Sound localization critically relies on brainstem neurons that compare information from the two ears. The conventional role of the lateral superior olive (LSO) is extraction of intensity differences; however, it is increasingly clear that relative…
Located in the midbrain, the inferior colliculus (IC) plays an essential role in many auditory computations, including speech processing and sound localization. The right and left sides of the IC are interconnected by a dense fiber tract, the…
Sound localization critically relies on brainstem neurons that compare information from the two ears. The conventional role of the lateral superior olive (LSO) is extraction of intensity differences; however, it is increasingly clear that relative…
Sound localization critically relies on brainstem neurons that compare information from the two ears. The conventional role of the lateral superior olive (LSO) is extraction of intensity differences; however, it is increasingly clear that relative…
Little is known about the functions of group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs2/3) in the inferior colliculus (IC)-a midbrain structure that is a major integration region of the central auditory system. We investigated how these receptors…
One emerging concept in neuroscience states that synaptic vesicles and the molecular machinery underlying spontaneous transmitter release are different from those underlying action potential-driven synchronized transmitter release. Differential…
The inferior colliculus processes nearly all ascending auditory information. Most collicular cells respond to sound, and for a majority of these cells, the responses can be modulated by acetylcholine (ACh). The cholinergic effects are varied and, for…
Using morpholino antisense oligonucleotide (MO) technology, we blocked leptin A or leptin receptor expression in embryonic zebrafish, and analyzed consequences of leptin A knock-down on fish development. Embryos injected with leptin A or leptin…
Located in the midbrain, the inferior colliculus (IC) is the hub of the central auditory system. Although the IC plays important roles in speech processing, sound localization, and other auditory computations, the organization of the IC…
PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of 2 noise reduction techniques on the auditory brainstem response (ABR). METHOD: ABRs of 20 normal hearing adults were recorded during quiet and active behavioral conditions using 2 stimulus intensity levels. Wave V…
Otosclerosis often occurs as a unilateral mixed or conductive hearing loss. In the absence of retrocochlear findings, otologists usually do not pursue further diagnostic testing. A patient who presented to the Warren Otologic Group with a unilateral…
In the inferior colliculus (IC) cells integrate inhibitory input from the brainstem and excitatory input from both the brainstem and auditory cortex. In order to understand how these inputs are integrated by IC cells identification of their synaptic…
Perineuronal nets (PNs) are aggregates of extracellular matrix that have been associated with neuronal plasticity, critical periods, fast-spiking cells and protection from oxidative stress. Although PNs have been reported in the auditory system in…
The midbrain tegmentum is the source of cholinergic innervation of the thalamus and has been associated with arousal and control of the sleep/wake cycle. In general, the innervation arises bilaterally from the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPT)…
In childhood, partial hearing loss can produce prolonged deficits in speech perception and temporal processing. However, early therapeutic interventions targeting temporal processing may improve later speech-related outcomes. Gap detection is a…
UNLABELLED: Inhibition plays an important role in shaping responses to stimuli throughout the CNS, including in the inferior colliculus (IC), a major hub in both ascending and descending auditory pathways. Subdividing GABAergic cells has furthered…
We studied the functional properties and underlying neural mechanisms associated with inhibitory combination-sensitive neurons in the mustached bat's inferior colliculus (IC). In these neurons, the excitatory response to best frequency tones was…
In the cochlear nucleus (CN) of awake mustached bats, single- and two-tone stimuli were used to examine how responses in major CN subdivisions contribute to spectrotemporal integrative features in the inferior colliculus (IC). Across CN subdivisions,…
Responses of neurons to binaural, harmonic complex stimuli in urethane-anesthetized guinea pig inferior colliculus (IC) are reported. To assess the binaural integration of harmonicity cues for sound segregation and grouping, responses were measured…
Speech perception relies on the accurate resolution of brief, successive sounds that change rapidly over time. Deficits in the perception of such sounds, indicated by a reduced ability to detect signals during auditory backward masking, strongly…
PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of 2 noise reduction techniques on the auditory brainstem response (ABR). METHOD: ABRs of 20 normal hearing adults were recorded during quiet and active behavioral conditions using 2 stimulus intensity levels. Wave V…
In the mustached bat's central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC), many neurons display facilitatory or inhibitory responses when presented with two tones of distinctly different frequencies. Our previous studies have focused on spectral…
A primary axonal disease affecting the central and peripheral nervous system was discovered in a mutant strain of the Japanese quail, named quiver (Quv). We have previously demonstrated altered auditory evoked potentials in the neurofilament (NF)…
Bilateral bone-conducted auditory brainstem responses (BC-ABRs) were recorded in children with atresia of the external auditory canal bilaterally (AECB) in order to compare the response characteristics to normal hearing adults. The binaural…
BACKGROUND: Subjective tinnitus is a hearing disorder in which a person perceives sound when no external sound is present. It can be acute or chronic. Because our current understanding of its pathology is incomplete, no effective cures have yet been…
For decades, we have presumed the death of hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons are the main cause of hearing loss and difficulties understanding speech in noise, but new findings suggest synapse loss may be the key contributor. Specifically,…
The high prevalence of noise-induced and age-related hearing loss in the general population has warranted the use of animal models to study the etiology of these pathologies. Quick and accurate auditory threshold determination is a prerequisite for…
Neuregulin-1 (NRG1) ligand and its epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/ERBB family regulate normal cellular proliferation and differentiation in many tissues including the cochlea. Aberrant NRG1 and ERBB signaling cause significant hearing…
Tinnitus, the perception of a sound without an external acoustic source, is a complex perceptual phenomenon affecting the quality of life in 17% of the adult population. Despite its ubiquity and morbidity, the pathophysiology of tinnitus is a work in…
In the mustached bat, combination-sensitive neurons display integrative responses to combinations of acoustic elements in biosonar or social vocalizations. One type of combination-sensitive neuron responds to multiple harmonics of the…
