Auditory Cortical Areas for Encoding and Memory

描述（由申请人提供）：沟通对我们的生存至关重要，然而我们不了解大脑是如何编码这些信息的。此外，人类的许多交流和语言都是建立在学习简单的听觉联系的基础上的。研究非人类灵长类动物的交流和学习可以为语言的神经前体提供一个模板。该提案的一个指导主题是，一个可测试的交流神经模型，包括听觉学习、记忆和物体识别，将最容易从对单个神经元及其感知和行为相关性的集中、详细的研究中出现。最近发现，猴子的左颞极颞上回皮层专门处理特定物种的猴子发声，这种交流声音的侧化与人类相似。在这种情况下，半球特化的机制是通过胼胝体抑制右半球。在这一发现的基础上，将确定颞极内听觉神经元对各种声音刺激的选择性，包括猴子的发声。接下来，我们将阐明颞极内的听觉反应神经元是否对空间听觉信息做出不同的反应并绘制其位置。我们还将确定颞极神经元是否编码概念学习和延迟记忆。这些实验对于描述颞极在交流中的作用至关重要。关于听觉信息的神经编码的具体假设将在清醒的猴子中使用植入颞极的单单元电极进行测试。总之，这里提出的实验解决了听觉处理中尚未系统探索的基本问题。通过对猴类听觉系统的深入了解，我们将对人类交流的神经基础和机制以及学习障碍和交流障碍的病因和治疗提供有用的见解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Communication is of major importance to our survival and yet we do not understand how the brain encodes this information. Moreover, much of human communication and language is predicated on learning simple auditory associations. Investigating non-human primate communication and learning can provide a template for the neural precursors of language. A guiding theme of this proposal is that a testable neural model of communication, including auditory learning, memory, and object identification, will emerge most readily from focused, detailed investigations of individual neurons and their perceptual and behavioral correlates. It was found recently that the cortex of the monkey's left temporal pole in the superior temporal gyrus is specialized for processing species-specific monkey vocalizations and this lateralization of communication sounds is similar to humans. The mechanism for hemispheric specialization in this case is suppression of the right hemisphere via the corpus callosum. Building on this finding, the selectivity of auditory neurons within the temporal pole to various sound stimuli, including monkey vocalizations, will be determined. Next, we will elucidate whether auditory responsive neurons within the temporal pole respond differentially to spatial auditory information and map their location. We will also determine if the temporal pole neurons are encoding conceptual learning and delay memory. These experiments are essential to describe the role of the temporal pole in communication. Specific hypothesis concerning the neural encoding of auditory information will be tested in awake monkeys using single unit electrodes implanted in the temporal pole. All together, the experiments proposed here address basic issues in auditory processing that have not been systematically explored. It is expected that a more thorough understanding of the monkey auditory system will provide useful insights into the neural substrates and mechanisms of human communication and into the causes and treatment of learning disabilities and communicative disorders.