Hyperacusis and Central Gain

描述（由申请人提供）：由于强噪声暴露和耳毒性药物导致的听力损失大大降低了耳蜗的神经输出。尽管耳蜗输出减少，但中枢听觉通路中的神经活动在指示增强的中枢增益的阈上强度下常常变得过度活跃。增强的中央增益被认为是听觉过敏的原因，听觉过敏是一种情况，在这种情况下，听众每天都会听到难以忍受的声音，甚至是痛苦的声音。本项目的目标是：（1）确定增强的中央增益是否负责听觉过敏的时间和频谱特征，（2）确定声学环境（声音丰富/剥夺）如何调节听觉过敏/响度增长和中央增益，以及（3）确定5-羟色胺和GABA激动剂/拮抗剂如何影响听觉过敏和中央增益。这些研究将增加我们对听觉过敏的神经机制的理解，并测试药物治疗听觉过敏的疗效。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Hearing loss from intense noise exposure and ototoxic drugs greatly reduces the neural output of the cochlea. Despite a reduced cochlear output, neural activity in the central auditory pathway often becomes hyperactive at suprathreshold intensities indicative of Enhanced Central Gain. Enhanced Central Gain is believed to be responsible for hyperacusis, a condition in which listeners experience everyday sounds as unbearably loud or even painful. The goals of this project are: (1) Determine if Enhanced Central Gain is responsible for the temporal and spectral features of hyperacusis, (2) Determine how the acoustic environment (sound enrichment/deprivation) modulates hyperacusis/loudness growth and Central Gain and (3) Determine how serotonin and GABA agonists/antagonists affect hyperacusis and Central Gain. The proposed studies will increase our understanding of the neural mechanisms of hyperacusis and test the efficacy of pharmacological agents to treat hyperacusis.