NEONATAL DEVELOPMENT OF AUDITORY RESPONSIVENESS

这项研究计划的目标仍然是 全面、系统和参数评估 在适当的动物模型中发展听觉感知。通过 能够在心理声学方面做出仔细的测量 我们希望极大地扩展关于新生儿发展的知识 听觉的正常发育，与 其他生理和解剖学研究，极大地扩展了我们的 对结构与功能关系的认识 发育中的听觉系统。 这项提案的主要部分继续受到控制 不同阈值如何随时间变化的心理物理学研究 出生后的头几天。自适应程序和信号 检测分析将用于评估频率和 新生儿的时间分辨率。具体来说，这些实验 包括单音、凹陷噪声和带限掩码 功能；间隙检测、调频和幅度- 调制阈值；强度差异限制；和绝对 自然主义刺激的门槛。 第二部分继续使用多维数据的实验 调整程序以产生新生儿如何反应的“地图” 更复杂的听觉刺激。 总之，这些实验提供了一种独特而有价值的 仔细记录不断变化的听觉感知的机会 正在发育中的新生儿。除了为我们的 了解正常听力这一课题的研究应该 也帮助我们了解异常发育可能会导致 沟通障碍。

The objective of this research program continues to be a comprehensive, systematic, and parametric evaluation of developing auditory perception in an appropriate animal model. By being able to make careful psychoacoustical measures in a developing neonate we hope to greatly extend knowledge about the normal development of auditory perception, and by comparison with other physiological and anatomical research, greatly extend our knowledge about the relationship between structure and function in the developing auditory system. The main section of this proposal continues controlled psychophysical studies of how various thresholds change over the first few postnatal days. Adaptive procedures and signal detection analyses will be used to evaluate both frequency and temporal resolution in neonates. Specifically, these experiments involve tone-on-tone, notched-noise, and band-limited masking functions; gap-detection, frequency-modulation, and amplitude- modulation thresholds; intensity difference limens; and absolute thresholds to a naturalistic stimulus. A secondary section continues experiments that use multidimensional scaling procedures to produce "maps" of how neonates respond to more complex auditory stimuli. In conclusion, these experiments provide a unique and valuable opportunity to carefully document changing auditory perceptions in a developing neonate. In addition to contributing to our understanding of normal hearing this program of research should also help us understand how abnormal development may lead to communicative disorders.