Directory

Benjamin Auerbach's directory photo.

Benjamin Auerbach

Assistant Professor

Primary Affiliation

Neurotechnology for Memory and Cognition

Affiliations

Status Full-time Faculty

Home Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology

Phone 265-5704

Email bda5@illinois.edu

Address 2041 Beckman Institute, 405 North Mathews Avenue

  • Biography

    Ben Auerbach is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology. He is also a full-time member of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology. Professor Auerbach studied mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in Fragile X syndrome and related neurodevelopmental disorders. He also investigated the neural circuits mechanisms underlying auditory perceptual disorders associated with hearing loss during his postdoctoral training.

    Education

    • Ph.D., neuroscience, MIT

  • Honors

    • 2019: Travel Award for Association for Research in Otolaryngology

    • 2018-2019: NARSAD Young Investigator Award

    • 2015, 2017: Bishops Award for Neuroscience, University at Buffalo

    • 2016: Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists Regional Nominee, University at Buffalo

    • 2015: Society for Neuroscience Trainee Professional Development Award

    • 2011: International Tuberous Sclerosis Research Conference Travel Award

    • 2004: Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Research Program Scholarship

  • Research

    Research Interests:

    • Learning and memory

    • Optogenetics

    • Sensory processing

    Research Areas:

    • Neuroscience

    • Neurobiology

    Neural mechanisms underlying sensory processing and plasticity

    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 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.

  • 2022

    • Auerbach, B. D., & Gritton, H. J. (2022). Hearing in Complex Environments: Auditory Gain Control, Attention, and Hearing Loss. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 16, [799787]. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.799787
    • Liu, X., Kumar, V., Tsai, N. P., & Auerbach, B. D. (2022). Hyperexcitability and Homeostasis in Fragile X Syndrome. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 14, [805929]. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnmol.2021.805929

    2021

    • Auerbach BD, Manohar S, Radziwon K, Salvi R (2021) Auditory Hypersensitivity and Processing Deficits in a Rat Model of Fragile X Syndrome.Neurobiol Dis. October 29;161:105541.
    • Auerbach, B. D., Manohar, S., Radziwon, K., & Salvi, R. (2021). Auditory hypersensitivity and processing deficits in a rat model of fragile X syndrome. Neurobiology of Disease, 161, [105541]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbd.2021.105541
    • Salvi, R., Auerbach, B. D., Lau, C., Chen, Y-C., Manohar, S., Liu, X., Ding, D., & Chen, G-D. (2021). Functional Neuroanatomy of Salicylate- and Noise-Induced Tinnitus and Hyperacusis. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, 133-160. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2020_156
    • Salvi, R., Radziwon, K., Manohar, S., Auerbach, B., Ding, D., Liu, X., Lau, C., Chen, Y. C., & Chen, G. D. (2021). Review: Neural mechanisms of tinnitus and hyperacusis in acute drug-induced ototoxicity. American journal of audiology, 30(3S), 901-915. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_AJA-20-00023

    2020

    • McCullagh EA, Rotschafer SE, Auerbach BD, Klug A, Kaczmarek LK, Cramer KS, Kulesza RJ Jr, Razak KA, Lovelace JW, Lu Y, Koch U, Wang Y (2020) Mechanisms underlying auditory processing deficits in Fragile X syndrome. FASEB J. Mar;34(3):3501-3518.

    2019

    • Auerbach BD, Radziwon K, Salvi R (2019) Testing the Central Gain Model: Loudness Growth Correlates with Central Auditory Gain Enhancement in a Rodent Model of Hyperacusis.Neuroscience. May 21;407:93-107.
    • Radziwon K, Auerbach BD, Ding D, Liu X, Chen GD, Salvi R (2019) Noise-Induced loudness recruitment and hyperacusis: Insufficient central gain in auditory cortex and amygdala. Neuroscience. Dec 1;422:212-227.

    2017

    • Stoppel LJ*, Auerbach BD*, Senter RK, Preza AR, Lefkowitz RJ, Bear MF (2017) ß-Arrestin2 Couples Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 to Neuronal Protein Synthesis and Is a Potential Target to Treat Fragile X. Cell Rep. Mar 21;18(12):2807-2814.

    2014

    • Auerbach BD, Rodrigues PV, Salvi RJ. (2014) Central gain control in tinnitus and hyperacusis. Front Neurol. Oct 24;5:206.

    2011

    • Auerbach BD, Osterweil EK, Bear MF (2011) Mutations causing syndromic autism define an axis of synaptic pathophysiology. Nature. Nov 23;480(7375):63-8

    2010

    • Auerbach BD, Bear MF (2010) Loss of the fragile X mental retardation protein decouples metabotropic glutamate receptor dependent priming of long-term potentiation from protein synthesis. J Neurophysiol. Aug;104(2):1047-51.

    2007

    • Dölen G, Osterweil E, Rao BS, Smith GB, Auerbach BD, Chattarji S, Bear MF (2007) Correction of fragile X syndrome in mice. Neuron.Dec 20;56(6):955-62.