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ATA-Funded Research
New ATA-Funded Research
2008 / 2007 ATA-Funded Research
Past ATA-Funded Research
The following five grants were selected by ATA's Scientific Advisory Committee in January 2010 and approved for funding by the ATA Board of Directors in February 2010.
New ATA-Funded Research
2009
Paul Finlayson, Ph.D., Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
Research Project: Noise-Induced Tinnitus and Biophysical Changes in Rat Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus Fusiform Cells
Roadmap Path: B
Funded: Grant renewal; 2nd year of 2-year project; $45,000 (Year 1: $49,954; Total: $94,954)
"The most common form of tinnitus develops after noise-induced trauma. Multiple changes in the brain occur following trauma due to intense sound exposure, including loss of cells, changes in the function of individual cells and in the communication between cells. This research will study the cellular changes affecting brain cell hyperactivity in the dorsal cochlear nucleus, which directly receives input from the auditory nerve. We will examine the movement of the ions that control the electrical activity in the cells. Determining how cells change, how their communication changes and why they become hyperactive is central to defining how these changes produce tinnitus and also help in developing possible tinnitus treatments."
Rebecca Haas, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee
Student Research Project: The Effect of Tinnitus on Gap Detection
Roadmap Path: B
Funded: Student grant, 1 year, $5,500
"Psychophysical testing of tinnitus patients typically targets the tinnitus sound by characterizing aspects such as its loudness and pitch. The utility of psychophysical tinnitus measures may be enhanced by assessing the effect of tinnitus on tests that evaluate patients’ auditory abilities. Testing of temporal processing in tinnitus patients could provide information related to this basic auditory behavior that is associated with many auditory functions, such as speech perception. Measurement of gap detection threshold (GDT) is one psychoacoustic task often used to evaluate temporal processing. A sound sequence consisting of a leading marker, a silent gap, and a trailing marker is presented, and the GDT is the shortest silent gap between the two markers that a listener can detect. Several animal studies reported application of the acoustic startle reflex to measure gap detection. Rats exhibiting noise-induced tinnitus showed deficiency in detecting silent gaps when compared to the controls. There are currently no human data on GDTs in patients with tinnitus. The purpose of this study is to provide a quantitative assessment method of temporal processing in tinnitus patients by measuring their GDTs. It is hypothesized that neural activity in tinnitus patients might result in higher GDTs when compared to those in non-tinnitus subjects." Click to read the complete abstract
Avril Genene Holt, Ph.D., Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
Research Project: Role of Dopamine in Susceptibility to Central Tinnitus
Roadmap Path: A, B
Funded: 1 year, $50,000
"There is increasing evidence that changes within structures of the central auditory system may be sufficient for both generation and maintenance of tinnitus – a condition resulting in the perception of a ringing or buzzing in the absence of an external stimulus. This condition can emerge following exposure to loud noises that may or may not lead to hearing loss. Previous studies have implicated central dopamine as a means of reducing excitoxicity in the periphery, thereby reducing the impact of acoustic trauma, and in humans dopamine antagonists can decrease the perception of tinnitus. Our studies are designed to test whether changes in dopamine levels in a novel dopaminergic pathway in the brain can impact susceptibility to tinnitus regardless of hearing status. Our long-term goal is to identify and understand molecular mechanisms involved in tinnitus related plasticity. Future studies will focus on the use of currently FDA approved dopaminergic agonists and/or antagonists to modulate dopamine levels and attenuate tinnitus symptoms."
Pim Van Dijk, Ph.D., University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
Research Project: Response of the Central Auditory System in Tinnitus and Hearing Loss, an fMRI Study
Roadmap Path: A
Funded: Grant renewal; 2nd year of 2-year project; $50,000 (Year 1: $99,100; Total: $149,100)
"Every sound we hear, including tinnitus, is related to some pattern of brain activity. Abnormal neural brain activity is the likely cause of tinnitus. This project will investigate brain patterns using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). An fMRI takes pictures of a brain’s activity, much as a video camera takes pictures of a body’s activity. We will compare hearing impaired patients with and without tinnitus to determine why some hearing impaired patients have tinnitus while others do not. We expect this to help clarify which brain activity patterns are specific to tinnitus."
Fan-Gang Zeng, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, California
Research Project: Tinnitus Suppression
Roadmap Paths: C, D
Funded: Grant renewal; 2nd year of 2-year project; $50,000 (Year 1: $88,006; Total: $138,006)
"One misperception is that, except for masking tinnitus, for instance with music, tinnitus does not interact with external sounds. In our opinion, this misperception has severely limited our options in treating and potentially curing tinnitus. Different from masking, which typically requires a masker to have higher intensity and similar pitch to the tinnitus, tinnitus suppression can occur with sounds that are softer and potentially more pleasant than the tinnitus. The novel aspect of our research is to understand interaction between tinnitus and external sounds, using acoustic and electrical stimulation, with a particular focus on searching for external sounds that can effectively suppress tinnitus."
