Neuroscience research technician

Mentor Areas

The long-term goal of our research is to identify the neuronal circuits and neuronal codes that support hearing and auditory memory and learning in complex acoustic environments. Auditory perception is shaped by the interaction of sensory inputs with our experiences, emotions, and cognitive states. Decades of research have characterized how neuronal response properties to basic sounds, such as tones or whistles, are transformed in the auditory pathway of passively listening subjects. Much less well-understood is how the brain creates a perceptual representation of a complex auditory scene, i.e., one that is composed of a myriad of sounds, and how this representation is shaped by learning and experience. 

Over the last six years, our laboratory has made transformative progress in the quantitative understanding of neuronal circuits supporting dynamic auditory perception, through a combination of behavioral, electrophysiological, optogenetic and computational approaches. Specifically, we have:

• Discovered a novel role for the auditory cortex in learning-driven changes in auditory acuity;
• Discovered a novel intra-cortical circuit supporting adaptation to temporal regularities in sounds;
•  Identified computational mechanisms for encoding of complex sounds in the auditory cortex;
• Identified neural mechanisms underlying development of perception of environmental sounds and speech perception.

​With these findings, our laboratory is positioned to make a breakthrough in the computational and theoretical understanding of audition over the next few years. Whereas the specific research projects in the laboratory focus on investigating distinct circuits involved in specific auditory functions, our aspiration is to develop a comprehensive computational framework for understanding neuronal dynamics in perception and memory. Our focus on the function these circuits in audition will pave the way for understanding processing across sensory modalities and brain regions.

Description:

We are a highly interactive and supportive community committed to training the next generation of scientists. The undergraduate technician would assist with behavioral training of mice, electrophysiological recordings, optogenetics, imaging and immunohistochemistry of brain tissue. There is also opportunity to collect your own data, analyze data and contribute directly to publications.

Specific projects for undergraduates include:

Project 1: Hardware / Data Acquisition

This project would involve setting up an analysis pipeline for Neuropixels data. It would involve creating a system that achieves several goals: 0) Standardizing stimulus presentation and information (see Project 2 below), and propagating this through the pipeline, 1) automatic backup and transfer of neuropixels/stimulus data after recordings, 2) automate the spike sorting process in Kilosort2, 3) including pre-manual curation tools, such as the Python toolbox from the Allen Institute, which cleans up Kilosort2 outputs by removing noise units and includes other useful quality metrics. This would be a signal processing and coding intensive project, so it would be ideal for a computer science or electrical engineering undergrad. Different parts of this pipeline involve Matlab or Python, and a lot could be done remotely, besides configuring computers for file transfer.

Project 2: Immunohistochemistry and Anatomy

Audiovisual integration helps humans and other animals communicate and navigate the external world. At a neural level, the subcortical auditory inferior colliculus and visual superior colliculus form an interconnected circuitry whose neural subtypes have yet to be described. This project uses immunohistochemistry to determine whether the neurons in this subcortical circuit are excitatory or inhibitory. Injections of retrograde and anterograde tracers will be performed beforehand, and then the student can learn and perform immunohistochemical staining on the sliced tissue using the fluorescent antibodies present in the lab.

Project 3: Anatomy / Image Analysis

Navigating a complex environment involves integrating information from multiple senses, including the auditory and olfactory systems. However, the sites of cross-modal auditory-olfactory integration in the brain are unknown. This project will analyze anatomical tracing data from mice injected with retrograde/anterograde fluorescent viruses in the auditory and olfactory cortices. The injections and brain slice imaging will be completed beforehand, and this project will consist of quantifying labeled neurons in auditory and olfactory brain areas, such as the auditory cortex, medial geniculate body, inferior colliculus, piriform cortex, olfactory bulb, and olfactory tubercle. Image analysis can be performed remotely with ImageJ and Imaris software.

Project 4: Analysis/ Coding

The project consists in analyzing how two different subtypes of interneurons modulate the neural populations’ threshold and discrimination between different sound levels. The data has already been collected and the project will consist in calculating the population threshold (minimum sound level that elicits a significantly different response from no sound) and discrimination (how well the neuron population can differentiate between different sound amplitudes), and see how these two measures change as the two subtypes of interneurons are activated. This project can be done remote and the analysis can be done either in Matlab or Python.

Preferred Qualifications

• Introductory neuroscience course
• Some programming experience (Matlab or Python)