Event Scheduled for Sep 7, 2012
Event: BME Seminar--Hearing with our brains: what neural impulses tell us about a sound and how to restore hearing in the deaf
Location: CB 202
Time: 03:00 pm
Details of Event:
Successful sound recognition is important in everyday life for speech communication, music perception and other general hearing tasks. At the early stages of hearing, the inner ear (i.e., cochlea) converts mechanical vibrations into electrical impulses that travel into the brain. Although hearing is initiated in this early structure, it is the brain that deciphers the content of a sound. I will describe how sounds are initially encoded in the early auditory system and will describe work from my lab on how sound cues are further processed in the central auditory system. I will focus on describing how time and frequency cues, that are important for pitch, rhythm and timbre perception and which are essential for speech and music recognition, are encoded within the brain by large populations of neurons. I will then describe how prosthetic technologies based on electrical stimulation of the brain can be optimized to restore hearing in the deaf, using strategies that complement normal hearing physiology.
Target Audience: Not Available
Sponsored By: Biomedical Engineering Program
Pamphlet/Flyer:
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