Brain Pathways Process the Start and End of What We Hear

by Savitha on  February 27, 2010 at 11:32 PM Research News
  •   Print
  •   Share
  •   Comments
  •  Text 
Researchers at University of Oregon have discovered that separate brain pathways process the start and end of what we hear.

The team has isolated an independent processing channel of synapses inside the brain's auditory cortex that deals specifically with shutting off sound processing at appropriate times. Such regulation is vital for hearing and for understanding speech.

The finding has been reported in the Feb. 11 issue of the journal Neuron.

The discovery goes against a long-held assumption that the signaling of a sound's appearance and its subsequent disappearance are both handled by the same pathway.

The new finding could lead to new, distinctly targeted therapies such as improved hearing devices, said Michael Wehr, a professor of psychology and member of the UO Institute of Neuroscience.

"It looks like there is a whole separate channel that goes all the way from the ear up to the brain that is specialized to process sound offsets," Wehr said. The two channels finally come together in a brain region called the auditory cortex, situated in the temporal lobe.

Page 1 Page 1 | 2  Next
 Email Email   RSS Feeds RSS Feeds   Print this page Print   Save this page Save   Link Link   Syndicate Syndicate   Comments Comments   Bookmark and Share
 
Comment & Contribute
Comments should be on the topic and should not be abusive. Comments are normally moderated and are reviewed after they are posted.
* Your comment can be maximum of 2500 characters

Notify me when reply is posted
I agree to the terms and conditions
  
If you have a question about health related issues, you can now post it in our Ask An Expert section on our community website Medwonders.com and get answers from our panel of experts.
X

Medwonders Health Network

  • Health News Index
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
News Archive
Date :
Category :
Keyword :
Quiz on Brain
Feeling bad, sad, silly or glad? Find out what is responsible by taking part in our brain quiz.
  • News Quick Links
News Central Health Watch
Latest Health News Health In Focus
News Category (500+) Breaking Health News
Popular News Celebrating Life
Health News and Press Release Medindia - Exclusive
News Photo Gallery India Special
News Video Gallery Lifestyle and Wellness
News From Other Resources
Brain
Complete Medindia Resources
News Categories:  
Men's Health Center

Research Related News

» Lack of Vitamin D in Diet Raises Stroke Risk in Japanese-Americans » Why Bovine TB Continues to Spread Demystified in New Research
» Seaweed Pill May Help Treat Arthritis » P. Aeruginosa Infection Leads to Worse Outcomes and Increased Hospitalizations in COPD Patients
» Hormone Boosts Production of Molecules Which Fight Skin Infection » Protein Discovery Could Lead To New Vaccine for Meningitis
» Qui Vive: Intense Nuclear Radiation Threat, Scientists » 'Miracle' Diet of Reverse Engineering Epilepsy
Read More >>