Binaural hearing allows accurate and precise localization of sounds, and also confers advantages in complex environments such as workplaces, classrooms, restaurants, etc. where competing speech streams, noisy backgrounds, and reverberation abound. Unfortunately, an increasing population, spanning infancy through elderly and of diverse etiology, experiences severe difficulty in such environments despite having normal audiometric thresholds. Such difficulties are a hallmark of Central Auditory Processing Disorder, CAPD, which refers to difficulties in processing acoustic information in the central auditory system as demonstrated by poor hearing performance, often specifically in binaural hearing tasks. CAPD-like challenges can emerge as a result of temporary conductive hearing loss, aging, traumatic brain injury, autism, neurodegenerative diseases (multiple sclerosis) and use of bilateral clinical devices (hearing aids, cochlear implants). The consequences of CAPD can be severe; in children, CAPD impacts speech and language learning and academic performance and in adults, quality of life, job performance, fitness for duty, social interactions, etc. Regardless of etiology, a major limitation in CAPD is that clinical diagnosis is based on a cluster of symptoms, many of which overlap with other developmental disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities and language deficits. Moreover, behavioral assessments of auditory processing, particularly in children and elderly, have poor reliability with scores often reflecting higher-level cognitive or analytical processes rather than basic auditory sensory processing. Thus, early intervention and implementation of rehabilitation strategies in CAPD patients is precluded. A potential way to surmount this barrier is to use non-invasive electrophysiological measures. Auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) are used worldwide for newborn and adult hearing screening. Because different ABR waves broadly represent activity within different parts of the auditory pathway, it is possible to assess the functional state of distinct stages of the pathway using appropriate stimuli. Binaural stages can be assessed using the binaural interaction component (BIC) of the ABR. The BIC is the residual ABR obtained after subtracting the sum of monaurally- from binaurally-evoked ABRs. Prior research has identified the BIC as a potential biomarker for binaural ability. As the BIC can be measured using equipment and methods already available in most audiology clinics, its development as diagnostic tool could have immediate and widespread clinical value. However, while comparative studies have reported robust BIC in a variety of model species, reports of human BIC are perplexingly variable and unreliable. The proposed research comprises three Aims to establish a comprehensive understanding of the BIC, including 1) identification of its brainstem circuit origin, 2) identification of sources of variability across mammalian species including humans, 3) identification of best practices in human BIC measurement, and assessment of the BIC as a biomarker for predicting meaningful aspects of human binaural perception.

Public Health Relevance

An ever increasing population, spanning infancy through the elderly and of diverse etiology - despite having normal audiometric thresholds - experiences severe difficulty in aurally communicating in complex environments such as workplaces, classrooms, and restaurants where competing speech streams, noisy backgrounds, and reverberation abound. A major challenge is how to identify and treat such individuals as current clinical diagnosis is based on a cluster of symptoms, many of which overlap with other developmental disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities and language deficits. In this proposal we investigate an objective and non-invasively measured neurophysiological biomarker to detect disturbances in hearing functionality that is easy to administer to subjects with wide-ranging conditions.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01DC011555-06
Application #
9402002
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1)
Program Officer
Poremba, Amy
Project Start
2011-12-09
Project End
2022-06-30
Budget Start
2017-07-01
Budget End
2018-06-30
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Colorado Denver
Department
Physiology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
041096314
City
Aurora
State
CO
Country
United States
Zip Code
80045
Benichoux, Victor; Ferber, Alexander; Hunt, Samuel et al. (2018) Across Species ""Natural Ablation"" Reveals the Brainstem Source of a Noninvasive Biomarker of Binaural Hearing. J Neurosci 38:8563-8573
Brown, Andrew D; Benichoux, Victor; Jones, Heath G et al. (2018) Spatial variation in signal and sensory precision both constrain auditory acuity at high frequencies. Hear Res 370:65-73
Greene, Nathaniel T; Anbuhl, Kelsey L; Ferber, Alexander T et al. (2018) Spatial hearing ability of the pigmented Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus): Minimum audible angle and spatial release from masking in azimuth. Hear Res 365:62-76
Ashida, Go; Tollin, Daniel J; Kretzberg, Jutta (2017) Physiological models of the lateral superior olive. PLoS Comput Biol 13:e1005903
Benichoux, Victor; Brown, Andrew D; Anbuhl, Kelsey L et al. (2017) Representation of Multidimensional Stimuli: Quantifying the Most Informative Stimulus Dimension from Neural Responses. J Neurosci 37:7332-7346
Anbuhl, Kelsey L; Benichoux, Victor; Greene, Nathaniel T et al. (2017) Development of the head, pinnae, and acoustical cues to sound location in a precocial species, the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus). Hear Res 356:35-50
Laumen, Geneviève; Tollin, Daniel J; Beutelmann, Rainer et al. (2016) Aging effects on the binaural interaction component of the auditory brainstem response in the Mongolian gerbil: Effects of interaural time and level differences. Hear Res 337:46-58
Brown, Andrew D; Tollin, Daniel J (2016) Slow Temporal Integration Enables Robust Neural Coding and Perception of a Cue to Sound Source Location. J Neurosci 36:9908-21
Ferber, Alexander T; Benichoux, Victor; Tollin, Daniel J (2016) Test-Retest Reliability of the Binaural Interaction Component of the Auditory Brainstem Response. Ear Hear 37:e291-301
Ashida, Go; Kretzberg, Jutta; Tollin, Daniel J (2016) Roles for Coincidence Detection in Coding Amplitude-Modulated Sounds. PLoS Comput Biol 12:e1004997

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