Neural integration of electrocommunication signals encoded in parallel sensory processing streams.
Final Report Abstract
The goal of this project was to investigate the integration of parallel sensory information channels in the electrosensory system of the weakly electric fish Eigenmannia virescens. These animals use their self-generated electric field for electrolocating objects in their environment ¨ and for communication. In a previous study, we examined how these communication signals are encoded at the level of electroreceptors. A key finding was that all three different types of electroreceptors encode specific aspects of the communication signal, and the integration of these parallel information channels can be helpful for the detection of communication signals. Electrosensory information is relayed to the next processing level in the hindbrain, the electrosensory lateral line lobe (ELL), there, sensory information is still processed in parallel. Only in the midbrain do these parallel processing streams come together. In this project, we aimed to investigate (a) how communication signals are represented at the level of the hindbrain and (b) whether parallel information is integrated in the midbrain and contributes to signal detection. To achieve this, the necessary experimental setup was prepared, and electrophysiological recordings were conducted in both the hindbrain and the midbrain. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated lockdowns, these works could only be partially completed. Instead of the planned experimental work, we began developing models of the electrosensory periphery, which will assist us in the future to examine the signal transformation from sensory periphery to central nervous processing. Ongoing projects are providing experimental data from the ELL in the hindbrain, offering important comparison data for investigating the signal transformation at the first synapse of the electro-sensory information pathway. These data also represent the input signal for processing neurons in the midbrain, which will be further explored in the future.
Publications
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Simultaneous spike-time locking to multiple frequencies. Journal of Neurophysiology, 123(6), 2355-2372.
Sinz, Fabian H.; Sachgau, Carolin; Henninger, Jörg; Benda, Jan & Grewe, Jan
