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

项目摘要 生物体与复杂的环境相互作用，这些环境本质上是多感官的。在这些 环境中，大脑必须整合来自多种感官形式的信息，包括听觉和听觉。 嗅觉系统，感知和行为。然而，尽管多感官的普遍性和重要性， 整合，在我们对大脑如何整合听觉和嗅觉刺激的理解中存在一个关键的差距。 这一建议将填补这一知识空白，揭示潜在的机制，嗅觉整合 在听觉皮层。以往的研究报道，听觉皮层的神经元投射到嗅觉 然而，该提案的初步结果确定了一种新的途径，其中梨状皮质 直接投射到听觉皮层这些实验将检验跨模态 嗅觉感觉信息与听觉信息的整合由来自听觉神经元的神经元连接促进。 梨状皮质到听觉皮质为此，这些实验将采用创新方法， 描述并询问新发现的大脑回路具体来说，尖端的交叉病毒追踪 策略将标记从梨状皮层到听觉皮层的投射，并识别听觉皮层神经元。 在嗅觉反馈回路中。为了从功能上研究这个电路，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。使用体内电生理学 和光遗传学，我们将测试梨状核到听觉皮层的投射是否以及如何介导跨模态 嗅觉整合这项工作是格芬和戈特弗里德实验室合作努力的一部分， 将为多感觉神经科学研究的新前沿奠定基础，并提供一个理想的 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.