The research will investigate the mechanisms by which our brains are able to listen selectively to sounds of interest in competing background noise. This will be investigated in normal hearing subjects, those with partial deafness and in profoundly deaf patients who use a cochlear implant. If deaf patients can learn to use cues to enhance detection of sounds of interest this could have an impact on the effectiveness of hearing aids and cochlear implants in noisy listening situations
Nanoparticle Based Neurotrophin Delivery To Promote Directed Neurite Growth And Auditory Nerve Rescue Following Deafness
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$506,724.00
Summary
The cochlear implant provides hearing information to the severe-profoundly deaf by electrically stimulating the auditory nerves of the inner ear. Deafness causes these auditory nerves to gradually degenerate leaving fewer nerves for the cochlear implant to stimulate. We propose to reverse this neural degeneration by delivering therapeutic drugs to the inner ear using tiny nanoparticles. This novel technology is expected to have application in other areas of neural degenerative disease.
The Plastic Effects Of Long-term Partial Deafness And Chronic Cochlear Implant Use On The Response Of Primary Auditory Cortex To Combined Electro-acoustic Stimulation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$560,267.00
Summary
Cochlear implants were originally used only in cases of profound deafness, but are now being used in patients who have some residual hearing at low frequencies. Our goal is to better understand how the electrical information from the cochlear implant and the acoustic information provided by the residual hearing are combined in the brain to produce unified perception of the auditory environment.
Bilateral Cochlear Implants: Restoring Binaural Processing By Experience And Training With Binaural Cues
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$968,030.00
Summary
Cochlear implantation in both ears is increasingly common and while there are benefits, performance falls short of expectations, likely due to the degradation of the long-term deaf brain’s sensitivity to small timing differences of sounds reaching each of the two ears. By confirming the hypothesis that experience with high-fidelity timing information will improve performance, this study will drive the technical innovations required to maximise the benefits and investment of bilateral implants.
Differentiation, Electrical Activity And Synapse Structure Of Human Stem Cell-derived Sensory Neurons
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$322,088.00
Summary
A major challenge in treating neurodegenerative conditions with stem cells, is to generate a population of donor cells which are capable of incorporating into the host nervous system and restoring function. This proposal will test the capacity of human stem cells to make functional connections in the auditory system, potentially enhancing hearing with a cochlear implant. These studies are critical in determining how stem cells may be used to promote functional regeneration of the damaged nervous ....A major challenge in treating neurodegenerative conditions with stem cells, is to generate a population of donor cells which are capable of incorporating into the host nervous system and restoring function. This proposal will test the capacity of human stem cells to make functional connections in the auditory system, potentially enhancing hearing with a cochlear implant. These studies are critical in determining how stem cells may be used to promote functional regeneration of the damaged nervous system.Read moreRead less
Gene Therapy For Preventing Progressive Sensorineural Hearing Loss And Restoring Hearing
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$549,848.00
Summary
This proposal aims to study the clinical feasibility and safety of gene therapy in the guinea pig cochlea for preventing progressive hearing loss and restoring hearing. Two cell survival genes (GDNF and BDNF) will be studied for preserving sensory (hair) cells and hearing nerves, while a gene called Atoh1 will be investigated for its ability to regenerate new hair cells and restore hearing after the onset of progressive hearing loss.
Network Properties Of Colour Pathways In Primates.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$594,891.00
Summary
This project concerns the way in which the eye and brain work together, to enable perception of the colour, form, and movements of objects in the visual world. It is thought that these different attributes of the visual environment are signalled by several parallel nerve pathways in the visual system, but the nature of the neuronal code carried by these pathways remains poorly understood. The aim of our project is to address this basic question, in experimental studies of the intact primate visu ....This project concerns the way in which the eye and brain work together, to enable perception of the colour, form, and movements of objects in the visual world. It is thought that these different attributes of the visual environment are signalled by several parallel nerve pathways in the visual system, but the nature of the neuronal code carried by these pathways remains poorly understood. The aim of our project is to address this basic question, in experimental studies of the intact primate visual system. We plan two sets of experiments. Firstly, we will test the hypothesis that signals for both high-acuity form vision and red-green colour vision can be carried along a single neuronal pathway. We will determine whether response timing in nerve pathways provides a clue by which colour and brightness variation in the environment can be discriminated. Secondly, we will study the segregation of colour and acuity-related signals in the brain, using the method of functional optical imaging. This method, which allows nerve activity to be monitored at high resolution, over relatively large areas of the brain surface (cortex), will allow us test the hypothesis that colour signals are segregated to distinct regions of the visual cortex. These experiments address basic questions, but have application to human vision and visual dysfunction. Good acuity is essential for everyday tasks such as reading, and specific defects in colour vision are used for early detection of neurological dysfunction in diseases such as glaucoma and multiple sclerosis. Understanding the properties of neurons which underlie visual perception can thus help us to understand normal visual performance, and to develop better methods for detection and treatments for such disorders.Read moreRead less
Opening Windows To The Listening Brain: Developing Objective Measures Of Hearing Acuity In The Human Brain.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$319,329.00
Summary
Up to 160,000 Australians are un-employed due to hearing impairment, costing an estimated $12 billion per year. I will undertake systematic research which will result in EEG-based clinical tools designed to measure the reliability and acuity with which brainstem and brain structures are able to encode fine details in sounds. These tools will improve diagnostic and prognostic tests, especially for clinicians and parents of infants diagnosed with auditory neuropathies.