Developing More Efficient Hearing Aids Through OCH Transduction

Researchers are studying how the cochlea, located in the ear, processes and amplifies sound. This research could lead to better hearing aids.

Scientists have discovered that hearing relies on a mechanical traveling wave that is actively boosted by electromechanical forces in sensory outer hair cells (OHCs). By studying the process of OHC transduction, better devices that can send more accurate sound signals to brain can be developed.

Transduction is the conversion of a sensory stimulus (hearing, sight, taste, etc) to a sensory signal that the brain can process.

Just recently, scientists have also discovered a protein called TMHS that may be a critical component in converting soundwaves to electrical signals that the brain can process.

Brain Process In Encoding Sound Key In Study of Dyslexia

Northwestern University researchers found a systematic relationship between reading and how the brain encodes sound that may be key in understanding dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a disability where a person has difficulty processing letters and symbols. Also known as Developmental Reading Disorder (DRD), Dyslexia occurs when the part of the brain that helps process language does not recognize certain symbols or letters that is read by the person.

Dyslexia is not an eye or vision problem, it is an information processing problem. Normal thinking and cognitive functions are not affected and most people with dyslexia have normal intelligence, and many have above-average intelligence.

Disorders related to DRD are Developmental Writing Disorder (Orthographic Dyslexia) and Developmental Arithmetic Disorder (Dyscalculia). These conditions may appear alone or in any combination. All three involves the processing and interpretation of symbols and all three are considered a type of dyslexia. DRD is the most common and most associated with dyslexia.

There are four types of dyslexia:

• Phonological Dyslexia - Difficulty separating component parts of a sentence.
• Orthographic Dyslexia - Problem with writing such as spelling patterns
• Dyscalculia - Problem with basic sense of number and quantity
• Dysgraphia - Disorder which expresses itself primarily through writing or typing.

Scientists Discover Molecule Responsible For Converting Soundwaves To Brain Signals For Hearing

Scientists have identified a critical component responsible for converting soundwaves into electrical signals that the brain can process into sound. The discovery of this protein called TMHS may lead to a better understanding of the hearing process and lead to novel treatments for deafness.

The ear converts soundwaves into neurological impulses that the brain can process into the sounds that we hear.

When soundwaves enter the ear, the eardrum starts vibrating and passes these vibration into the middle ear and is amplified as it goes to the inner ear. These vibrations are then translated into electrical signals that brain synapses can pass on to the brain.

There is a distinct shift from a mechanical process from the vibration of the eardrum to an electrical process where the brain synapses transmit these vibrations as electrical impulses.

Although the process of hearing is basically understood, the way the ear converts the vibrations caused by the sound waves into electrical impulses is not. By identifying the specific chemical or protein that is responsible for this conversion process, it can open up medical possibilities in improving conditions and therapy for the deaf and hearing impaired.

Motor Skills Interactions Affect How Brain Hemispheres Process Different Kinds of Sounds

The human auditory system is responsible for the processing of sound. It is the system used for the sense of hearing. As sound is picked up by the ear, it is relayed to the primary auditory cortex which is a region of the brain that process sound and helps us to hear.

The brain has two hemispheres, the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere, which are responsible for specific motor, cognitive, and organ functions. Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center say that both hemispheres of the brain are responsible for specific processing of sound.

"Language is processed mainly in the left hemisphere, and some have suggested that this is because the left hemisphere specializes in analyzing very rapidly changing sounds," says the study's senior investigator, Peter E. Turkeltaub, M.D., Ph.D., a neurologist in the Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery.