Benjamin D Auerbach

The brain has the remarkable ability to modify its connections and adapt its response properties based on prior experience. This experience-dependent plasticity greatly shapes our perception and behavior, is thought to be the physiological substrate of learning and memory, and is disrupted in a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders. My research uses the rodent auditory system as a tractable model for elucidating the biological mechanisms and behavioral consequences of experience-dependent modification in the brain. We use a multidimensional approach to address these questions, combing quantitative sensory behavior with high density in vivo electrophysiology, ex vivo biochemical and neuroanatomical analysis, as well as optical imaging and manipulation of genetically-defined neuronal subtypes. Beyond the advancement of basic insight into brain function, the goal of this research is to identify pathophysiological mechanisms associated with neurodevelopmental and hearing disorders that often present with sound hypersensitivity— particularly autism spectrum disorders and hyperacusis— with the hope of translating our findings into novel therapies and treatment strategies.