Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026
09:38
Quantitative Assessment of Cortical Auditory-tactile Processing in Children with Disabilities
Published on: January 29, 2014
Altered cortical spectrotemporal processing with age-related hearing loss
Michael Trujillo1, Khaleel A Razak
1Graduate Neuroscience Program and Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, California.
Journal of Neurophysiology
|September 27, 2013
Summary
Age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) slows and increases neural noise in spectrotemporal processing. This impacts specific neurons, affecting the detection and discrimination of sound changes in older mice.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Gerontology
Background:
- Presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss, is common but its underlying mechanisms are not fully understood.
- Aging impairs spectrotemporal processing, crucial for understanding complex sounds.
- Cortical neurons in young mice exhibit selectivity for frequency modulation (FM) sweep rates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age-related changes in cortical responses to FM sweeps in a mouse model.
- To quantify the impact of presbycusis on neural processing of spectrotemporal information.
Main Methods:
- Recorded single-unit cortical responses to FM sweeps of varying rates and directions in young, middle-aged, and old mice.
- Compared neural selectivity and response variability across age groups.
Main Results:
- Older mice showed reduced FM rate selectivity and slower optimal sweep detection/discrimination rates.
- Increased trial-to-trial variability in neural response magnitude and timing was observed in older mice.
- These changes were specific to neurons preferring faster sweep rates; middle-aged mice showed increased response variability.
Conclusions:
- Presbycusis alters spectrotemporal processing, making it slower and noisier in specific neuronal populations.
- Altered receptive field mechanisms likely underlie these age-related changes.
- Findings suggest neural correlates for impaired processing of rapid spectrotemporal changes in human presbycusis.
Related Concept Videos
01:01Perception of Sound Waves
The human ear is not equally sensitive to all frequencies in the audible range. It may perceive sound waves with the same pressure but different frequencies as having different loudness. Moreover, the perception of sound waves depends on the health of an individual's ears, which decays with age. The health of one's ears may also be affected by regular exposure to loud noises.
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...
01:31Hearing
When we hear a sound, our nervous system is detecting sound waves—pressure waves of mechanical energy traveling through a medium. The frequency of the wave is perceived as pitch, while the amplitude is perceived as loudness.
01:15Auditory Pathway
Auditory pathways constitute the complex neural circuits responsible for transmitting and interpreting auditory information from the peripheral auditory system to the brain. Sound waves are initially captured by the outer ear, funneled through the ear canal, and reach the tympanic membrane (eardrum). These vibrations are transmitted via the middle ear's ossicles to the inner ear's cochlea.
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
01:13The Cochlea
The cochlea is a coiled structure in the inner ear that contains hair cells—the sensory receptors of the auditory system. Sound waves are transmitted to the cochlea by small bones attached to the eardrum called the ossicles, which vibrate the oval window that leads to the inner ear. This causes fluid in the chambers of the cochlea to move, vibrating the basilar membrane.