Tania RINALDI BARKAT The role of primary sensory cortices during learning – from neuronal cell types to hearing restoration
invitée par Jean-François LEGER - IBENS Neuroscience Seminar
11h
Le séminaire de Tania RINALDI BARKAT (University of Basel, Switzerland) aura lieu dans la salle Favard, IBENS 46 rue d’Ulm 75005 Paris
Sensory learning is fundamental for adaptive behavior, allowing organisms to identify and respond to relevant environmental cues. This process refines sensory responses to improve overall perception and behavioral performance. Previous research highlights the primary sensory cortices as critical hubs in this learning process, integrating both bottom-up (feedforward) and top-down (feedback) information. In this talk, I will present two studies exploring each of these inputs. In the first one, I will present how feedback information from the orbitofrontal cortex modulates auditory cortex activity via somatostatin-expressing interneurons, enabling the formation of associations between sensory stimuli and their behavioral significance. In the second one, I will question the role of feedforward information via subcortical nuclei by comparing cochlear and cortical implants for sound perception, with evidence suggesting that cortical stimulation not only provides better auditory performance, but can more effectively replicate natural auditory processing than cochlear stimulation. Together, these studies underscore the dynamic and bidirectional role of primary sensory cortices in learning, spanning from synaptic mechanisms to translational applications in sensory restoration.