S27  Sound processing, adaptation, and perception in the auditory system - From midbrain to cortical networks

Jan Hirtz (Kaiserslautern) and Nicole Rosskothen-Kuhl (Freiburg)

Live Discussion: Monday, March 29, 2021, 18:00 – 19:00h

The process of auditory perception does not only consist of sound analysis, yet also constant integration of and adaptation to permanently changing sensory input. Sound information is processed and categorized in order to extract important auditory aspects, such as positions of sound sources, environmental conditions, or content of conversations. An important role for this analysis is played by complex neuronal circuits within and between auditory cortex (AC), thalamus, and midbrain. Furthermore, complex acoustic environments can to a certain extent still be perceived after the restoration of hearing by supply with cochlear implants (CI) following deafness.
Andrew King (Oxford) will talk about adaptation to contrast, a phenomenon that helps to construct stable representations of complex sounds despite the presence of background noise. Thought to be primarily a property of AC neurons, it has now been shown that neurons in thalamus and midbrain show a comparable degree of contrast gain control. Manuel S. Malmierca (Salamanca) will report on stimulus-specific adaptation, the proposed neuronal correlate of ‘mismatch negativity’, focusing on neuromodulation by acetylcholine and dopamine in circuits ranging from the inferior colliculus (IC) to the cortex. Michael Pecka (Martinsried) will present data obtained using a new behavioral paradigm combined with chronic multi-electrode recordings in the rodent AC, tackling the question how neural circuits encode behaviorally meaningful sound sources during natural self-motion. Nicole Rosskothen-Kuhl (Freiburg) will present behavioral data obtained testing deaf CI-implanted rats on sound lateralization. She will provide evidence supporting the hypothesis that inappropriate auditory input, rather than its absence during early development, may be behind the poor binaural hearing of current CI patients. Young investigator Alexa N. Buck (Hong Kong) will cover further aspects of physiological sensitivity to interaural time differences in IC of hearing and deaf rats immediately after bilateral CI implantation. Finally, Tatjana Schmitt (Kaiserslautern) will present two-photon activity imaging data of auditory corticocollicular neurons, exploring their tuning, tonotopy, and integration into complex cortical sound processing networks.


The Göttingen Meeting gratefully acknowledges the financial support of npi.
S27-1 Andrew J. King, Oxford, United Kingdom
Auditory contrast adaptation: from neural circuits to perception

S27-2 Manuel S. Malmierca, Salamanca, Spain
A neuronal correlate for predictive coding? Emergence of deviance detection along the auditory neuroaxis and beyond

S27-3 Michael Pecka, Martinsried, Germany
Modulation of spatial tuning of auditory cortex neurons during active sensing

S27-4 Nicole Rosskothen-Kuhl, Freiburg, Germany
Enabling good spatial hearing after early hearing loss: The role of precise interaural timing

S27-5 Alexa Nadezhda Buck, Hong Kong, China
Effect of hearing experience on interarual time difference sensitivity and the implications for behaviour

S27-6 Tatjana Schmitt, Kaiserslautern, Germany
Auditory corticocollicular neurons: tuning, tonotopy and complex sound processing