Sensory and Perceptual Modulation of Reflexive Behaviors
James Ison
The aim of our research is to understand how the auditory system is able to follow the rapidly changing acoustic signal that characterizes speech, and to determine how age-related changes in temporal acuity may contribute to the problems that elderly listeners have in perceiving speech in noisy environments. Much of the work is based on comparing the changing temporal and spectral abilities of human listeners as they age with those of aging mice, to support physiological studies in mice that may help to understand the central neural bases of presbycusis in humans. We use a combination of methods including sensory judgments in humans and behavioral psychophysics in wild type and in knockout mice, with electrophysiological measures of neural activity, and manipulations of neural activity through neurochemical manipulations. The work is conducted in collaboration with colleagues in the department of Surgery, division of Otolaryngology and in the department of Neurobiology and Anatomy.