# Development of hemispheric specializations during Auditory Cortex critical periods

> **NIH NIH R21** · CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK · 2022 · $210,666

## Abstract

Project Summary
Although the organization of the neocortex includes many consistent patterns of connections
between cells, individual cortical areas also contain unique circuit-motifs that enable them to
perform specific functions. One such specialization is left-hemisphere language dominance,
which is well known in humans. Mice and other mammals also use vocalizations for social and
reproductive interactions and show hemispheric asymmetry in processing these vocalizations.
This similarity suggests there may be shared mechanisms for vocal processing that can be
studied using the powerful circuit analysis tools available in animal models. This proposal focuses
on the mouse auditory cortex, which preferentially responds to particular sound combinations
across frequencies and time, in a context-dependent fashion, and thus encodes important
components of species-specific vocalizations. Our work has revealed connectivity differences
between the left and right auditory cortices that are hearing-experience dependent, but it is
unknown how these differences arise. The long-term goal of this laboratory is to identify
specialized circuit features in the auditory cortex that underlie the ability to encode information
that is important for social communication and how they go awry in neurodevelopmental
communication disorders. The overall objective of this proposal is to identify hemispheric
differences in the timing of critical periods, and emergence of the behavioral relevance of
lateralized processing. This proposal will test the working hypothesis that hemispheric
specializations in auditory processing arise from differences in the maturation rate between the
left and right auditory cortices. Maturational differences will be identified through hemispheric
comparison of molecular markers related to the onset and closure of critical periods, and circuit-
motif development using electrophysiology. We will also identify differences in the emergence of
lateralized function with behavioral assays. Preliminary data in this proposal demonstrate
significant differences in the maturation rate between the left and right auditory cortices. This
approach is innovative because it is the first study to dissect hemispheric differences at the
circuitry and functional level in the auditory cortex, and test a novel hypothesis of its origin. The
research proposed here is significant because it is expected to reveal fundamental insights into
the development of specializations in auditory cortical function, which will provide powerful tools
to study how the auditory cortex encodes communication sounds and how this encoding goes
awry in neurodevelopmental disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10448356
- **Project number:** 5R21DC019737-02
- **Recipient organization:** CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK
- **Principal Investigator:** Hysell Viviana Oviedo
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $210,666
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-07-09 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10448356

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10448356, Development of hemispheric specializations during Auditory Cortex critical periods (5R21DC019737-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10448356. Licensed CC0.

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