Neural circuitry for sound-guided auditory plasticity: tonotopic cortico-subcortical loop combined with cholinergic inputs

学习和经验不断塑造大脑（称为可塑性）。 这是一个学习过程，是我们日常生活中必不可少的大脑功能。人们认为听觉学习或经验会引起中枢听觉系统神经元功能的显著变化。 这种变化被称为听觉可塑性，由获得的声音引导（声音引导的听觉可塑性）。 这表明大脑可以适应声学环境的变化：但如何适应呢？ 这项拟议中的研究将研究大脑中内置的神经线路如何构成声音引导的听觉可塑性的基础。 我们特别关注皮质和皮质下核团之间的相互投射以及胆碱能投射到听觉系统。 听觉可塑性将通过听觉神经元感受野的变化来评估。 我们预计，相互的预测（之间的听觉皮层和皮层下核）结合其胆碱能输入构成一个综合功能单位负责诱导和协调声音引导的听觉可塑性。 从拟议的研究结果，加上我们以前的研究结果，将阐明一个全面的神经回路负责声音引导的听觉可塑性。 这种已建立的电路将大大提高我们对学习的神经基础的理解。

Learning and experience continuously shape the brain (referred to as plasticity). This is a learning process that is an essential brain function for our everyday life. It is believed that auditory learning or experience induces significant changes of neuronal function in the central auditory system. This change is called auditory plasticity that is guided by acquired sounds (sound-guided auditory plasticity). This suggests that the brain can adapt to changes in acoustic environment: but how? The proposed study will examine how the built-in neural wiring in the brain underlies the sound-guided auditory plasticity. We specifically focus on the reciprocal projections between the cortex and subcortical nuclei and the cholinergic projections to the auditory system. Auditory plasticity will be assessed by the changes in the receptive fields of auditory neurons with an electrophysiological approach. We expect that the reciprocal projections (between the auditory cortex and subcortical nuclei) combined with its cholinergic inputs constitutes an integrative functional unit responsible for inducing and coordinating sound-guided auditory plasticity. Results from the proposed study, together with our previous findings, will elucidate a comprehensive neural circuit responsible for sound-guided auditory plasticity. This established circuitry will significantly improve our understanding of the neural basis of learning.