# Spectro-Temporal Plasticity in Primary Auditory Cortex

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK · 2021 · $325,576

## Abstract

Project Summary
Auditory experience can reshape cortical maps and transform receptive field properties of neurons in the
auditory cortex of the adult animal. The exact form of this plasticity depends on the behavioral context, and the
spectrotemporal features of the salient acoustic stimuli. This has been shown by combined physiological and
behavioral approaches in our previous experiments in which spectrotemporal receptive fields (STRFs) were
rapidly and comprehensively characterized simultaneous with the animal behavior. The experiments also
contrasted plasticity in single cells across different auditory tasks employing various acoustic signals with
controlled spectral and temporal features. These results are consistent with findings of adaptive plasticity in the
motor and other sensory systems and support the hypothesis that auditory cortical cells may undergo rapid,
context-dependent changes of their receptive field properties when an animal is engaged in different auditory
behavioral tasks. This kind of plasticity would likely involve a selective functional reshaping of the underlying
cortical circuitry to sculpt the most effective receptive field for accomplishing the current auditory task. During
the last 5 years, we explored how this plasticity manifested itself in the dPEG and VPr fields of the ferret
auditory cortex. In this grant period, we hope to complete the characterization of this plasticity and also
examine its role in two important cognitive functions: Categorization and Encoding of Sequences. We shall
conduct our physiological experiments with dense arrays of planar and laminar multielectrode arrays, as well
as functional Ultrasound imaging to gain a view of the global distribution of neuronal activity during and after
training These experiments will lead to progress in understanding the interactions within an extended neuronal
network covering most of the auditory posterior cortical fields in the ferret which give rise to adaptive plasticity.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10147876
- **Project number:** 5R01DC005779-17
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
- **Principal Investigator:** Shihab A Shamma
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $325,576
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2004-02-21 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10147876

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10147876, Spectro-Temporal Plasticity in Primary Auditory Cortex (5R01DC005779-17). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10147876. Licensed CC0.

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