The main goal of the proposed research is to provide a more complete assessment of hearing in the Belgian Waterslager canary. This strain of canary has a hereditary hearing loss associated with missing and damaged hair cells. Little is known about how these hair cell abnormalities affect hearing, other than elevating pure tone thresholds, particularly at high frequencies. In the present study, psychoacoustic methods will be used to investigate hearing abilities in Belgian Waterslager and normal hearing canaries. In a series of behavioral experiments, I will assess frequency analysis, temporal processing, and perception of vocalizations. The performance of Belgian Waterslager canaries on these tasks will be compared to the performance of normal hearing canaries. In addition, I will investigate the behavioral effects of hair cell damage and regeneration after noise exposure in these birds, followed by an anatomical study of the basilar papillae. What makes canaries especially interesting subjects for hearing experiments is that they have been used in many behavioral and neurobiological studies of vocal learning and neurogenesis. Thus, the proposed experiments will increase our understanding of the functional consequences of hearing impairment in these birds, and of hearing impairment in general.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F31)
Project #
5F31DC005450-02
Application #
6640560
Study Section
Communication Disorders Review Committee (CDRC)
Program Officer
Sklare, Dan
Project Start
2002-09-01
Project End
2005-06-30
Budget Start
2003-07-01
Budget End
2004-06-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$30,712
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Maryland College Park
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
790934285
City
College Park
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
20742
Lauer, Amanda M; Dooling, Robert J; Leek, Marjorie R (2009) Psychophysical evidence of damaged active processing mechanisms in Belgian Waterslager Canaries. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 195:193-202
Lauer, Amanda M; Dooling, Robert J; Leek, Marjorie R et al. (2007) Detection and discrimination of simple and complex sounds by hearing-impaired Belgian Waterslager canaries. J Acoust Soc Am 122:3615-27
Lauer, Amanda M; Dooling, Robert J; Leek, Marjorie R et al. (2006) Phase effects in masking by harmonic complexes in birds. J Acoust Soc Am 119:1251-9