In vivo processing of acoustic information in the mammalian cochlea and brain

The processing of sensory information is a fundamental feature of human biology, yet we have limited understanding of how it occurs in vivo. The auditory system provides an ideal model to investigate sensory processing, as it incorporates arrays of cells with a precise organisation preserved from the periphery to the brain. High-fidelity sound perception relies on cochlear hair cells and their nerve fibres to accurately encode acoustic information over broad frequency and intensity ranges. Our current knowledge of this complex process derives largely from ex vivo experiments, since in vivo recordings with subcellular resolution from the intact mammalian cochlea have long been considered unfeasible. This has created a substantial barrier towards our understanding of auditory function, since ex vivo work cannot replicate the sophisticated anatomy, innervation and physiology of the cochlea. My laboratory has developed surgical and microscopy approaches that, combined with in vivo gene delivery and genetically modified mice, allow us to study the function of mammalian sensory hair cells and their synapses in vivo. We will use this pioneering approach to identify the mechanisms regulating cochlear function, how they change throughout life and, more broadly, to study how the ear and the brain communicate with each other.