The Brain and Behavior Laboratory at Heuser Hearing & Language Academy is now open! Currently, Dr. Sharon Miller is collecting data from adult cochlear implant recipients for her “Neural Mechanisms for Listening Through a Cochlear Implant” study. For this study, she is using a noninvasive brain imaging method called electroencephalography (EEG) and measuring the brain’s automatic response to speech sounds. The study asks participants to wear a soft stretchy cap of electrodes and sit quietly while watching a movie of their choice as sounds play in the background. Behavioral word and sentence recognition testing is also completed in a separate test.
The long-term aim of the study is to develop an objective measure of speech perception that does not require behavioral responses. For example, the goal would be to develop a test where simply by looking at the brain’s response to speech, a clinician could determine if “bad” vs. “dad” were perceived correctly. This type of objective test would have significant clinical and educational implications for children with hearing loss and improve early language intervention programs. The study is enrolling adults that use cochlear implants, but will likely be enrolling children as well in the near future. Interested adult participants that wear cochlear implants are encouraged to contact Sharon at sharon.miller@louisville.edu for more information.
Thank you for your support!