Determination of the nature of the transduction, encoding, processing, and perception of complex biologically significant signals is our major objective. An interdisciplinary approach to such a problem is essential. Investigators trained in different disciplines combine their talents in direct cooperation and form three closely integrated and collaborative projects to define and analyze the major events from acoustic activation of inner ear receptors to perception. The objectives are approached by experiments on: (1) biochemical and immunological characteristics of auditory receptor cells that determine the molecular events involved in transduction; (2) electrophysiological features of hair cells and central auditory cells from cochlear nucleus to auditory cortex that determine encoding and processing; and (3) behavioral responses that reflect perceptual capacities of the auditory system for the identification, discrimination, and classification of these complex signals. These projects are designed to yield information on the reception, processing and perception of complex signals at three levels of analysis. Data from each level of analysis impacts on the definition of experimental questions in the other projects. The result will be a comprehensive view of the auditory system characteristics that underlie perception of speech. The research group including specialized personnel in biochemistry, immunology, neuropharmacology, electrophysiology, psychoacoustics, bioengineering, and animal behavior provides a critical mass for the conceptualization and design of these studies. The Hearing Institute as a facility with appropriate laboratories, technical and support capabilities provides the ideal means for conduct of these studies. This program will represent the core focus of this institute and its professional personnel. This focus on this fundamental problem of audition is timely. The program represents a new direction for this group and is unique to the field. Clear and important clinical relevance of this program lies in the specification and definition of unique events in auditory processing of complex signals, which will lead to improved designs for speech processors for cochlear prostheses and hearing aids, and a clearer understanding of the basis and course of speech discrimination deficits with sensorineural hearing loss.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Research Program Projects (P01)
Project #
5P01DC000078-25
Application #
3094741
Study Section
Communicative Disorders Review Committee (CDR)
Project Start
1977-09-01
Project End
1991-08-31
Budget Start
1989-09-01
Budget End
1990-08-31
Support Year
25
Fiscal Year
1989
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
791277940
City
Ann Arbor
State
MI
Country
United States
Zip Code
48109
Stefanescu, Roxana A; Koehler, Seth D; Shore, Susan E (2015) Stimulus-timing-dependent modifications of rate-level functions in animals with and without tinnitus. J Neurophysiol 113:956-70
Basura, Gregory J; Koehler, Seth D; Shore, Susan E (2015) Bimodal stimulus timing-dependent plasticity in primary auditory cortex is altered after noise exposure with and without tinnitus. J Neurophysiol 114:3064-75
Le Prell, Colleen G; Hughes, Larry F; Bledsoe Jr, Sanford C (2014) Dynorphin release by the lateral olivocochlear efferents may inhibit auditory nerve activity: a cochlear drug delivery study. Neurosci Lett 571:17-22
Le Prell, Colleen G; Dolan, David F; Hughes, Larry F et al. (2014) Disruption of lateral olivocochlear neurons with a dopaminergic neurotoxin depresses spontaneous auditory nerve activity. Neurosci Lett 582:54-8
Koehler, Seth D; Shore, Susan E (2013) Stimulus-timing dependent multisensory plasticity in the guinea pig dorsal cochlear nucleus. PLoS One 8:e59828
Basura, Gregory J; Koehler, Seth D; Shore, Susan E (2012) Multi-sensory integration in brainstem and auditory cortex. Brain Res 1485:95-107
Dehmel, Susanne; Pradhan, Shashwati; Koehler, Seth et al. (2012) Noise overexposure alters long-term somatosensory-auditory processing in the dorsal cochlear nucleus--possible basis for tinnitus-related hyperactivity? J Neurosci 32:1660-71
Koehler, Seth D; Pradhan, Shashwati; Manis, Paul B et al. (2011) Somatosensory inputs modify auditory spike timing in dorsal cochlear nucleus principal cells. Eur J Neurosci 33:409-20
Bledsoe Jr, Sanford C; Koehler, Seth; Tucci, Debara L et al. (2009) Ventral cochlear nucleus responses to contralateral sound are mediated by commissural and olivocochlear pathways. J Neurophysiol 102:886-900
Skjonsberg, Asa; Halsey, Karin; Ulfendahl, Mats et al. (2007) Exploring efferent-mediated DPOAE adaptation in three different guinea pig strains. Hear Res 224:27-33

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