research interests

    The research in the Laboratory of Auditory Neurophysiology aims to understand the neural basis of auditory perception and vocal communication in a naturalistic environment. We are interested in revealing neural coding mechanisms operating in the cerebral cortex and how cortical representations of biologically important sounds emerge through development and learning. Perception and production of communication sounds (e.g. human speech and animal vocalizations) are among the most important behaviors of humans and many animals species, and are crucial for a species’ survival and well-being. Because of the complexity and behavioral importance of communication sounds, understanding their neural representations in the cerebral cortex will help reveal computational principles that the brain uses to process a wide range of sounds we experience daily such as speech and music. Understanding how the brain processes such sounds will provide invaluable insights into neural mechanisms underlying human language perception as well as how the brain functions during social interactions.

CURRENT projects

    We use a combination of neurophysiological methods and state-of-the-art engineering and computational techniques to tackle our research questions, using a highly vocal species (common marmoset) as the model system. Current research in our laboratory includes the following projects:

•Neural coding of species-specific vocalizations in a naturalistic environment

1. •  Cortical organization for processing music sounds (e.g., pitch and harmonicity)
   

2. •  Neural representation of the 3-dimensional space in auditory cortex
   

•Vocal production and control mechanisms in the brain

•Neural mechanisms underlying auditory-vocal interaction

•Cortical coding of complex sounds via cochlear implant stimulation

•Developmental and experience-dependent plasticity in auditory cortex

•Application of wireless recording techniques in studying brain functions during social interactions

selected publications

Zhou Y. and Wang X. Cortical Processing of Dynamic Sound Envelope Transitions. J. Neurosci. 30: 16741-16754 (2010).

Sadagopan S, Wang X. Contribution of inhibition to stimulus selectivity in primary auditory cortex of awake primates. J Neurosci.30: 7314-7325 (2010).

Bendor, D. and X. Wang. Neural coding of periodicity in marmoset auditory cortex. J Neurophysiol,103: 1809-1822 (2010).

Sadagopan S, Wang X. Nonlinear spectrotemporal interactions underlying selectivity for complex sounds in auditory cortex. J Neurosci. 29: 11192-11202 (2009)

Eliades, S.J. and X. Wang. Neural substrates of vocalization feedback monitoring in primate auditory cortex. Nature 453: 1102-1106 (2008).

Issa, E. B. and X. Wang.  Sensory responses during sleep in primate primary and secondary auditory cortex. J. Neurosci. 28: 14467-14480 (2008).

Bendor, D.A. and X. Wang. “Differential neural coding of acoustic flutter within primate auditory cortex”. Nat Neurosci, 10: 763-771 (2007).

Miller, C. T. and X. Wang. Sensory-motor interactions modulate a primate vocal behavior: antiphonal calling in common marmosets. J. Comp Neurobiol. A. 192: 27-38 (2006).

Wang, X., T. Lu, R.K. Snider and L. Liang. Sustained firing in auditory cortex evoked by preferred stimuli. Nature 435: 341-346 (2005).

Bendor, D. A. and X. Wang. The neuronal representation of pitch in primate auditory cortex. Nature 436: 1161-1165 (2005).

Barbour, D. and X. Wang. Contrast tuning in auditory cortex. Science, 299: 1073-1075 (2003).

Lu, T., L. Liang and X. Wang. Temporal and rate representations of time-varying signals in the auditory cortex of awake primates. Nature Neuroscience, 4:1131-1138, (2001).

Wang, X. On cortical coding of vocal communication sounds in primates. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97: 11843-11849 (2000).