who will provide training and guidance to ensure the success of this project.