Professor Patrick Kanold

Illuminating how we hear and learn to hear

Abstract

Our research seeks to uncover how we process sensory information, and how experiences and interactions with the environment shape the brain. Since hearing is crucial for communication in both humans and animals, our research focusses on the auditory system. We use in vivo and in vitro imaging alongside optical stimulation to examine how the auditory cortex encodes sensory information, how these representations evolve, and how experience shapes these the encoding of sounds. Work from our laboratory has revealed how ensembles of neurons in the auditory cortex represent complex sounds, uncovered the underlying neural circuitry, and demonstrated that behavior actively modulates how neurons encode auditory information. The ability of the brain to process sound emerges during early development, is refined by sensory input during “critical periods” and continues to adapt with experience throughout life. Our latest findings suggest that both sensory experiences and self-generated actions during early development, even before the critical period, can influence brain function. Ongoing research seeks to unravel the mechanisms and enduring impact of these formative experiences on auditory cortical processing.