The Regents of the University of Michigan's Office of Research and Sponsored Projects division was awarded a $618,956 Project Grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), under the Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders federal grant program (CFDA 93.173). The goal of this 5-year research project is to determine how cholinergic signaling in the inferior colliculus of the auditory midbrain influences auditory processing and how this is altered in disorders like hearing loss and aging.
The project will utilize molecular genetic techniques to label and manipulate specific neuronal populations in the inferior colliculus in order to investigate the cellular and synaptic mechanisms by which acetylcholine receptors and the timing of acetylcholine release modulate the activity of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. The research will also involve electron microscopy to map the ultrastructural relationships between cholinergic inputs and inferior colliculus neurons, as well as two-photon calcium imaging in awake mice to study how cholinergic axons respond to auditory stimuli. The findings are expected to provide fundamental insights to guide future in vivo and behavioral studies on the role of cholinergic signaling in auditory processing.
As a sub-award under this grant, Northeast Ohio Medical University (Neomed) will receive funding to conduct the electron microscopic analysis of neuropeptide Y and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide neurons in the inferior colliculus.
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