Linden Lab
In the Linden Lab, based at the UCL Ear Institute, we study brain mechanisms of listening and how they go awry in disorders that affect listening ability.
Auditory brain abnormalities in psychiatric disorders
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Representation of complex sounds in the auditory brain
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Novel methods for studying the neural basis of behaviour
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Our work
We investigate how complex, temporally varying sounds (including speech) are represented and analysed by neurons in the auditory cortex and thalamus.
We also study how brain mechanisms of listening are disrupted in mouse models of human schizophrenia, tinnitus and auditory processing disorder.
Our goal is to translate fundamental discoveries in mice into new tools and treatments for improving listening ability in humans. Experimental methods include electrophysiological recording, computational modelling, and auditory behavioral testing in mice and humans.
Research projects
We believe the best science and greatest impact arises from cross-fertilisation of ideas, between people and across disciplines. Our projects are interdisciplinary and involve collaborations with colleagues at UCL and/or around the world. Current research topics include:
- Brain mechanisms of listening
- Auditory brain abnormalities in developmental disorders
- Auditory brain abnormalities in schizophrenia
- Other ongoing work
Find out more about our research.
People
Adele Simon, postdoctoral fellow
And also...
- Lara Carvalho Sauer, MSc Advanced Audiology project student
- Wesley Huang, MSc Advanced Audiology project student
- Haiyue Huang, MSc Advanced Audiology project student
Selected recent publications
- Lu C and Linden JF (2025). Auditory evoked-potential abnormalities in a mouse model of 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome and their interactions with hearing impairment. Translational Psychiatry, 15:4.
- Murtaugh S, Panconesi D, Lu C, Abidoph R, Cotic M, Mills D, Richards-Belle A, Richards-Brown M, Khani NS, Varney L, Linden JF and Bramon B (2025). Hearing problems in humans and mouse models with rare copy number variants associated with schizophrenia: a scoping review protocol. Wellcome Open Research, 9:546.
- Akritas M, Armstrong AG, Lebert JM, Meyer AF, Sahani M and Linden JF (2024). Nonlinear sensitivity to acoustic context is a stable feature of neuronal responses to complex sounds in auditory cortex of awake mice. eLife, doi: 10.7554/eLife.98415.1.
- Wang B, Otten LJ, Schulze K, Afrah H, Varney L, Cotic M, Saadullah Khani N, Linden JF, Kuchenbaecker K, McQuillen A, Hall M-H and Bramon E (2024). Is auditory processing measured by the N100 an endophenotype for psychosis? A family study and a meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 54(8):1559-1572.
- Linden JF (2023). Sensory representations in the auditory cortex and thalamus. Chapter 22 in: Usrey WM (Ed.), Sherman CM (Ed.), Hirsch JA (Section Ed.) and King AJ (Section Ed.), The Cerebral Cortex and Thalamus. Oxford Academic Press, pp. 229-238.
- Zinnamon FA, Harrison FG, Wenas S, Liu Q, Wang KH and Linden JF (2023). Increased central auditory gain and decreased parvalbumin-positive cortical interneuron density in the Df1/+ mouse model of schizophrenia correlate with hearing impairment. Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science, 3:386-397.
- Wang B, Zartaloudi E, Linden JF and Bramon E (2022). Neurophysiology in psychosis: the quest for biomarkers of disease mechanisms. Translational Psychiatry, 12(1):100.
- Gothner T, Goncalves PJ, Sahani M, Linden JF and Hildebrandt KH (2021). Sustained activation of PV+ interneurons in auditory cortex enables robust divisive gain control for complex and naturalistic stimuli. Cerebral Cortex 31(5):2364-2381.
- Kopp-Scheinpflug C and Linden JF (2020). Coding of Temporal Information. Chapter 2.35 in: Fritzsch B (Ed.) and Grothe B (Volume Ed.), The Senses: A Comprehensive Reference, Volume 2 (Audition). Elsevier, Academic Press, pp. 691-712.
- Meyer AF*, Poort J*, O'Keefe J, Sahani M and Linden JF (2018). A head-mounted camera system integrates detailed behavioral monitoring with multichannel electrophysiology in freely moving mice. Neuron 100:46-60.e7. *equal contributions
- Kopp-Scheinpflug C, Sinclair JL and Linden JF (2018). When sound stops: offset responses in the auditory system. Trends in Neurosciences 41:712-728.
- Anderson LA*, Hesse LL*, Pilati N*, Bakay WMH, Alvaro G, Large CH, McAlpine D, Schaette R, and Linden JF (2018). Increased spontaneous firing rates in auditory midbrain following noise exposure are specifically abolished by a Kv3 channel modulator. Hearing Research 365:77-89. *equal contributions
- Hildebrandt KJ, Sahani M and Linden JF (2017). The impact of cortical state on spike-sorting success: a comparison of ketamine and urethane anaesthesia. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 29 November 2017, doi:10.3389/fncir.2017.00095.
- Guidi LG, Mattley J, Martinez-Garay I, Monaco AP, Linden JF, Velayos-Baeza A and Molnar Z (2017). Knockout mice for dyslexia susceptibility gene homologs KIAA0319 and KIAA0319L have unaffected neuronal migration but display abnormal auditory processing. Cerebral Cortex 17:1-15.
- Burgess CP, Lak A, Steinmetz N, Zatka-Haas P, Reddy CB, Jacobs E, Linden JF, Paton JJ, Ranson A, Schroeder S, Soares S, Wells M, Wool LE, Harris KD, Carandini M (2017). High-yield methods for accurate two-alternative visual psychophysics in head-fixed mice. Cell Reports 20(10): 2513-2524.
- Linden JF (2017). Timing is everything: corticothalamic mechanisms for active listening. Neuron 95(1): 3-5.
- Meyer AF, Williamson RS, Linden JF and Sahani M (2017). Models of neuronal stimulus-response functions: elaboration, estimation and evaluation. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience 10(109), doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2016.00109.
- Hesse LL, Bakay W, Ong HC, Anderson LA, Ashmore J, McAlpine D, Linden JF and Schaette R (2016). Non-monotonic relation between noise exposure severity and neuronal hyperactivity in the auditory midbrain. Frontiers in Neurology 7(133), doi: 10.3389/fnrur.2016.00133.
- Williamson RS, Ahrens M, Linden JF* and Sahani M* (2016). Input-specific modulation by local sensory context shapes cortical and thalamic responses to complex sounds. Neuron 91(2): 467-71. *equal contributions
- Anderson LA and Linden JF (2016). Mind the gap: two dissociable mechanisms of temporal processing in the auditory system. Journal of Neuroscience 36(6): 1977-95.
Funding
We are grateful to have received funding for past projects from the following organisations:
- UKRI Medical Research Council (MRC)
- UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
- Wellcome Trust
- Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID, formerly Action on Hearing Loss)
- Royal Society
- Gatsby Charitable Foundation Trust
- UCL Therapeutic Acceleration Support Fund
- NIHR-UCL Biomedical Research Centre 'Hearing Health' Theme
Currently, our research on fundamental brain mechanisms of listening is funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation Trust; our research on auditory brain abnormalities in schizophrenia is funded by the MRC; and our translational work on new strategies to improve human listening ability is funded by the NIHR-UCLH Biomedical Research Centre 'Hearing Health' Theme.