Development, organization and plasticity of auditory circuits: Lessons from a cherished colleague. (16th August 2018) - Lohse, Michael
Abstract: Ray Guillery was a neuroscientist known primarily for his ground‐breaking studies on the development of the visual pathways and subsequently on the nature of thalamocortical processing loops. The legacy of his work, however, extends well beyond the visual system. Thanks to Ray Guillery's pioneering anatomical studies, the ferret has become a widely used animal model for investigating the development and plasticity of sensory processing. This includes our own work on the auditory system, where experiments in ferrets have revealed the role of sensory experience during development in shaping the neural circuits responsible for sound localization, as well as the capacity of the mature brain to adapt to changes in inputs resulting from hearing loss. Our research has also built on Ray Guillery's ideas about the possible functions of the massive descending projections that link sensory areas of the cerebral cortex to the thalamus and other subcortical targets, by demonstrating a role for corticothalamic feedback in the perception of complex sounds and for corticollicular projection neurons in learning to accommodate altered auditory spatial cues. Finally, his insights into the organization and functions of transthalamic corticocortical connections have inspired a raft of research, including by our own laboratory, which has attempted to identify how information flows through the thalamus. Abstract : This review discusses the impact of Ray Guillery's work on studies of sensory development and plasticity and how his ideas about the possible function of the massive connections that link sensory areas in the cortex to the thalamus and other subcortical targets have been tested behaviourally. Identifying the organization and functions of transthalamic corticocortical connections is a new challenge inspired by Ray. Corticothalamic and intrathalamic projections to first‐ and higher‐order sensory thalamus may influence the transmission of specific sensory features via a rich thalamocortical network, possibly allowing for sensory, motor, cognitive and attentional modulation of sensory information.