# Neuronal circuits supporting learning-driven changes in auditory perception.

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2020 · $334,192

## Abstract

Neuronal circuits supporting learning-driven changes in auditory perception.
 Everyday auditory behavior depends critically on learning-driven changes in auditory perception that rely on
neuronal plasticity within the auditory pathway. Discriminative auditory fear conditioning (DAFC), an important form of
associative auditory learning, affects the fundamental auditory task of frequency discrimination acuity. While the auditory
cortex (AC) is thought to be required for this modulation, how learning shapes frequency discrimination remains
unknown. Previous work has largely suggested that the feedforward connections leading up to the AC are the site of this
learning-induced plasticity. However, recent research suggests that frequency tuning within the AC itself is shaped by
inhibitory-excitatory networks that include multiple morphologically and likely functionally distinct inhibitory
interneuron types. Furthermore, the extensive feedback the AC sends to sub-cortical structures, including the inferior
colliculus (IC) in the auditory midbrain, may also affect behavioral frequency discrimination. Thus, to dissect the
functions of intra-cortical and sub-cortical circuits in auditory learning, we will determine (1) if DAFC affects tone
response properties of different neuronal cell types in AC, and how these changes affect frequency discriminability at the
neuronal population level in AC; (2) if feedback from AC to the auditory midbrain causally drives learning-mediated
changes in auditory behavior. By combining state-of-the-art optogenetic, electrophysiological, behavioral and
computational approaches, we are uniquely able to test function of specific circuit elements in awake behaving subjects.
The proposed research will, for the first time, identify (1) the effect of auditory learning on specific inhibitory and
excitatory neuronal cell types in AC; (2) the role of excitatory-inhibitory circuits in driving changes in frequency
discrimination behavior; and (3) the role of cortico-collicular feedback in driving learning-driven changes in auditory
frequency discrimination acuity. These important insights into the function of feedback circuits in auditory processing will
inform future design of hearing aids and cochlear implants by configuring their outputs for optimal stimulation of these
circuits.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9893858
- **Project number:** 5R01DC015527-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Maria Neimark Geffen
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $334,192
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-04-01 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9893858

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9893858, Neuronal circuits supporting learning-driven changes in auditory perception. (5R01DC015527-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9893858. Licensed CC0.

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