Philip Jen

Professor of Biological Sciences

PhD, 1974 Washington University - St. Louis

jenp@missouri.edu
573-882-7479
209a Lefevre Hall

Research description

The processing of auditory signals has traditionally been explained by excitatory and inhibitory interactions of divergent and convergent projections within the ascending auditory system. However, studies in the past few years have shown that the massive auditory corticofugal system, which is topographically organized as the ascending auditory system modulates and improves multiparametric subcortical signal processing.

Our recent studies have shown that GABAergic inhibition plays an important role in the ascending and descending subcortical signal processing. The main research interest in my laboratory is to study signal processing in the ascending and descending auditory system using bats and mice as the mammalian model system.

The two current research projects in my laboratory are (1) Corticofugal modulation of central auditory signal processing in multiparametric domains in echolocating bats, (2) GABAergic inhibition in ascending and descending auditory processing in wild and genetic mutant mice (Gabra1) that lacks the GABA-A receptor alpha1 subunit. These two projects will find the answers for the following questions. (1) How does the corticofugal system perform specific and systematic modulation of subcortical signal processing in multiparametric domains? (2) How does the Alpha1 subunit of the GABA-A receptor contribute to GABAergic inhibition in subcortical auditory temporal and spectral processing?

Selected publications

Wu, C. H. and Jen, P. H.-S. 2006. The role of GABAergic inhibition in shaping duration selectivity of bat inferior collicular neurons determined with temporally patterned sound trains Hearing Research. in press.

Jen, P. H.-S. and Xu, L.J. 2006. The effect of monaural middle ear destruction on response properties of neurons in the auditory midbrain of juvenile and adult mice, Brain research. in press.

Jen, P. H.-S. and Wu, C.H. 2005. The role of GABAergic inhibition in shaping the response size and duration selectivity of bat inferior collicular neurons to sound pulses in rapid sequences. Hearing Research 202: 222-234.

Zhou, X.M. and Jen, P. H.-S. 2005. Corticofugal modulation of directional sensitivity in the midbrain of the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus. Hearing Research 203: 201-215.

Selected national/international awards and honors

Elected Fellow - AAAS

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