# Cortical circuitry supporting flexible audiovisual interactions and behaviors

> **NIH NIH RF1** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2020 · $1,732,240

## Abstract

Project Summary
Interactions between the auditory and visual systems are among the most well-established cases of
crossmodal interplay, yet the overwhelming bulk of the sensory physiology literature reflects studies examining
processing confined to a single modality and we understand comparatively little about the circuitry mediating
crossmodal interplay, or under what conditions such circuits are active. Audiovisual interactions exist even in
primary auditory cortex (AC), with latencies too low to be mediated through purely top-down connections. How
does this information influence sound processing? Which connections relay visual information to the auditory
cortex? What are the functional consequences of these early crossmodal interactions, and what general
computational principles account for interactions within this system that could extend our understanding of
crossmodal processing elsewhere in the brain? Our proposal will leverage the strengths of the awake
transgenic mouse model to address the core aspects of these overarching questions. We will combine
translaminar recording in auditory and visual cortices of awake mice with optogenetic manipulation techniques,
quantitative modeling, and behavior. We will determine how visually driven inputs affect responses, dynamics,
and functional connectivity across auditory cortical layers and cell types, identify and functionally characterize
circuitry relaying visual information to auditory cortex, and determine the extent to which behavioral goals
modulate visual influence on auditory cortex and communication from visual to auditory cortex.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9971394
- **Project number:** 1RF1NS116598-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Andrea Rayne Hasenstaub
- **Activity code:** RF1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,732,240
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-30 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9971394

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9971394, Cortical circuitry supporting flexible audiovisual interactions and behaviors (1RF1NS116598-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9971394. Licensed CC0.

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