Major
Neuroscience
Anticipated Graduation Year
2021
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
To allow animals to separate a complex sound into its frequency components, the auditory system is organized tonotopically; neurons at various levels of the auditory pathway are topographically arranged by their responses to different sound frequencies. Disruption of tonotopy results in difficulty processing auditory information, which underlies the pathogenesis of several hearing disorders with no known cause. Despite its importance in auditory function and clinical implications, little is known about how tonotopic frequency maps are established during development, underscoring the need to elucidate the mechanisms that govern this fundamental organizing principle of auditory circuits. In my proposal, I will use the Ngn1-CreERT2 and the RCL-tdTomato red fluorescence reporter mouse lines to genetic label spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) and their synapses to explore whether high- and low-frequency neurons use different strategies to form synapses on cells in the cochlear nucleus during frequency map formation. My proposed studies will elucidate how neurons in the auditory system organizes into a tonotopic arrangement, which may shed light on the etiology of some hearing impairments.
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Wei Ming Yu, Deparment of Biology
Supported By
Wei Ming Yu, Deparment of Biology
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Spiral Ganglion Neurons with Distinct Preferred Frequency Response Employ Different Strategies to Innervate the Cochlear Nucleus
To allow animals to separate a complex sound into its frequency components, the auditory system is organized tonotopically; neurons at various levels of the auditory pathway are topographically arranged by their responses to different sound frequencies. Disruption of tonotopy results in difficulty processing auditory information, which underlies the pathogenesis of several hearing disorders with no known cause. Despite its importance in auditory function and clinical implications, little is known about how tonotopic frequency maps are established during development, underscoring the need to elucidate the mechanisms that govern this fundamental organizing principle of auditory circuits. In my proposal, I will use the Ngn1-CreERT2 and the RCL-tdTomato red fluorescence reporter mouse lines to genetic label spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) and their synapses to explore whether high- and low-frequency neurons use different strategies to form synapses on cells in the cochlear nucleus during frequency map formation. My proposed studies will elucidate how neurons in the auditory system organizes into a tonotopic arrangement, which may shed light on the etiology of some hearing impairments.