RESEARCH OVERVIEW
Techniques

We use an entire gamut of techniques spanning humans and animal models. In humans, we combine perceptual tasks with measures of listening effort (pupillometry) to assess behavioral and cognitive aspects of speech comprehension. In animal models we use neuronal recordings from various stages of the auditory pathway combined with immunohistology to inform mechanistic hypotheses. Non-invasive auditory evoked potentials like auditory brainstem responses (ABRs), envelope and frequency following responses (EFRs and FFRs) and cortical evoked potentials (cAEPs) act as the "Rosetta stone", translating the language of the brain between humans and animal models.
Neural basis of speech comprehension

Our ability to communicate is our tether to the social world. For most people, hearing difficulties begin as an inability to follow conversations in noisy settings.