Research Directions

The major research efforts of the laboratory over the past 20 years have been focussed on the roles of ion channels, their kinetics, and cellular distribution, in shaping neural integration in the dorsal and ventral cochlear nucleus. As we have gained knowledge about these cellular mechanisms for information processing, we have begun to turn our attention to their roles and plasticity with hearing loss and the consequences of hearing loss, as well as to the organization and functional operation of networks of cells in the auditory system. While the lab has mostly studied the auditory brainstem, new efforts (funded first by NIH and then the DRF) are underway to study auditory cortex.

Current research topics include:

• Short term (time scales of seconds) and long term modulation ion channel, neurotrasmitter receptor and transporter function in cochlear nucleus neurons.
• The organization and function of local inhibitory networks in the cochlear nucleus. In particular, how do synaptic dynamics interact with ion channel kinetics to shape auditory processing?
• The effects of hearing loss and deafness on the cellular mechanisms of information processing in the cochlear nucleus and the auditory cortex. In these experiments, we characterize the processing capabilities of the residual auditory system, and associated changes in ion channel and transmitter receptor expression, with the long term goal of proposing stimulation strategies to accommodate or overcome changes in these capabilities due to changes in available cellular mechanisms.
• Experiments are complemented with biophysically realistic compartmental models of channels and cells, to relate cellular mechanisms to the formation of neural information codes. Our models run the gamut from single-cells, to simulations of complex multisite synapses and neural networks based on biophysically realistic cells.