已有的研究表明，双耳听觉比单耳听觉在声源定位、复杂声环境下的言语感知、出生后的言语发展等方面有显著优势。然而，与之相关的脑对双耳听觉信息整合的发育及可塑性的机理并未完全揭示清楚。本项目用单细胞胞外记录、全细胞记录、免疫荧光技术等方法研究出生后正常听觉发育过程中听皮层和下丘神经元对双耳听觉信息整合的类型、程度等的发育，以及出生后由于异常听觉经验（可逆单耳听觉剥夺、单耳中度听力损伤）诱导的听皮层和下丘对双耳听觉信息整合的发育可塑性的神经机制、突触机制和分子机制；研究在单耳、双耳条件下听皮层和下丘神经元对声刺激间隔时程、重复率、声刺激包络上升时间等分辨能力的差别，检验我们提出的“双耳听觉条件下听皮层和下丘对声刺激时间信息的处理能力比单耳听觉条件下高”的假说。该研究将为我们理解双耳听觉信息整合的发育及可塑性的原理，以及双耳听觉信息整合对声源定位、言语感知和语言发展的贡献提供新的实验依据和理论基础。

Previous studies have shown that binaural hearing is superior to monaural hearing in sound localization, speech perception in a complex sound environment, and postnatal language development. However, the correlated mechanism underlying these phenomena is still not fully understood. Using extracellular single-neuron recording technique, whole cell recording technique, and immunofluorescence technique, we study the postnatal development of binaural information interaction in the aspect of binaural interaction type and the degree of binaural interaction in the auditory cortex and inferior colliculus during normal postnatal auditory development. We also study the neural mechanism, synaptic mechanism, and molecular mechanism of developmental plasticity in binaural interactions induced by abnormal hearing experience (e.g., reversible monaural auditory deprivation, reversible middle-level monaural hearing loss). In the present study, we will also test our hypothesis, i.e., "the ability of neurons in the auditory cortex and inferior colliculus to process sound temporal information (i.e., sound gap duration, sound repetition rate, sound envelope rise time) is better in binaural hearing condition than in monaural hearing condition". These studies will help us to understand the underlying mechanism of the development and the plasticity of binaural interaction in the central auditory system, and provide new experimental evidences and theoretic basis for understanding the contributions of binaural information interaction in sound localization, speech perception, and language development.