AAA Foundation Focus on Research at AudiologyNOW! 2006

2006 Research Award Recipients at AudiologyNOW! 2006. From Left: Vishakha Rawool, Chair, Student Research Forum, Jason Sanchez, Lorienne Jenstad, Samuel Atcherson, Melanie Sembach, Dr. and Mrs. Sadandad Singh, SRF Award Benefactors, Joanna Tampas, Junghwa Bahng, Justin Nichols and Patrick Feeney, Chair, Research Committee.

At AudiologyNOW! 2006, the Foundation recognized and made grants to twelve young researchers at the Poster Presentations and Research Awards Reception. The AAA Foundation also recognized Dr. and Mrs. Sadandad Singh of Plural Publishing for their long- term pledge to the Student Research Forum Awards Program. In addition, the AAA Foundation Board of Trustees thanks the Academy's Research Committee and research subcommittees for their time and efforts in the review, evaluation and selection of the 2006 Award recipients.

The AAA Foundation is please to announce the following 2006 Awards for research in the hearing sciences:

2006 Research Awards

Justin Nichols
Student Investigator Research Award $5,000
Physiological Characterization of the Newly Discovered Auditory Nucleus Tectal Commissural Column

University of Texas at Dallas, Laboratory of Cellular and Synaptic Physiology
Mentor: Marco Atzori, Ph.D., University of Texas at Dallas

The purpose of this research is to identify the physiological and morphological characteristics of single cells in the Techal Commissural Column (TCC) in order to alleviate the symptoms of audiogenic seizures. A novel subcortical nucleus, denominated TCC, has been recently discovered and characterized anatomically. Its anatomical location indicates that the TCC is an optimal candidate as a possible focus for audiogenic epilepsy. The study of its biophysical and synaptic properties has the potential for enhancing our understanding of audiogenic seizures. The characterization of its pharmacological properties could be of help in the identification of drugs aimed to control and ameliorate the genesis or the symptoms of subcortically-generated seizures propagating corticopetaly along the auditory pathway.

This research will study single-cell properties of the TCC by using patch-clamp recording in a rat thin slice preparation. The plan consists in 1) describing TCC neuron firing pattern by current clamp recording, 2) evoking pharmacologically isolated voltage-gated potassium conductances by voltage-clamp recording, and 3) monitoring postsynaptic currents evoked by extracellular stimulation of the afferents with single cell whole-cell patch-clamp recording. Firing pattern, voltage-gated conductances and synaptic responses will be characterized pharmacologically and biophysically. Patch-clamped single cells will be injected with biocytin for post-hoc reconstruction and morphologic characterization.

Junghwa Bahng, M.S.
Student Investigator Research Award $2,000
Speech Cue Weighting in Children with Hearing Impairment

University of Tennessee
Mentor: Mark S. Hedrick, Ph.D., University of Tennessee
Mentor: Deborah vonHapsburg, Ph.D., University of Tennessee

The purpose of this study is to determine whether children wearing either cochlear implants or hearing aids show a developmental weighting shift (DWS) for acoustic cues that is similar to that of children with normal hearing. Previous research shows that children with normal hearing give more perceptual weight to formant transitions than to frication noise when asked to label place of articulation of fricative phonemes in syllabic context. Conversely, adults give more weight to the frication noise. This shift in weighting of cues over time has been termed the Developmental Weighting Shift hypothesis. Children with hearing impairment, however, may or may not show such a shift because of the qualitative difference in language experience and because distortions caused by the hearing loss may result in different developmental patterns. The specific aims of this study are 1) to determine the perceptual weights given to different acoustic cues by children wearing cochlear implants, and whether this differs from children with normal hearing and children with hearing aids in terms of the DWS and 2) to determine whether the patterns of perceptual weights may be correlated with factors such as signal processing strategy or length of implant experience.

Irina Shterenberg
Summer Research Fellowship $2,500
Measuring DPOAE Using Sweeping Primaries

Brooklyn College
Mentor: Glenis Long, Ph.D., City University of New York

This fellowship will expose the student to research in distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) and allow for full participation in laboratory activities for three months. The student will design an experiment, complete a human subjects application, recruit subjects, collect and analyze data, and prepare figures for publication. This research will be an application of the new method of measuring DPOAE being developed in the laboratory to, either a new population of subjects, or to the evaluation of the effects of stimulus parameters on the separate components of the DPOAE.

2005 Student Research Forum

Samuel R. Atcherson, Ph.D.
Award $500
Cortical Potentials to Gaps in Narrowband Noises

University of South Dakota
Research Advisor: Herbert Jay Gould, Ph.D., University of Memphis
Research Advisor: Maurice I. Mendel, Ph.D., University of Memphis
Research Advisor: Gerald A. Studebaker, Ph.D., University of Memphis
Research Advisor: Corrinna Ethington, Ph.D., University of Memphis

Electrophysiological measures of gap detection have gained recent attention in the literature. The purpose of the current study was to compare psychophysical and electrophysiological gap thresholds in normal hearing adults using continuous narrowband noises (NBN). Results indicated late auditory evoked potentials (LAEPs) could be elicited to NBNs and LAEPs may be susceptible to stimulus parameters occurring at the cochlea. LAEPs may offer an objective and frequency-specific method of assessing temporal resolution at the cortical level.

Lorienne M. Jenstad, Ph.D.
Award $500
Wide-dynamic Range Compression & Rapid Speech

University of British Columbia
Research Advisor: Pamela E. Souza, Ph.D., University of Washington

Adults (62 - 88 yrs) with hearing loss were tested for their recognition of speech materials manipulated in two ways: speech rate (normal or rapid) and alteration of the temporal envelope via wide-dynamic-range (WDRC) processing. There was an interaction between temporal envelope alteration and speech rate; as speech rate increased, listeners were more susceptible to temporal envelope changes. Further testing indicated that the effects of rapid speech were related to a loss of acoustic redundancy, not reduced processing time.

Jason Tait Sanchez, M.A.
Award $500
Contribution of NMDA Receptors in the Auditory Midbrain

Kent State University
Research Advisor: Don Gans, Ph.D., Kent State University

This study examined the contribution of glutamate receptors, AMPA and NMDA, in the processing of auditory information in the midbrain. Glutamate neurotransmission was blocked by applying specific receptor antagonist. Results indicate that NMDA receptors play a significant role in mediating excitation independent of AMPA-receptor activation. The functional significance of independent NMDA-receptor activation may represent a previously unreported fundamental mechanism in which the auditory system analyzes complex sounds such as speech.

Melanie Kirsch Sembach, B.S.
Award $500
Utilities in Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo Treatment

University of South Florida
Research Advisor: Richard A. Roberts, Ph.D., American Institute of Balance
Research Advisor: Harvey B. Abrams, Ph.D., VA Medical Center
Contributor: Theresa H. Chisolm, Ph.D., University of South Florida
Contributor: Richard E. Gans, Ph.D., American Institute of Balance
Contributor: Jennifer J. Lister, Ph.D., University of South Florida

A new Health Related Quality-of-Life (HRQoL) assessment tool, the Utility Measures for Audiology Assessment (UMAA), was used to determine self-perceived HRQoL of 52 patients treated for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). The results of our study indicated that the UMAA exhibits good stability, validity, and sensitivity to treatment with results comparable to the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI). The UMAA may allow for the comparison of audiologic HRQoL effects with other disorders.

Joanna Tampas Webster, M.A.
Award $500
Auditory Evoked Potentials & Background Noise Acceptance

University of Tennessee
Research Advisor: Ashley Harkrider, Ph.D., University of Tennessee, Knoxville

The auditory brainstem response, middle latency response, and cortical late latency response was examined in 21 young, normal-hearing females with low and high background noise acceptance to determine whether differences in background noise judgments are related to differences in aggregate physiological responses from the auditory nervous system (ANS). Results indicate that more central regions of the ANS account for, at least in part, the variability in listeners' willingness to accept background noise.

2006 James Jerger Awards for Excellence in Student Research

Saravanan Elangovan, Ph.D.
Award $500
Auditory Temporal Processing in the Perception of Voicing

East Tennessee State University
Andrew Stuart, Ph.D., East Carolina University

An investigation of whether temporal gap-detection is a psychoacoustic correlate of categorical perception of voicing was undertaken. Within-channel and four between-channel gap thresholds and categorical-thresholds for a bilabial stop along a VOT continuum were determined in 10 English-speaking adults. A significant positive and nonsignificant correlation was found between VOT thresholds and between and with-channel gap thresholds, respectively. These results imply that basic auditory processes underlie speech perception.

Kelly A. King, B.A.
Award $500
Auditory Phenotype & Karyotype of Turner Syndrome

University of Maryland
Christopher Zalewski, M.A., NIH-NIDCD
Carmen Brewer, Ph.D., National Institutes of Health

Turner Syndrome (TS) is a common disorder caused by total or

Kelly King, right, recipient of the 2006 James Jerger Award for Excellence in Student Research, with Linda Hood, AAAF Trustee and James Jerger.

2006 Association for Research in Otolaryngology Travel Awards

Nicole Marrone, Boston University
Lauren Stack, University of South Florida
ARO Travel Award $500 each

For more information about the Research Awards Program and to view the applications for the 2007 Research Awards please click here.