CENTRAL AUDITORY FUNCTION IN ADULTS WITH HEARING LOSS

描述：（由申请人提供）我们研究的长期目标是 理解个体言语感知的广泛差异， 助听器和人工耳蜗植入物的听力损失患者， 临床医生面临的重大挑战。我们知道言语感知 反映在听觉通路生理学中。在听觉皮层，时间， 强度和频率线索由皮层神经活动表示， 最终与知觉表现有关。尽管我们可以评估 声音的感知，更少的是了解潜在的神经生理学， 中央听觉系统具体而言，本研究中的实验是 设计来测试假设，有不同的音调， 组织和不对称激活模式的中枢听觉 系统对语音感知的好坏有影响。 为了完成我们的研究，我们将使用多学科的方法， 结合了结果、神经生理学和功能性磁共振成像 （fMRI）在正常的听众和听力损失的个人。等措施 诱发电位本质上依赖于神经同步， 我们来评估神经编码的关键组成部分。神经影像 技术，如功能磁共振成像，可以产生不同的局部图像对应于 听觉皮层激活最后，我们将使用功能性磁共振成像， 音调组织模式可以被识别并与语音相关 具有无磁耳蜗植入物的耳蜗植入物接受者的感知 系统 总的来说，这项研究不仅可以更好地了解 生理学的听觉皮层，而且也更好地了解 音调组织和半球差异的功能意义， 听力正常者和听力损失者。

DESCRIPTION: (provided by applicant) The long-term objective of our research is to understand the wide variation in speech perception of individuals with hearing loss who are candidates for hearing aids or cochlear implants, an important challenge that confronts clinicians. We know that speech perception is reflected in auditory pathway physiology. In the auditory cortex, timing, intensity and frequency cues are represented by cortical neural activity and ultimately linked to perceptual performance. Although we can assess the perception of sounds, much less is known about the underlying neurophysiology of the central auditory system. Specifically, the experiments in this study are designed to test the hypotheses that there are differences in the tonotopic organization and the asymmetric activation patterns of the central auditory system in good and poor perceivers of speech. To accomplish our research, we will use a multidisciplinary approach that combines outcome, neurophysiology and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in normal listeners and individuals with hearing loss. Measures such as evoked potentials, which are inherently dependent upon neural synchrony, allow us to evaluate the critical components of neural encoding. Neuroimaging techniques such as fMRI, can produce distinct localized images corresponding to auditory cortex activation. Finally, using fMRI, we will investigate whether tonotopic organizational patterns can be identified and relate to speech perception for cochlear implant recipients with a magnetless cochlear implant system. Overall, this research will not only result in a better understanding of the physiology of the auditory cortex, but also a better understanding of the functional significance of tonotopic organization and hemispheric differences in both normal hearing listeners and those with hearing loss.