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Distributed cortical feedback mechanisms for context-dependent auditory processing

Award Number: F31DC024113
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2029

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Distributed cortical feedback mechanisms for context-dependent auditory processing - PROJECT SUMMARY Adaptive auditory perception depends on the brain’s ability to flexibly transform acoustic input into representations that support accurate behavior. Higher-order cortical regions play a critical role in this process by exerting top-down feedback onto primary sensory areas, yet most studies examine these pathways individually, leaving unresolved how multiple feedback sources jointly modulate auditory cortex (ACtx). As a result, we lack a systems-level understanding of how distributed corticocortical inputs collectively shape sensory representations and how their influence changes when sounds gain behavioral relevance. This proposal develops and applies a novel, high-density cortical inactivation platform that allows rapid, trial- wise silencing of nine distinct higher-order cortical regions within a single recording session. By pairing this approach with extracellular electrophysiology and rigorous population-level analyses, Aim 1 will establish how each feedback source modulates frequency tuning and reorganizes auditory-cortical population activity during passive listening. These experiments will provide the first direct comparison of multiple corticocortical pathways acting on ACtx at the single-neuron level under matched conditions, generating an integrated characterization of distributed cortical feedback in sensory cortex. Aim 2 will determine how behavioral engagement reconfigures these distributed networks and how higher- order regions contribute to the active transformation of ACtx responses when task demands change. Mice will perform a short-term working-memory auditory categorization task while individual feedback pathways are transiently inactivated during defined behavioral epochs. By comparing the same neural populations across passive listening and active task performance, we will quantify how these feedback pathways shape context- dependent reorganization and the modulation of sensory encoding during stimulus evaluation, memory maintenance, and choice execution. This aim will identify which higher-order regions drive the state-dependent shift from passive sensory processing to active, behaviorally relevant computation in ACtx. Together, the proposed work will deliver a comprehensive framework for how higher-order cortical regions jointly sculpt auditory-cortical processing across passive and active states. By integrating large-scale perturbations with single-unit and population analyses, this research will establish an organizing principle for distributed cortical feedback, advancing our understanding of how sensory cortex is shaped by the broader cortical network.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $50,114 )
2026	2026	CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIVERSITY	5000 FORBES AVE	PITTSBURGH	PA	15213	ALLEGHENY	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	1	7/21/2026	NEW	$50,114
2026	2026	CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIVERSITY	5000 FORBES AVE	PITTSBURGH	PA	15213	ALLEGHENY	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	001	1	7/21/2026	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $50,114

Grand Total All Awards = $50,114

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Distributed cortical feedback mechanisms for context-dependent auditory processing

Award Number: F31DC024113

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2029

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