Toward the mechanisms of auditory attention

Since the earliest studies of auditory cortex, it has been clear that an animal's behavioral or attentional state can play a crucial role in shaping the response characteristics of single neurons. Much of what has been learned about attention has been made using human and animal models, but little is known about the cellular and synaptic mechanisms by which attentional modulation of neuronal responses occurs. The use of rodent experimental models allows us to exploit the full armamentarium of modern cellular and molecular neuroscience techniques. Here we present our program for studying auditory attention, specifically for development of rodent models of attention and finding the neural correlates of attention.