Abstract

The principal neurons of the medial superior olive (MSO) process interaural time differences (ITDs), cues used for localizing sounds along the horizontal plane as well as detection of speech and communication signals in noise. Despite intense interest in understanding the circuit dynamics that underlie ITD processing, there is surprisingly little experimental data available to drive current models of binaural hearing and MSO function. This is in part due to the fact that the biophysical specializations that are central to MSO neurons

Public Health Relevance

Binaural cues are critical for speech perception and sound localization, and in recent years have become critical components of stimulation paradigms in auditory prostheses. An understanding of how binaural cues are processed by the brain is thus a prerequisite for the development of effective solutions for deafness and other hearing disorders.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
5R21DC011403-02
Application #
8212018
Study Section
Auditory System Study Section (AUD)
Program Officer
Platt, Christopher
Project Start
2011-01-07
Project End
2013-12-31
Budget Start
2012-01-01
Budget End
2013-12-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$198,204
Indirect Cost
$69,500

  Institution

Name
University of Texas Austin
Department
Biology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
170230239
City
Austin
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
78712

  Publications

Franken, Tom P; Roberts, Michael T; Wei, Liting et al. (2015) In vivo coincidence detection in mammalian sound localization generates phase delays. Nat Neurosci 18:444-52
van der Heijden, Marcel; Lorteije, Jeannette A M; Plauška, Andrius et al. (2013) Directional hearing by linear summation of binaural inputs at the medial superior olive. Neuron 78:936-48
Roberts, Michael T; Seeman, Stephanie C; Golding, Nace L (2013) A mechanistic understanding of the role of feedforward inhibition in the mammalian sound localization circuitry. Neuron 78:923-35
Khurana, Sukant; Remme, Michiel W H; Rinzel, John et al. (2011) Dynamic interaction of Ih and IK-LVA during trains of synaptic potentials in principal neurons of the medial superior olive. J Neurosci 31:8936-47
Scott, Luisa L; Mathews, Paul J; Golding, Nace L (2010) Perisomatic voltage-gated sodium channels actively maintain linear synaptic integration in principal neurons of the medial superior olive. J Neurosci 30:2039-50