Synaptic Organization and Plasticity in Auditory Cortex

这是一项在听觉皮层研究中开始一项新的研究冒险的提议，在一个以前专门研究耳蜗核的实验室里。我们探索的目的有三个：(1)我们将研究突触功能和大鼠听觉区已识别的皮质神经元对之间的连接，使用同时的细胞内记录。(2)我们将研究初级和非初级听觉皮层核上层突触反应的长期增强和抑制，特别关注突触活动和突触后峰值之间的时间关系，以及鉴定细胞对之间的时间关系。(3)我们将研究从听力开始前到成年早期突触功能的变化，看看突触可塑性是否在关键时期表达不同。这些目标利用我们现有的技术专长和硬件，开发额外的实验能力，并开始探索听觉信息处理中的一类新问题。

This is a proposal to begin a new research venture in studies of auditory cortex, in a laboratory that has previously been exclusively working in the cochlear nucleus. The aims of our exploration are threefold: (1) We will study synaptic function and connections between pairs of identified cortical neurons in auditory areas of the rat, using simultaneous intracellular recordings. (2) We will study long-term potentiation and depression of synaptic responses in the supragranular layers of primary and non-primary auditory cortex, with a particular focus on the timing relationship between synaptic activity and post-synaptic spiking, between pairs of identified cells. (3) We will examine changes in synaptic function from before the onset of hearing through early adulthood, to see whether synaptic plasticity is expressed differently during critical periods. These aims take advantage of our existing technical expertise and hardware, develop additional experimental capabilities, and begin the exploration of a new class of problems in auditory information processing.