Early Indicators Of Noise Injury: Are Decreased Auditory Processing Skills Evident In Noise-exposed Adults Prior To Diagnosis Of Hearing Loss?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$367,605.00
Summary
Recent research indicates that noise-exposed individuals with similar hearing thresholds to non-noise exposed counterparts are more likely to have diminished temporal and spectral auditory processing abilities. This research aims to determine the relationship between noise exposure levels and auditory processing difficulties; the influence of musical training in ameliorating these difficulties; and a neurological model of causation, operation and possible remediation of these difficulties.
Intrinsic Hearing Protection Mechanisms: A Pathway To Prevention Of Noise-induced Hearing Loss
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$625,900.00
Summary
Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a significant contributor to the total burden of disease. We recently determined that when the ear is exposed to sustained noise, the cochlea is protected from damage by activation of a specific (P2X2) receptor, evident as reversible hearing adaptation. This study will determine the downstream signalling from this receptor. This will support assessment of vulnerability to NIHL and contribute to development of hearing therapeutics.
Cochlear Type II Neurons In Contralateral Suppression
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$459,434.00
Summary
Sound in one ear affects hearing in the other ear. This contralateral suppression is important for hearing attention and protection from noise damage. We will test the hypothesis that cochlear type II sensory neurons provide the sensory input for this process using models where neuronal development is altered, or the neurons are removed. The study addresses hearing disability in society, facilitating cochlear prosthesis development and the understanding of hearing loss.
Auditory Processing Deficits In Specific Language Impairment And Specific Reading Disability:Their Effects And Treatment
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$314,250.00
Summary
One possible cause of specific language impairment (SLI) and specific reading disability (SRD; commonly known as dyslexia) is an inability to discriminate between sounds. Such an impairment could affect the ability to discriminate between simple speech sounds (phonemes) which are the basic building blocks for developing spoken language and reading skills. How many children with SLI or SRD have poor sound discrimination? What pattern of spoken language and reading impairments do these children ha ....One possible cause of specific language impairment (SLI) and specific reading disability (SRD; commonly known as dyslexia) is an inability to discriminate between sounds. Such an impairment could affect the ability to discriminate between simple speech sounds (phonemes) which are the basic building blocks for developing spoken language and reading skills. How many children with SLI or SRD have poor sound discrimination? What pattern of spoken language and reading impairments do these children have as a result of this impairment? Can poor sound discrimination be fixed? If it can, does it improve spoken language and reading impairments? And if it does, does it have an immediate effect or does it take some time to make a difference? These are some of the questions that will be addressed by this research. The answers will help us develop a training program that focuses specifically on improving the sound discrimination abilities of children who really need it. This will be a more efficient and inexpensive (if not free) than the Fast ForWord program that trains multiple non-verbal and verbal processing abilities regardless of whether a child has an impairment in all (or any) of these abilities and is therefore time consuming (approximately 80 hours) and expensive (approximately $AUD2000). The data will also help up better identify the spoken and written language profiles that characterise children who have sound discrimination deficits so we can better predict whether they would benefit from training programs such as Fast ForWord. And the data will tell use whether impaired sound discrimination can be used to predict whether infants might be at risk for later spoken language and reading problems.Read moreRead less
Finding The Missing Katanin Required For Male Fertility
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$417,214.00
Summary
Microtubules are a key element of all cells, including in the male germ line. In this project we will define the function of the microtubule severing protein KATNA1 in male fertility. This will be achieved using a unique model and state-of-the-art technologies. This project will have immediate relevance to the 1 in 20 Australian men who suffer from infertility but will also inform KATNA1 function in the many other tissues where KATNA1 is produced.
Organization And Function Of Primate Auditory Cortex
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$271,671.00
Summary
The conscious perception of speech and other sounds depends on processing within a brain region known as the auditory cortex. Compared to other brain areas, relatively little is known about the organization and function of this structure. Recent studies have proposed that the auditory cortex may be anatomically subdivided into functional modules, each of which is specialized for processing different types of information. However, the evidence for multiple processing streams is fragmentary, and n ....The conscious perception of speech and other sounds depends on processing within a brain region known as the auditory cortex. Compared to other brain areas, relatively little is known about the organization and function of this structure. Recent studies have proposed that the auditory cortex may be anatomically subdivided into functional modules, each of which is specialized for processing different types of information. However, the evidence for multiple processing streams is fragmentary, and not entirely consistent. The proposed experiments will combine anatomical and physiological approaches to evaluate the functional organization of auditory cortex in the primate brain. We will map the electrical responses of single brain cells to various complex sounds across the brain surface, and inject dyes to label pathways linking brain areas to one another. The data will allow us to determine whether specific subdivisions of the auditory cortex are specialized for processing different types of infomation, and whether specific subdivisions are linked together to form processing streams specialized for sound recognition and space perception. The results will advance our understanding of the neuronal processing involved in the perception of sound, with possible implications for speech perception. This will help to understand the consequences of brain damage, and may inform the development of hearing aids and artificial voice recognition systems. In addition, this study will help to develop a primate model for studying brain mechanisms of sound recognition that should be useful in research on cochlear implants.Read moreRead less