Thalamic Modulation of Auditory Cortical Processing via LP

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Project Summary In this RO1 renewal application, we will explore functional roles of a higher-order thalamic nucleus, the lateral posterior nucleus (LP), in auditory cortical processing. LP is a rodent homologue of the pulvinar nucleus. While previous studies have been mostly focused on involvements of pulvinar in visual functions, there are salient connections between LP/pulvinar and auditory cortex, suggesting potential involvements of LP/pulvinar in auditory information processing as well. However, our knowledge on how LP influences auditory processing in the cortex is lacking. Recently in our preliminary experiments we observed that LP activity could suppress auditory responses in the primary auditory cortex (A1) of awake mice. This has prompted us to propose an extensive investigation into the functional contribution of LP to auditory cortical processing in A1. In Aim 1, we will perform in vivo recordings from individual neurons in supragranular and granular layers of A1 in awake mice and examined their auditory response properties before and after optogenetically inactivation and activation of LP. We will test the hypothesis that LP plays a role in enhancing auditory processing in A1 through a surround-suppression mechanism. In Aim 2, we will specifically manipulate the activity of the LP to A1 axon terminals either optogenetically or chemogenetically, and examine A1 neuron cell types that are innervated by the LP-A1 projection. We will test the hypothesis that the LP modulation of A1 responses is primarily mediated by the LP projection to layer 1 inhibitory neurons. In Aim 3, by manipulating activity of superior colliculus (SC), we will test the hypothesis that a SC-LP-A1 pathway mediates the bottom-up suppressive modulation of A1 responses. In addition, it can also mediate a cross- modality modulation of A1 responses by visual signals. Together, these experiments will enhance our understanding of functional roles of non-primary sensory thalamic nuclei in general.