Neural Mechanisms for Auditory Memory Sequencing and Prediction

University Of Iowa, Iowa City IA

Investigators

Abstract

This project addresses a question of profound consequence: How does the brain integrate information about the present with the past to predict the future? Human and nonhuman animals rely on memories of the past to anticipate the future, weighted by the reality of the present in our ever-changing sensory world. As universal as it is for neural systems to integrate information from the past and present to forecast the future – and the striking impact on quality of life when these functions fail – how the brain achieves this is unknown. To better understand memory and prediction, this project takes a cross-species approach and examines brain activity in the human and non-human primate. In addition, the collaborative research teams have planned outreach activities to rural and urban communities that promote neuroscience. This binational, collaborative project combines expertise from researchers in the United States and United Kingdom and takes a novel approach to study a brain system implicated in memory and future prediction. The goal is to study this system in nonhuman primates in ways that cannot typically be studied directly in humans, and to directly compare the results to humans through the study of neurosurgery patients. The aim is to directly compare cross-species data using complementary analyses so that the required animal research is directly and immediately relevant for understanding the human brain. The research may eventually also lead to societal benefits by advancing approaches to compensate for impairments in hearing, memory or prediction. Furthermore, these unique cross-species data will be openly shared and may contribute towards developing better machine learning approaches, as well as further discovery and innovation by the global community. This project is awarded under the SBE-UKRI Lead Agency Opportunity. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.