SoundZap
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Mapping sound in the brain of the hearing impaired.
IRAS ID
197509
Contact name
J McNamara
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 31 days
Research summary
Signals representing sound pitch are transmitted from the cochlea in the ear, via various relays to the brain to a brain region known as the Primary Auditory Cortex (PAC). High pitched sounds activate one end of the cochlear and low pitched activate the other. This pattern is projected in the PAC so if you listened to a pianist roll his fingers from one end of the keyboard to another the activity in the PAC could be envisaged like a Mexican wave of brain activity. We use Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to visualize and measure this wave of activity. Our study examines what happens after signals from the cochlear stop arriving due to damage which causes deafness. We ask people with high frequency/pitch hearing loss to participate because we hope that we can use the first part of the wave of activity in response to low frequencies to direct us to the location where we expect unusual activity. We can compare their brain responses in this region to those of participants with normal hearing. This is important for learning more about the processes which quicken or slow hearing loss. Participants will have hearing tests to make sure they have the right kind of hearing ability for the study and within a couple of weeks will attend the MRI unit. Imaging takes a couple of hours during which participants will watch a movie (silent) and different pitched sounds will be played via headphones.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EM/0086
Date of REC Opinion
4 Apr 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion