|
|
|
|
Past Grant Recipients by Year
2005
2004
2003
2002
2005 Research Awards
Researcher: Huiming Zhang
Institution: Carleton University
Title: Corticocollicular projections and associated neurotransmitter receptors: Implications for central auditory processing disorders
Summary: Listening to a sound (e.g. a voice or music) requires an active process in which we can focus on a sound of interest and exclude other distracting signals. Thus, hearing does not only involve sending sound information from the ears to the central brain (in what we call the ascending pathways), but also involves the central brain controlling or gating what gets through to the highest levels. These gating mechanisms are accomplished, in part, by descending auditory pathways in the brain. In this project we are studying certain aspects of this important pathway and in particular, the mechanisms by which nerve cells in the system transmit signals.
Researcher: Stephen Lomber, PhD
Institution: University of Western Ontario
Title: Maximizing the benefit of cochlear implant: Is earlier always better, or is there an optimal period?
Summary: Cochlear implants are new types of hearing aids that can benefit patients who have severe or profound hearing loss. This project concerns the areas of the brain which deal with auditory processing, and looks into how such areas can adapt or develop processing ability when sound is presented through a cochlear implant device. This study is an exploration of the way in which the auditory areas of the cortex (the highest auditory areas in the brain) can represent or be activated by the electrical signals that are sent through a cochlear implant. The work will help us develop a new generation of cochlear implants, which may provide greater benefit than those presently used.
Researcher: Claude Alain, PhD
Title: Neuro-anatomical correlates of age-related changes in central auditory processing
Institution: Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care
Summary: When we hear sounds (e.g. voices or music, street sounds) we do so together with other sensory inputs, in particular, vision. Being aware of an environment involves the integration of information from all the senses. As the brain ages, the ability to integrate these various stimuli can deteriorate. The ability of central auditory areas to identify and process sound information is reduced. One way of investigating the brain and its aging process is to use new brain imaging methods. This project will explore how the nerve cells in the brain change function with age. A further understanding of what happens to auditory processing in the aging brain will be useful in the prevention of hearing loss or in habilitation programs for the elderly.
Researcher: Susan D. Scollie, PhD
Title: Sound localization and discrimination abilities of hearing impaired children
Institution: University of Western Ontario
Summary: In addition to its ability to hear sounds and identify them, the auditory system can also determine where the sound originates from. Sound localization is very important. For example, when we are talking to somebody in a noisy room, the ability to localize the source of sound helps to make that particular voice clear. This aspect of hearing has been largely ignored in the assessment of hearing loss in subjects. In this project, the ability of children with various types of hearing loss to localize sound is being assessed. This work is very important in determining what deficits in sound localization might exist, and the information may be useful in providing to providing habilitation for children with hearing loss, and perhaps also in the design of new hearing aids that can provide better sound localization.
Researcher: Shu Hui Wu, MD
Institution: Carleton University
Title: The effects of hearing loss on biophysical properties and synaptic transmission of neurons in the auditory midbrain
Summary: The brain pathways that transmit sound information from the ears to the central parts of the brain undergo an early developmental phase during which many things can interfere with or change normal development. One of the important transmission areas en-route is the midbrain region. In this study, the way in which nerve cells transmit information in the midbrain region is being investigated. We are asking whether during early developmental periods, there are particular changes to the way in which nerve cells communicate. The work will tell us not only more about how the normal auditory brain system develops, but also what sort of deficiencies can arise because of hearing loss at an early age.
2004 Research Awards
Researcher: Terence Picton, PhD
Institution: Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care
Project: The effects of stimulus rates on the human auditory steady-state response
Summary: Newborn hearing screening programs indicate whether or not a hearing loss is present. To plan effective treatment, the amount of loss at particular frequencies and the amount of compensatory amplification required must be determined. The development of new techniques using the multiple auditory steady-state evoked response to measure temporal modulation transfer functions is proposed. To establish age norms for optimum stimulus modulation rates and to improve the efficacy and accuracy of infant hearing tests.
Researchers: Navid Shahnaz, PhD; and Co-investigator: David Stapells, PhD
Institution: University of British Columbia
Project: Investigating the mechano-acoustical properties of normal and diseased middle-ear in newborns
Summary: Otitis media is the most common childhood illness globally. If undiagnosed it can affect general health as well as speech and language development. Current infant screening protocols do not distinguish conductive from sensorineural loss. We propose to define the mechano-acoustic properties of middle-ear structures in normal and diseased newborns, and to develop diagnostic procedures. We hope to provide guidelines for developing effective and non-invasive procedures to detect middle-ear infection in newborns, leading to improved treatment protocols.
Researcher: Jun Yan, MD
Institution: Department of physiology & biophysics, University of Calgary
Project: Neural mechanisms of learning-induced auditory plasticity: The role of cortical acetylcholine and corticofugal modulation
Summary: The ability of neural pathways in the cortex to re-form (we examine the role of plasticity) is fundamental to auditory learning. The proposal will examine the role of the cortical cholinergic system and corticofugal projections in auditory learning induced plasticity by mapping changes to the frequency tuning of cortical and midbrain neurons to electrical stimulation of forebrain paired with tonal stimuli. We hope to increase understanding of the neural mechanisms of auditory learning.
Researcher: Jack Kelly, PhD
Institution: Department of psychology, Carleton University
Project: Auditory temporal processing disorders
Summary: Cerebral damage associated with stroke can result in central auditory processing disorders. The effect of stroke on behavioural test outcomes of auditory discrimination tasks requiring fine temporal processing (speech perception, recognition of complex sounds, ability to hear sounds in a noisy environment) is examined with the goal to increase understanding of central processing disorders which can disrupt speech perception.
Researcher: Manohar Bance, MSc, FRCS(C)
Co-investigator: Rene van Wijhe
Institution: Department of surgery, Dalhousie University
Project: Stapes piston parameters affecting acoustic energy transmission into the inner ear in a cadaveric human middle ear model
Summary: Some middle ear diseases can “fix” the stapes, preventing sound transmission to the inner ear. Stapedotomy surgery bypasses the non-functional pathway with a piston prosthesis. We study study piston parameters that affect acoustic energy transmission (in particular, diameter and mass). We hope to determine the optimal parameters with which to maximize energy transmission. We will also perform a comparison of the effectiveness of commercially available prostheses.
2003 Research Awards
Researcher: Dietrich Schwarz , MD
Institution: University of British Columbia
Project: An EEG Test for Tinnitus
Summary: Patients with hearing loss often suffer from severe ringing in the ears (tinnitus), which may be worse than deafness itself. Doctors have no method for an objective assessment of tinnitus and are, therefore, unable to monitor, objectively, the success of an attempted therapy. In fact, there is no generally accepted therapy. We believe we can develop an objective diagnostic test for tinnitus because we know that the brain produces electrical oscillations (brain waves) whenever a sound is perceived. We will analyze the electrical brain waves produced by tinnitus itself and determine how they change electrical responses of the brain to normal sounds. We hope to develop an electrical brain wave signature of tinnitus that can be used to measure this disturbing sensation, and to assess the effect that a treatment, e.g. a new drug, may have.
Researchers: David Purcell, PhD and Terence Picton, PhD
Institution: Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care
Project: Estimating Processing Delays in the Human Auditory System
Summary: In this research, we investigate how the ear and brain hear sound. By playing sounds to a listener, we can measure the ear's response to that sound using a small microphone placed in the ear canal. We can also record the brain's response to the same sound using sensors placed on the scalp. By combining these two types of measurements, we can calculate how long it takes the ear and brain to process sound. This will help us understand normal hearing, and improve our ability to recognize and treat hearing problems.
Researcher: Claude Alain, PhD and Bruce Schneider, PhD
Institution: Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care
Project: Aging and the Perceptual Separation of Sounds in the Human Auditory Cortex
Summary: In this research program, we will record the electrical brain activity that is generated when we listen to sounds. The goal is to relate a participant's perception of sounds with specific patterns of brain activity, and to assess the effects of age on sound perception. These recordings will help us to understand how we perceive auditory events such as speech perception, and whether the brain is differently active in younger and older adults. Improvement in diagnosis, rehabilitation techniques, and hearing aids can be made by learning what cues are most important and salient for older adults when confronted with complex auditory scenes.
Researcher: Sylvie Hébert, PhD and Sonia Lupien, PhD
Institution: Université de Montréal
Project: The role of Cortisol in Normal and Pathological Audition, with a Special Attention to Tinnitus
Summary: Cortisol is a hormone that is naturally secreted by the body in response to stress. Long-term effects of abnormally high levels of cortisol are damaging and associated with disease. Past research has demonstrated the involvement of cortisol in audition. Our proposal aims to gain a better understanding of the role of cortisol in audition by integrating both normal and pathological aspects of audition (in particular, hearing loss and tinnitus) into a single, coherent framework.
Researcher: David Brown, PhD and Dennis Phillips, PhD
Institution: University of Calgary and Dalhousie University
Project: Auditory Temporal Processing Disorders in Developmental Language Delay
Summary: Our very broad, long-term goal is to aid in the remediation of children who have central auditory processing problems that are linked to developmental language delay. Until recently, children with developmental language delay were thought to have an isolated disorder specifically of language processing. It has now become clear that many of these children also have some kind of impairment in the perception of sounds in which the timing of acoustic events is important. There is, however, much debate over the generality of this association and over the question of whether the auditory temporal processing problem is causally related to language delay. The difficulty is that both auditory temporal processing and developmental language delay are umbrella terms, so it is difficult to know whether the same kinds of children are being studied, or whether the same temporal processes are being explored, in current research. The purpose of the present study is to resolve this issue by carefully studying performance on a broad range of auditory temporal processing tasks by a broad range of children with learning disabilities. This will enable us to determine which kinds of language-learning impairment have correlates in impaired auditory processing, and which kinds of auditory temporal processing operations are impaired.
Researcher: Shu Hui Wu, MD
Institution: Carleton University
Project: The role of GABA Receptors in Auditory Processing
Summary: A better understanding of the synaptic physiology and pharmacology of the central auditory system will lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of hearing disorders of central origin. The great progress over the last several decades in dealing with peripheral hearing loss is due largely to advances in understanding the cochlea and its function. Similar advances in understanding the role of the central nervous system in processing auditory information will provide solutions to problems associated with sensorineural hearing disorders. The proposed research will contribute to this effort by providing a basic understanding of the physiological role of GABA receptors in the central auditory system. The outcome of the proposed research will be to improve our understanding of the neuronal mechanisms of auditory information processing, and suggest guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of sensorineural hearing loss.
2002 Research Awards
Researcher: Jos Eggermont, PhD
Institution: University of Calgary
Project: Auditory cortical plasticity following profound unilateral deafness as shown by evoked potentials and functional MRI
Summary: To use brain imaging techniques (MRI) in subjects with hearing loss and to follow the changes to the brain areas associated with hearing during the use of hearing aids or during various habilitation therapies.
Researcher: Claude Alain, PhD
Institution: University of Toronto
Project: Auditory temporal processing: an event-related brain potential study
Summary: Using brain recording techniques including MEG, we will explore the auditory areas involved in both simple and complex hearing tasks, such as speech understanding.
Researcher: Jack Kelly, PhD
Institution: Carleton University
Project: Synaptic Regulation of Auditory Responses
Summary: This is a basic science project, which explores the way in which various chemical messengers mediate the transmission of information between brain cells in the auditory areas of the brain.
Researcher: David Brown, PhD
Institution: University of Calgary
Project: A comparison of pure tone thresholds obtained with steady-state evoked potentials and standard audiometry
Summary: The project comprises the evaluation of a novel method (SSEP) for accurate diagnosis of hearing loss in very young children in a later part of the screening process.
Researcher: Benoit Jutras, PhD
Institution: University of Montreal
Project: Auditory sequential organization and hearing loss
Summary: The ability to keep sequences of sound elements in proper order is essential for understanding and producing speech. This study will explore the degradation of these processes in children with hearing loss.
Researcher: Adrian James, MD
Institution: University of Toronto
Project: Comparison of a novel hearing screening device (VIV) 200 DPS) and the Ontario screener; the correlation between pass-fail decision and audiogram
Summary: A new method for testing hearing in babies which was developed at U of T will be compared to current "standard" methods in order to verify its utility for neonatal hearing screening.
Researcher: David Shipp
Institution: Sunnybrook & Women's Health Sciences Centre
Project: Cost-utility analysis of deaf adults treated with a cochlear implant
Summary: In the context of health care economics, the quality of life and societal benefits of cochlear implantation in adults and the associated fiscal impacts on Canadian society will be considered. |
|
|
|