CRCNS US-France-Israel-Research Proposal: Processing of Complex Sounds: Cortical Network Mechanisms and Computations

我们周围复杂且不断变化的声景与大脑中代表它们的电活动之间有什么关系？这个项目汇集了三个小组，一个是实验小组，两个是计算小组，在两个不同的层面上解决这个问题。首先，将根据神经网络的已知属性开发机械模型，以描述不同类型的神经元如何协作来表示声音。其次，这些神经元的功能将通过描述它们所代表的声音的特征来表征。这两个目标将通过将对声音的神经反应的实验研究与计算分析相结合来实现，以测试声音在大型皮质回路中如何表示的候选机制。除了更深入地理解听觉感知，这项研究还将提供对单个神经网络中神经元之间合作的一般原则的见解。因此，这项研究对于理解信号在其他感觉形式中的表征以及大脑中神经编码的一般原理具有重要意义。这项研究具有许多潜在的实际应用，包括设计先进的助听器和人工语音识别系统。此外，鉴于兴奋性神经元和抑制性神经元之间平衡的改变与许多注意力缺陷和精神障碍有关，包括自闭症和精神分裂症，该项目具有潜在的医学意义。该项目的推广部分将包括为K-12学生和展览提供涉及音乐和语音感知的演示。从技术上讲，实验小组将制作听觉丘脑和皮质对纯音和被称为音云的复杂声音的神经反应的录音。音调云具有像自然声音一样的尖锐过渡，但具有良好控制的频谱和时间能量分布。该项目的计算组件将致力于通过分析建模和模拟由多种细胞类型组成的大规模神经电路来再现神经记录。实验和计算结果将不仅在统计学方面相匹配，例如整个种群的神经反应的平均动力学，还将在网络中不同类型神经元编码的声音的特定特征方面相匹配。该奖项由国际科学与工程办公室共同资助。配套项目由法国国家研究机构(ANR)和美国-以色列双国科学基金会(BSF)资助。

What are the relationships between the complex and constantly changing soundscapes that surround us and the electrical activity that represents them in the brain? This project brings together three groups, one experimental and two computational, to address this question at two different levels. First, mechanistic models will be developed, based on known properties of neural networks, to describe how different types of neurons cooperate to represent sounds. Second, the function of these neurons will be characterized by describing the features of sounds that they represent. These two goals will be achieved by combining experimental studies of neural responses to sounds with computational analyses to test candidate mechanisms for how sounds are represented in large cortical circuits. In addition to deeper understanding of auditory perception, this research will provide insights into general principles of cooperation between neurons within a single neural network. As such, the research has implications for understanding representation of signals in other sensory modalities as well as the general principles of neural coding in the brain. The research has a number of potential practical applications, including the design of advanced hearing aids and artificial speech recognition systems. Further, given that the altered balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurons has been implicated in a number of attention deficits and psychiatric disorders, including autism and schizophrenia, the project has potential medical relevance. The outreach component of the project will involve demonstration involving music and speech perception for K-12 students and exhibitions.Technically, the experimental group will produce recordings of neural responses from the auditory thalamus and cortex in response to pure tones and complex sounds known as tone clouds. The tone clouds have sharp transitions like natural sounds, but with well-controlled spectral and temporal power distributions. Computational components of this project will aim to reproduce neural recordings through analytical modeling and simulations of large scale neural circuits composed of multiple cell types. The experimental and computational results will be matched not only in statistical terms, such as average dynamics of neural responses across the population, but also in terms of specific features of sounds that are encoded by different types of neurons in the network.This award is cofunded by the Office of International Science and Engineering. Companion projects are being funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR) and the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF).