Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kelsey Jorgensen, Daisheng Song, Julien Weinstein, Obed A. Garcia, Laurel N. Pearson, Maria Inclan, Maria Rivera-Chira, Fabiola Leon-Velarde, Melisa Kiyamu, Tom D. Brutsaert, Abigail W. Bigham, Frank S. Lee
Summary: For over 10,000 years, Andeans have been living at high altitudes where the limited oxygen poses a challenge to human survival. Recent studies have discovered evidence of positive selection acting on the HIF2A locus in Andeans, which is associated with the hypoxia-inducible factor pathway. However, the specific mechanism by which this allele leads to altitude adaptation remains unknown. By analyzing the genomes of 46 Peruvian Andeans, researchers confirmed the presence of positive selection on HIF2A and identified a unique variation pattern surrounding the Andean-specific single nucleotide variant (SNV) rs570553380. This variant is associated with increased nitric oxide biosynthesis, as shown in a Peruvian Andean population living at high altitude.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
Lisa L. Hunter, Chelsea M. Blankenship, Barbara Shinn-Cunningham, Linda Hood, Lina Motlagh Zadeh, David R. Moore
Summary: Children with listening difficulties (LiD) but normal audiometry are often diagnosed with auditory processing disorder. This study examined electrophysiological evidence for brainstem pathway mechanisms in children with and without LiD, finding that children with LiD performed worse on speech perception and neurophysiological tests, and these differences were related to parent report and speech perception in competing speech ability.
Article
Anesthesiology
Ali Kandil, Michale S. Ok, Kelly A. Baroch, Rajeev Subramanyam, Mohamed A. Mahmoud, John J. McAuliffe
Summary: This study compared the qualitative interpretability of ABR click-testing in children under sevoflurane and propofol anesthesia. The results showed that sevoflurane resulted in more false positives and suggested more severe hearing loss than propofol. Therefore, propofol is superior to sevoflurane for ABR testing in children.
ANESTHESIA AND ANALGESIA
(2022)
Article
Biology
Elizabeth A. McCullagh, John Peacock, Alexandra Lucas, Shani Poleg, Nathaniel T. Greene, Addison Gaut, Samantha Lagestee, Yalan Zhang, Leonard K. Kaczmarek, Thomas J. Park, Daniel J. Tollin, Achim Klug
Summary: Naked mole-rats living underground have a specialized auditory system and show similar hearing onset to other rodents, but they have developmental differences in brain structure and morphology.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Jianxin Bao, Segun Light Jegede, John W. Hawks, Bethany Dade, Qiang Guan, Samantha Middaugh, Ziyu Qiu, Anna Levina, Tsung-Heng Tsai
Summary: This study investigates the feasibility of using curvature quantification to detect cochlear synaptic loss. The results demonstrate that curvature measurement is more sensitive and consistent in identifying cochlear synaptic loss in mice compared to amplitude and latency measurements. Furthermore, different types of ear disorders show distinct changes in curvature profiles.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
M. Aleman, C. Crowe, J. Dechant, R. R. Bellone, F. Avila
Summary: In a study on 24 alpacas, BAER and BC were found to be useful and non-invasive techniques for investigating auditory loss, whether conductive or sensorineural.
RESEARCH IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Otorhinolaryngology
Caroline Struijk, Nicolien van der Poel, Isabel Blommaerts, Tine Boiy, Anouk Hofkens-Van Den Brandt, Kaat Van Den Brande, Olivier Vanderveken, Hanne Vermeersch, An Boudewyns
Summary: The study evaluated the efficacy and feasibility of using melatonin in young children with and without comorbidities undergoing auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing. Results showed that melatonin is effective for ABR examinations in infants and children, allowing for sequential testing in those at risk for progressive hearing loss.
EUROPEAN ARCHIVES OF OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Tanya B. Lauridsen, Christian Brandt, Jakob Christensen-Dalsgaard
Summary: Hearing sensitivity has been extensively studied using various methods, with the masked ABR method showing the most sensitive results, followed by the tone burst ABR method, while the long-duration tone method is not suitable for studying hearing thresholds above 1000 Hz.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
Annett Franke-Trieger, Willy Mattheus, Josef Seebacher, Philipp Zelger, Thomas Zahnert, Marcus Neudert
Summary: The study aimed to determine open field stapedius reflex thresholds (oSRTs) in experienced cochlear implant (CI) users with fittings based on subjective loudness ratings. Impedance measurements of the ear drum were taken while the subjects wore their audio processors, and the stapedius reflex was elicited by electrical stimulation. The results showed that sound levels for stapedius reflex detection were within the reference target range in 70% of the cases, below the reference range in 20% of the cases, and above the reference range in 10% of the cases.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
Arjun S. Malhotra, Randy Kulesza
Summary: Auditory dysfunction is common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The auditory brainstem response (ABR) can measure the electrical activity in response to sound stimuli and has shown abnormalities in individuals with ASD. Using a model of ASD in animals exposed to the antiepileptic drug valproic acid (VPA), this study found that VPA-exposed animals had abnormal ABRs, but these differences largely normalized by P60. The study also suggested that delayed maturation of auditory brainstem circuits may impact ABRs throughout the animal's lifespan.
Article
Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
M. Patrick Feeney, Kim S. Schairer, Daniel B. Putterman, Angela C. Garinis, Jay J. Vachhani, Douglas H. Keefe, Denis F. Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth Kolberg
Summary: This study compared the measurement of ART obtained using a traditional method with that obtained using an AAW method. The purpose was to compare ARTs for three groups and determine the best method in detecting SNHL.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Haoyu Wang, Bei Li, Yan Lu, Kun Han, Haibin Sheng, Jialei Zhou, Yumeng Qi, Xueling Wang, Zhiwu Huang, Lei Song, Yunfeng Hua
Summary: The study introduced an automatic threshold determination method for ABR testing, which terminates level averaging of ABR recordings when detecting time-locked waveforms through cross-correlation analysis. This method provides a robust and fully automated ABR test with good matching to human readouts.
Article
Neurosciences
Michaela Mueller, Hongmei Hu, Mathias Dietz, Barbara Beiderbeck, Dardo N. Ferreiro, Michael Pecka
Summary: The ability to localize a sound source is crucial for communication and navigation, and hearing impairments can negatively affect sound localization. Cochlear implants have been successful in restoring many hearing capabilities, but sound localization with bilateral cochlear implants remains poor. This study investigates the reasons behind this and finds that electrical stimulation from cochlear implants alters the input statistics of the binaural processing stage, leading to diminished ITD sensitivity. A computational model predicts that electrical stimulation affects spatial sensitivity, making adjacent source locations inseparable. The findings suggest that the temporal hyper-precision of inputs induced by electrical stimulation may be a central problem underlying the reduced ITD sensitivity in cochlear implant users.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biology
Melissa J. Polonenko, Ross K. Maddox
Summary: The study introduced a new method that pairs re-synthesized 'peaky' speech with deconvolution analysis of electroencephalography recordings, quickly yielding robust responses involving distinct subcortical structures from the auditory nerve to rostral brainstem in adults with normal hearing. This peaky speech method shows promise as a tool for investigating speech encoding and processing, as well as for clinical applications.
Article
Pediatrics
Annemarie F. Kelly, Patrick K. Kelly, Malika Shah
Summary: The study found that delaying hearing screening until 10-11 hours for vaginally born infants and 30-32 hours for cesarean-born infants results in a significant improvement in hearing pass rates among healthy newborns. Additionally, conducting a third hearing screen after discharge starting in 2016 decreased the referral rate to just 0.77%.
JOURNAL OF PEDIATRICS
(2021)