# Contribution of striatum to central auditory processing

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2024 · $628,087

## Abstract

Project Summary
This renewal application will focus on the striatum. It stems from our recent study of the functional
contributions of major corticofugal projections from the auditory cortex (ACx). Anatomically receiving
convergent cortical and thalamic inputs, the striatum is believed to play an important role in central
auditory processing and perception of sound, as evidenced by its involvement in sound-frequency
discrimination related behaviors. However, fundamental questions about how specific auditory
information is processed, integrated in the striatum, and transformed into appropriate actions remain not
well understood. Since the caudal striatum, or the tail of the striatum (TS), receives the highest intensity
of ACx projections among all striatal areas, our initial efforts will be centered on the TS, regarded as the
“auditory striatum”, to explore its functional role in auditory processing and related behaviors. This
proposal builds upon our recent studies on corticostriatal projections from ACx to TS in processing
looming sounds, as well as on the mouse cortico-striatal-thalamic network. More importantly, our pilot
results suggest that a midbrain structure adjacent to the MGB, known as the nucleus of the brachium of
the inferior colliculus (NB in Allen mouse brain atlas, also named “NBIC” or “BIN” in the literature),
provides significant bottom-up auditory signals to TS and influences its auditory processing. By
exploiting mouse genetic models and combining a suite of cutting-edge approaches such as cell-type-
and pathway-specific viral tracing, our recently established AAV1-based anterograde transsynaptic
tagging, in vivo and ex vivo electrophysiology, miniscope calcium imaging, as well as optogenetic
manipulations, we will test our central hypothesis that TS contributes to auditory spatial processing by
integrating binaural information relayed from a unique ascending midbrain-striatal pathway. The
proposed project aims to generate new insights into the functional role of striatum in auditory processing
perception. Results from this project may help to advance our understanding of the pathophysiology of
auditory processing disorders as well as striatum-related neuropsychiatric disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11000136
- **Project number:** 2R01DC008983-18
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Li I Zhang
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $628,087
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2007-08-01 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11000136

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11000136, Contribution of striatum to central auditory processing (2R01DC008983-18). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-02 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11000136. Licensed CC0.

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