STUDIES OF THE COCHLEAR NUCLEUS GRANULE CELL DOMAIN

描述：(改编自《调查者摘要》)我们的长期目标是 以了解构成听力基础的神经机制。全声学 来自环境的信息通过听神经进入大脑， 耳蜗核中的突触。而耳蜗核又产生了 上升通道。对声音的感知通常被归因于 通过这些上升路径进行处理，但数据正在积累这种刺激 语境也起着重要作用。也就是说，声音的意义不取决于 不仅基于光谱和时间特征，而且还基于过去的历史和 动物的行为状态。可以提供该上下文信息 通过下行听觉通路和传统上不被认为的神经系统 “听觉的。”在本应用程序中，我们计划研究它们之间的接口 上升和下降系统。 我们认为，耳蜗核的颗粒细胞域代表一种 整合多模式影响的关键站点。初步数据显示 除了下降的听觉投射，还有躯体感觉， 前庭和运动传入颗粒细胞区域。目前而言 应用，我们将应用顺行和逆行追踪方法来 免疫细胞化学染色鉴定这些神经元及其环路 揭示不同神经元和它们的化学成分的程序 以及电生理记录技术来表征 投射到该区域的神经元的反应特性。来自这里的数据 研究将提供关于高度联合的组织的新知识 听觉系统中的综合结构，并深入了解 不同的神经系统塑造了听觉的编码过程。

DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from the Investigator's Abstract) Our long-term goal is to understand neuronal mechanisms that underlie hearing. All acoustic information from the environment enters the brain via the auditory nerve and synpases in the cochlear nucleus. The cochlear nucleus in turn gives rise to the ascending pathways. The perception of sound is normally attributed to processing by these ascending pathways, but data are accumulating that stimulus context also plays a major role. That is, the meaning of a sound depends not only on spectral and temporal characteristics, but also on the past history and behavioral state of the animal. This contextual information could be provided by descending auditory pathways and neural systems not traditionally considered "auditory." In this application, we plan to study the interface between these ascending and descending systems. We propose that the granule cell domain of the cochlear nucleus represents a key site for the integration of multimodal influences. Preliminary data reveal that, in addition to descending auditory projections, there are somatosensory, vestibular and motor inputs to the granular cell domain. For the present application, we will apply anterograde and retrograde tract tracing methods to identify these neurons and their circuits, immunocytochemical staining procedures to reveal the chemistry of the different neurons and their terminals, and electrophysiological recording techniques to characterize the response properties of neurons projecting to this region. The data from this research will provide new knowledge on the synpatic organization of the highly integrative structure in the auditory system, and yield insights into how diverse neural systems shape the coding process for hearing.