# Experience-dependent plasticity of auditory processing for vocal communication

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA · 2021 · $332,795

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Many developmental communication disorders, such as speech sound disorder, specific language
impairment, and dyslexia, are associated with central auditory processing deficits that affect phonetic
perception. Infants learn how to classify the phonemes of their native language(s) through exposure
to speech in the first year of life, but surprisingly little is known about the neural mechanisms of this
key developmental process. The overarching goal of this project is to understand how complex
signals like speech shape cellular and circuit properties in the central auditory areas responsible for
decoding them. This research uses the zebra finch, a well-established model for auditory processing
and learning. Like speech, birdsong has a complex spectral and temporal structure, and young birds
need to hear song for normal development of auditory perception. Using the zebra finch model
enables an approach that combines strong experimental control of the acoustic structure, social
context, and timing of song experience, with intracellular and extracellular electrophysiological
measurements and analyses of protein expression and trafficking. During a critical stage in vocal
development, neurons in a cortical-level area involved in auditory learning develop diverse intrinsic
properties that influence how they process communication sounds. Aim 1 examines the acoustic
stimuli required for this plasticity to occur. Aim 2 investigates the mechanism of this experience-
dependent intrinsic plasticity. Aim 3 tests how experience affects auditory processing in noisy
conditions. By identifying how the timing and structure of auditory experience shape development at
the single-cell level in a well-described learning task, this research has significant implications for
understanding how impoverished environments can lead to auditory processing deficits associated
with a wide range of human communication disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10129944
- **Project number:** 5R01DC018621-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Chad Daniel Meliza
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $332,795
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-04-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10129944

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10129944, Experience-dependent plasticity of auditory processing for vocal communication (5R01DC018621-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10129944. Licensed CC0.

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