Information Processing in the Inferior Colliculus

描述（由申请人提供）：提议的工作调查声音信息在下丘中央核（CNIC）中的表征。这个结构接收一系列复杂的输入，这些输入包含了进入耳朵的声音的不同种类的信息。脑干中多达20-30个独立的处理中心为CNIC提供输入。这些信息包括声音是什么，是谁或什么产生的，以及来源的位置。所有这些信息都必须经过CNIC才能到达皮层，所以CNIC的神经元将这些不同的表征组合在一起的方式对于理解听觉处理至关重要。提出了三项调查。首先，采用一种新的统计方法构建CNIC神经元接受野的通用模型。这些模型将允许理解声音的身份及其信息内容的表示方式。其次，研究三种声音定位线索在CNIC神经元中的组合方式。这将为神经元对刺激的多个方面进行编码的方式提供见解，这是大脑所有部分的共同问题。第三，研究放大声音动态特性的电路。这些元素使我们能够处理具有多个声源的复杂声学环境，特别是分离产生重叠声音的声源的问题。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed work investigates the representation of information about sound in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (CNIC). This structure receives a complex array of inputs containing different kinds of information about the sounds coming into the ears. As many as 20-30 separate processing centers in the brainstem contribute inputs to the CNIC. These include information about what the sound is, who or what produced it, and where the source is located. All of this information must pass through the CNIC on the way to the cortex, so the way in which the neurons of the CNIC assemble these diverse representations is essential to understanding auditory processing. Three investigations are proposed. First, a new statistical method will be applied to construct generic models of the receptive fields of neurons in CNIC. These models will allow understanding of the way the identity of sounds and their information content is represented. Second, the way in which the three cues for sound localization are combined in neurons of the CNIC will be studied. This will provide insights into the way in which neurons encode multiple aspects of stimuli, a common problem in all parts of the brain. Third, the circuits that amplify dynamic features of sound will be studied. These elements allow us to deal with complex acoustic environments with multiple sound sources, especially with the problem of separating sources that produce overlapping sounds.