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Hearing Research Sep 2019This paper presents evidence for a strong connection between the development of speech and language skills and musical activities of children and adolescents with... (Review)
Review
This paper presents evidence for a strong connection between the development of speech and language skills and musical activities of children and adolescents with hearing impairment and/or cochlear implants. This conclusion is partially based on findings for typically hearing children and adolescents, showing better speech and language skills in children and adolescents with musical training, and importantly, showing increases of speech and language skills in children and adolescents taking part in musical training. Further, studies of hearing-impaired children show connections between musical skills, involvement in musical hobbies, and speech and language skills. Even though the field is still lacking large-scale randomised controlled trials on the effects of musical interventions on the speech and language skills of children and adolescents with hearing impairments and cochlear implants, the current evidence seems enough to urge speech therapists, music therapists, music teachers, parents, and children and adolescents with hearing impairments and/or cochlear implants to start using music for enhancing speech and language skills. For this reason, we give our recommendations on how to use music for language skill enhancement in this group.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Development; Age Factors; Auditory Pathways; Auditory Perception; Child; Child Language; Child, Preschool; Cochlear Implantation; Cochlear Implants; Combined Modality Therapy; Hearing; Hearing Disorders; Humans; Music Therapy; Persons With Hearing Impairments; Recovery of Function; Speech; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 31265971
DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2019.06.003 -
Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America Aug 2020This article reviews the use of human neuroimaging for chronic subjective tinnitus. Evidence-based guidance on the clinical use of imaging to identify relevant auditory... (Review)
Review
This article reviews the use of human neuroimaging for chronic subjective tinnitus. Evidence-based guidance on the clinical use of imaging to identify relevant auditory lesions when evaluating tinnitus patients is given. After introducing the anatomy and imaging modalities most pertinent to the neuroscience of tinnitus, the article reviews tinnitus-associated alterations in key auditory and nonauditory networks in the central nervous system. Emphasis is placed on how these findings support proposed models of tinnitus and how this line of investigation is relevant to practicing clinicians.
Topics: Auditory Pathways; Brain; Brain Mapping; Cochlea; Diagnostic Imaging; Humans; Neuroimaging; Neurosciences; Tinnitus
PubMed: 32471605
DOI: 10.1016/j.otc.2020.04.002 -
Laryngo- Rhino- Otologie Feb 2023Tinnitus is a highly prevalent symptom and a common reason for seeing an otolaryngologist. Since tinnitus can go hand in hand with hearing loss, the step-by-step...
Tinnitus is a highly prevalent symptom and a common reason for seeing an otolaryngologist. Since tinnitus can go hand in hand with hearing loss, the step-by-step clarification of hearing loss is one of the essential ENT examinations for tinnitus sufferers. The anamnesis and medical history are relevant, since a multidimensional interaction with the tinnitus can be important for the treatment, especially in the case of a psychological comorbidity. In the vast majority of patients, no causal factor can be found. In the absence of external stimuli, phantom perceptions of tones or noises are held responsible for subjective tinnitus, which probably arises from pathological changes of the auditory pathway, but also in non-auditory cortical structures. In the case of acute tinnitus, a comprehensive audiological assessment is needed, and if the hearing threshold is normal, counseling is the priority. The patient must be informed about the nature of these benign symptoms. So far, there is no acute therapy that has been proven to increase the probability of healing, i.e. the disappearance of the acute tinnitus. Only if the hearing threshold descended, for instance in case of sudden idiopathic hearing loss, therapy of the underlying disease can also lead to improvement or healing of the acute tinnitus. Counseling for chronic tinnitus with high burden is also about reducing exaggerated expectations of healing that cannot be fulfilled. The training of habituation strategies is important. The standard of therapy for chronic tinnitus with psychological strain represents cognitive behavioral therapy for dealing with the tinnitus in a beneficial way. Tinnitus is a symptom of a very heterogeneous group of patients. In the future, it is to be hoped that digital applications and interventions in particular will be evaluated in quality-controlled clinical studies in order to be able to further personalize patient therapy.
Topics: Humans; Tinnitus; Hearing; Hearing Loss, Sudden; Acoustic Stimulation; Auditory Pathways
PubMed: 36750113
DOI: 10.1055/a-1824-1658 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Jan 2020Humans and songbirds learn to sing or speak by listening to acoustic models, forming auditory templates, and then learning to produce vocalizations that match the... (Review)
Review
Humans and songbirds learn to sing or speak by listening to acoustic models, forming auditory templates, and then learning to produce vocalizations that match the templates. These taxa have evolved specialized telencephalic pathways to accomplish this complex form of vocal learning, which has been reported for very few other taxa. By contrast, the acoustic structure of most animal vocalizations is produced by species-specific vocal motor programmes in the brainstem that do not require auditory feedback. However, many mammals and birds can learn to fine-tune the acoustic features of inherited vocal motor patterns based upon listening to conspecifics or noise. These limited forms of vocal learning range from rapid alteration based on real-time auditory feedback to long-term changes of vocal repertoire and they may involve different mechanisms than complex vocal learning. Limited vocal learning can involve the brainstem, mid-brain and/or telencephalic networks. Understanding complex vocal learning, which underpins human speech, requires careful analysis of which species are capable of which forms of vocal learning. Selecting multiple animal models for comparing the neural pathways that generate these different forms of learning will provide a richer view of the evolution of complex vocal learning and the neural mechanisms that make it possible. This article is part of the theme issue 'What can animal communication teach us about human language?'
Topics: Animals; Auditory Pathways; Auditory Perception; Birds; Brain; Chiroptera; Feedback, Sensory; Humans; Learning; Neural Pathways; Songbirds; Speech; Vocalization, Animal
PubMed: 31735157
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0406 -
Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in... Aug 2019When hearing fails, cochlear implants (CIs) provide open speech perception to most of the currently half a million CI users. CIs bypass the defective sensory organ and... (Review)
Review
When hearing fails, cochlear implants (CIs) provide open speech perception to most of the currently half a million CI users. CIs bypass the defective sensory organ and stimulate the auditory nerve electrically. The major bottleneck of current CIs is the poor coding of spectral information, which results from wide current spread from each electrode contact. As light can be more conveniently confined, optical stimulation of the auditory nerve presents a promising perspective for a fundamental advance of CIs. Moreover, given the improved frequency resolution of optical excitation and its versatility for arbitrary stimulation patterns the approach also bears potential for auditory research. Here, we review the current state of the art focusing on the emerging concept of optogenetic stimulation of the auditory pathway. Developing optogenetic stimulation for auditory research and future CIs requires efforts toward viral gene transfer to the neurons, design and characterization of appropriate optogenetic actuators, as well as engineering of multichannel optical implants.
Topics: Animals; Auditory Pathways; Cochlear Implantation; Cochlear Implants; Deafness; Humans; Optogenetics; Prosthesis Design; Speech Perception
PubMed: 30323016
DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a033225 -
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory Mar 2022Increasing evidence has shown that noise overexposure could lead to impaired hippocampal function. Hippocampal alteration is also observed in several auditory deficits,... (Review)
Review
Increasing evidence has shown that noise overexposure could lead to impaired hippocampal function. Hippocampal alteration is also observed in several auditory deficits, including hearing loss, and tinnitus. Therefore, the functions of hearing and cognition interact with each other. Here, we summarize the evidence that noise affects the hippocampus from aspects of behavior, neurogenesis, ultrastructure, neurotransmission, other biomarkers, and electrophysiology. We also address hippocampal alterations in auditory disorders, including hearing loss and tinnitus. Based on the current state of the field, we point out several aspects that need further investigation. This review is not only to provide a comprehensive summary of the current state of the field but to emphasize that hearing matters in cognition and pave the way for future research.
Topics: Auditory Pathways; Hippocampus; Humans; Neurogenesis; Noise; Tinnitus
PubMed: 35124220
DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2022.107589 -
Nature Reviews. Neuroscience Oct 2019Humans and other animals use spatial hearing to rapidly localize events in the environment. However, neural encoding of sound location is a complex process involving... (Review)
Review
Humans and other animals use spatial hearing to rapidly localize events in the environment. However, neural encoding of sound location is a complex process involving the computation and integration of multiple spatial cues that are not represented directly in the sensory organ (the cochlea). Our understanding of these mechanisms has increased enormously in the past few years. Current research is focused on the contribution of animal models for understanding human spatial audition, the effects of behavioural demands on neural sound location encoding, the emergence of a cue-independent location representation in the auditory cortex, and the relationship between single-source and concurrent location encoding in complex auditory scenes. Furthermore, computational modelling seeks to unravel how neural representations of sound source locations are derived from the complex binaural waveforms of real-life sounds. In this article, we review and integrate the latest insights from neurophysiological, neuroimaging and computational modelling studies of mammalian spatial hearing. We propose that the cortical representation of sound location emerges from recurrent processing taking place in a dynamic, adaptive network of early (primary) and higher-order (posterior-dorsal and dorsolateral prefrontal) auditory regions. This cortical network accommodates changing behavioural requirements and is especially relevant for processing the location of real-life, complex sounds and complex auditory scenes.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Animals; Auditory Cortex; Auditory Pathways; Hearing; Humans; Sound Localization
PubMed: 31467450
DOI: 10.1038/s41583-019-0206-5 -
Hearing Research Nov 2022Sensory processing is frequently conceptualized as a linear flow of information from peripheral receptors through hierarchically organized brain regions, ultimately... (Review)
Review
Sensory processing is frequently conceptualized as a linear flow of information from peripheral receptors through hierarchically organized brain regions, ultimately reaching the cortex. In reality, this ascending stream is accompanied by massive descending connections that cascade from the cortex toward more peripheral subcortical structures. In the central auditory system, these feedback connections influence information processing at virtually every level of the pathway, including the thalamus, midbrain, and brainstem, and exert influence even at the level of the cochlea. The auditory cortico-collicular system, which connects the auditory cortex to the auditory midbrain, mediates manifold functions ranging from tuning shifts to defense behavior. In this review, we first summarize recent findings regarding the anatomical organization and physiological properties of the auditory cortico-collicular pathway. We then highlight several new studies that show that this projection system mediates high-level cognitive processes, acoustico-motor behaviors, and auditory plasticity, and discuss the circuit mechanisms through which they are mediated. Finally, we discuss remaining unanswered questions regarding cortico-collicular circuitry and function and potential avenues for future exploration.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Auditory Cortex; Auditory Pathways; Inferior Colliculi
PubMed: 35351323
DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2022.108488 -
Audiology & Neuro-otology 2022The auditory system processes how we hear and understand sounds within the environment. It comprises both peripheral and central structures. Sympathetic nervous system... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
The auditory system processes how we hear and understand sounds within the environment. It comprises both peripheral and central structures. Sympathetic nervous system projections are present throughout the auditory system. The function of sympathetic fibers in the cochlea has not been studied extensively due to the limited number of direct projections in the auditory system. Nevertheless, research on adrenergic and noradrenergic regulation of the cochlea and central auditory system is growing. With the rapid development of neuroscience, auditory central regulation is an extant topic of focus in research on hearing.
SUMMARY
As such, understanding sympathetic nervous system regulation of auditory function is a growing topic of interest. Herein, we review the distribution and putative physiological and pathological roles of sympathetic nervous system projections in hearing.
KEY MESSAGES
In the peripheral auditory system, the sympathetic nervous system regulates cochlear blood flow, modulates cochlear efferent fibers, affects hair cells, and influences the habenula region. In central auditory pathways, norepinephrine is essential for plasticity in the auditory cortex and affects auditory cortex activity. In pathological states, the sympathetic nervous system is associated with many hearing disorders. The mechanisms and pathways of sympathetic nervous system modulation of auditory function is still valuable for us to research and discuss.
Topics: Auditory Pathways; Cochlea; Hair Cells, Auditory; Hearing; Sympathetic Nervous System
PubMed: 34407531
DOI: 10.1159/000517452