SPP 1608:  Ultrafast and Temporally Precise Information Processing: Normal and Dysfunctional Hearing

• Subject Area: Medicine
• Term: from 2012 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 198624999

Ultrafast signalling and an exquisitely high temporal precision down to the microsecond range are the hallmarks of the auditory system that set it apart from virtually any other sensory system. The aim of this Priority Programme is to identify and analyse the mechanisms in the peripheral and central auditory systems, which enable temporally precise information processing. Both normal and dysfunctional hearing will be addressed, linking basic and disease-oriented research. Whereas middle ear-based hearing loss can be treated well, there is no causative treatment for sensorineural hearing loss affecting the cochlea and/or the auditory nerve. Moreover, rehabilitation by hearing aids as well as cochlear and brainstem implants is only partially effective. Although these hearing devices best enable speech comprehension in the quiet, temporal aspects of the auditory signals are not well processed, leading to speech recognition impairment, problems in distinguishing meaningful sounds from background noise, and severe problems in sound localisation. Deficits in temporal processing can also result from structural and functional abnormalities in the central auditory system, such as the various relay stations in the brainstem. The exact causes of such sound-processing impairments are unknown so far. Also, the mechanisms whose dysfunction leads to temporal auditory processing disorders - be it in the cochlea, the auditory nerve or the brain - have not been identified. Therefore, a better understanding of the (patho)-physiology of ultrafast signalling and temporally precise information processing is indispensible if we want to develop effective treatment strategies for hearing disorders. The goal is to obtain a comprehensive knowledge of the mechanisms underlying ultrafast auditory processing with high precision, with the aims of achieving a fundamentally improved understanding of the causes of hearing disorders and tools for better therapeutic treatment. To achieve this goal, our Priority Programme will network renowned and young researchers in physiology, anatomy, human and mouse genetics, computational neuroscience, and behavioural studies, who, so far, have not participated in such a joint initiative.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• International Connection: Austria, Switzerland

Projects

• Activity-dependent development of precise temporal coding at calyceal synapses (Applicant Milenkovic, Ivan )
• Age-dependent effects of unilateral hearing loss on the processing of interaural time differences and possible readjustments by subsequent electric cochlear stimulation (Applicant Vollmer, Maike )
• Analysis of the cellular mechanisms promoting fast information transfer at a large synapse in the ventral nucleus of the lateral lemniscus (Applicant Felmy, Felix )
• Co-assembly of KCNQ4 (Kv7.4) and Erg (Kv11) potassium channels as molecular basis of the characteristic outer hair cell current IK,n (Applicant Leitner, Michael )
• Coordination Proposal (Applicant Friauf, Eckhard )
• Coordinator Project - Coordination, promotion, workshops, summer schools (Applicant Friauf, Eckhard )
• Corticosterone effects on the stability and vulnerability of the IHC synapse and sound processing (Applicants Knipper, Marlies ;  Rüttiger, Lukas )
• Deciphering the properties and function of calcium binding proteins (CaBPs) in synaptic sound encoding (Applicant Pangrsic Vilfan, Tina )
• Fast temporal processing and ,central auditory disorder`: subcortical mechanisms (Applicants Kral, Andrej ;  Nothwang, Hans-Gerd )
• Functional Specializations of Neuroglia as Critical Determinants for precise neuronal signaling in the auditory brainstem (Applicant Stephan, Jonathan )
• High-frequency transmission in the superior olivary complex: molecular regulation by presynaptic proteins (Applicant Friauf, Eckhard )
• Identification and characterization of genes for human retrocochlear hearing disorders (Applicant Kubisch, Christian )
• Impact of Hearing Impairment on the Source Generators of Auditory Evoked Potentials (Applicant Verhulst, Sarah )
• Investigation of the effects of two-pore potassium channels on high frequency signal transmission in the auditory brainstem. (Applicant Körber, Christoph )
• Linking age-related cochlear dysfunction to the perception of temporal fine structure (Applicants Klump, Georg M. ;  Köppl, Christine )
• Mechanisms of the phase locking of auditory-nerve fibers: a modeling approach (Applicant Heil, Peter )
• Neuronal coding of communication sounds in the central nucleus of the mouse auditory midbrain (inferior colliculus): time-domain analyses (Applicant Ehret, Günter )
• Neuronal precision, accuracy, and fidelity: inhibitory and excitatory inputs to the lateral superior olive (Applicant Friauf, Eckhard )
• Peripheral auditory filtering - Mechanisms, Genes, and Age (Applicant Göpfert, Martin )
• Peripheral auditory processing: Mechanisms, Genes, and Age (Applicant Göpfert, Martin )
• Plasticity mechanisms for the developmental acquisition of strong inhibitory synapses in the auditory brainstem (Applicant Schneggenburger, Ralf )
• Processing of ultra-precise temporal information by neuronal networks in the auditory brainstem and its degradation after long term hearing loss (Applicant Hemmert, Werner )
• Role of L-type Ca2+-channels for development and function of the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body, an ultrafast relay center involved in sound localization (Applicants Friauf, Eckhard ;  Nothwang, Hans-Gerd )
• Role of the ribbon synapse in high-frequency neural phase locking (Applicants Köppl, Christine ;  Sienknecht, Ulrike Johanna )
• Role of voltage-gated calcium channel alpha2delta subunits for spiral ganglion neurons and afferent auditory processing (Applicant Engel, Jutta )
• Structure-based analysis of the molecular mechanisms of prestin-dependent cochlear amplification (Applicant Oliver, Dominik )
• Synaptic mechanisms underlying temporally precise information processing in the VNLL (Applicants Felmy, Felix ;  Leibold, Christian )
• Synaptic signal transmission and neuronal physiological characteristics of auditory brainstem neurons measured in vivo. (Applicant Rübsamen, Rudolf )
• The impact of proteoglycans of perineuronal nets on the ultrafast synaptic transmission in the auditory system. (Applicant Morawski, Ph.D., Markus )
• The Role of Calcium Binding Proteins in Synaptic Sound Encoding (Applicant Moser, Tobias )
• The role of dendritic inputs in high-fidelity temporal processing of phase-coding neurons in the mammalian anteroventral cochlear nucleus (Applicant Künzel, Thomas )
• The role of early postnatal activity in development of physiological properties of neurons and of nuclear organization in the auditory brainstem (Applicant Milenkovic, Ivan )
• The role of LRBA (LPS-responsive, beige-like anchor protein) in auditory function (Applicant Strenzke, Nicola )
• The role of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors for the development of auditory brainstem circuits involved in temporal processing of sounds (Applicant Koch, Ursula )
• The temporal resolution of binaural integration in the lateral superior olive and its implications for the electrical restoration of spatial hearing (Applicant Pecka, Michael )

• Spokespersons: Professorin Dr. Jutta Engel; Professor Dr. Eckhard Friauf