Neural mechanisms of multisensory auditory-olfactory integration in the auditory cortex

项目总结 活着的有机体与复杂的环境相互作用，这些环境天生具有多感官能力。在这些区域内 环境，大脑必须整合来自多个感官模式的信息，包括听觉和 嗅觉系统，用于感知和行为。然而，尽管多感官的无处不在和重要性 在整合方面，我们对大脑如何整合听觉和嗅觉刺激的理解存在着严重的差距。 这一提议将通过揭示听觉-嗅觉整合的潜在机制来填补这一知识空白 在听觉大脑皮层。以前的研究已经报道，听觉皮质中的神经元投射到嗅觉 梨状皮质；然而，这一建议的初步结果确定了梨状皮质的一种新途径 直接投射到听觉皮质。这些实验将检验这样一个假设，即跨模式 嗅觉信息和听觉信息的整合是由来自 梨状皮质到听觉皮质。为此，这些实验将使用创新的方法来 描述和审问新发现的大脑回路。具体地说，尖端的交叉病毒追踪 策略将标记从梨状皮质到听觉皮质的投射，并识别听觉皮质神经元。 在听觉-嗅觉反馈环路中。为了从功能上询问这个电路，我们将开发一种最先进的 提供听觉和嗅觉刺激组合的实验系统。利用活体电生理学 和光遗传学，我们将测试梨状到听觉皮质的投射是否以及如何调节跨模式 听觉-嗅觉整合。这项工作是格芬和戈特弗里德实验室共同努力的一部分， 将为多感官神经科学研究的新前沿奠定基础，并提供理想的 博士后培养环境。

PROJECT SUMMARY Living organisms interact with complex environments that are inherently multisensory. Within these environments, the brain must integrate information from multiple sensory modalities, including the auditory and olfactory systems, for perception and behavior. However, despite the ubiquity and importance of multisensory integration, there is a critical gap in our understanding of how the brain integrates auditory and olfactory stimuli. This proposal will fill this knowledge gap by revealing the mechanisms underlying auditory-olfactory integration in the auditory cortex. Previous studies have reported that neurons in the auditory cortex project to the olfactory (piriform) cortex; however, preliminary results in this proposal identify a novel pathway in which the piriform cortex directly projects to the auditory cortex. These experiments will test the hypothesis that the cross-modal integration of olfactory sensory information with auditory information is facilitated by neuronal connections from the piriform cortex to the auditory cortex. To this end, these experiments will use innovative approaches to characterize and interrogate newly discovered brain circuitry. Specifically, cutting-edge intersectional viral tracing strategies will label projections from the piriform cortex to auditory cortex, and identify auditory cortical neurons in an auditory-olfactory feedback loop. To functionally interrogate this circuitry, we will develop a state-of-the-art experimental system for delivering combinations of auditory and olfactory stimuli. Using in vivo electrophysiology and optogenetics we will test whether and how piriform-to-auditory cortex projections mediate cross-modal auditory-olfactory integration. This work, part of a collaborative effort by the Geffen and Gottfried laboratories, will lay the groundwork for a new frontier in multisensory neuroscience research, and provide an ideal postdoctoral training environment.