Seminars in Hearing Research at Purdue (SHRP)

Title:  Linking Perceptual Performance with Cochlear Histopathology in Two Nonhuman Primate Models of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Speaker: Jane Burton, AuD (PhD Candidate, Neuroscience Graduate Program, Vanderbilt University)

Date: March 5, 2020

Time: 10:30 – 11:20 am

Location: LYLE 1150

Abstract: 

Hearing loss causes perceptual deficits relating to spectral, temporal, and spatial processing, which have been well characterized in humans. However, these deficits are quite variable among individuals, even those with similar clinical audiometric presentations. Some of this variability may be due to differences in underlying cochlear pathology, specifically differences in the loss of inner and outer hair cells and ribbon synapses. Identifying behavioral assays sensitive to these histopathological differences will improve clinical diagnostics, especially for patients with hearing difficulties that are currently undetected with standard diagnostic tools. In order to directly examine the relationship between cochlear pathology and perceptual deficits, we employed a comprehensive behavioral test battery that probed hearing sensitivity and spectral, temporal, and spatial processing in our macaque models of noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and noise-induced synaptopathy (SYN). We identified distinct patterns of perceptual deficits that differentially predicted the type (SNHL vs. SYN), frequency range, and, to some extent, the severity of noise-induced cochlear pathology. These findings provide an essential and direct link between cochlear pathophysiology and the perceptual consequences of hearing loss, elevating the specificity of clinical diagnostics as a foundation for forthcoming therapeutic treatment options.

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The working schedule for the year:

https://purdue.edu/TPAN/hearing/shrp_schedule

The titles and abstracts of the talks will be updated here:

https://purdue.edu/TPAN/hearing/shrp_abstracts