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How the brain encodes and represents auditory space remains a mystery, despite decades of research. Human psychophysical studies suggest that neurons are tuned toward the front, but existing data are inconclusive, as most animal experiments are conducted under anesthesia. Using functional in vivo imaging in the auditory cortex (AC) of mice, researchers have observed frontal spatial tuning that is suppressed by anesthesia. However, interpreting these findings is difficult, as the AC lacks a topographical map of auditory space.
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This project aims to identify correlations between single neuronal pairs and observe differences in their behavior between anesthetized and awake states. Both basic data analysis and advanced machine learning techniques have revealed significant differences in how the brain encodes information. Neurons respond differently to spatial stimuli depending on the state (anesthetized versus awake), confirming key hypotheses. Given the unexplored nature of this field, the project remains open for further research.
