# Physiological Assessment of Auditory Processing Disorders in TBI

> **NIH VA IK2** · PORTLAND VA MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · —

## Abstract

Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) stemming from exposure to high-intensity blasts is one of the
most prevalent injuries sustained by Veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation
Iraqi Freedom. Recent research indicates that many of these Veterans can suffer from chronic
difficulties processing auditory information in spite of normal hearing thresholds. Some of the
most commonly reported problems include difficulty with speech in noisy or distracting
environments, problems with long running speech and recalling lists of instructions, and
difficulties on the telephone. Currently, little is known regarding how blast exposure affects the
physiology of the auditory system to produce such deficits, nor the potential contributions of
comorbid cognitive disorders to auditory processing concerns. In the current study, we aim to
use electrophysiology in combination with behavioral testing to better understand how blast-
exposure and TBI shape the neural encoding and discrimination of sound, and to probe the
influence of cognitive factors on auditory processing. The long term goal of our research
program is to develop electrophysiological tools which accurately and reliably reflect auditory
function and can be used to improve clinical diagnosis and rehabilitation efforts of adult patients
with acquired auditory processing disorder. Our overall objective for this CDA-2 research plan,
which is the next step toward attainment of our long-term goal, is to systematically evaluate the
utility of cortical and cognitive auditory evoked potentials (AEP) measures to reveal chronic
physiological changes in auditory processing in Veterans with previous blast-exposure/TBI, and
examine the relationship between these objective physiological measures and behavioral
measures of hearing ability. Specifically, we will 1) determine how blast exposure and TBI
affect neural discrimination of sound across domains including frequency, timing, intensity, and
binaural integration at the level of the auditory cortex, 2) the impact of blast exposure/TBI on
cognitive modulation of auditory encoding using cognitive AEPs, and 3) Assess the relationship
between cortical and cognitive AEP measures and psychometrically based behavioral measures
of auditory processing. We hypothesize that blast-exposed Veterans will demonstrate deficits in
both cortical encoding of sound characteristics as evidenced by higher thresholds for detecting
changes in sound and reduced amplitudes to changes in sound characteristics in blast-
exposed/TBI Veterans compared to age- and hearing-matched control participants. We further
predict that blast-exposed/TBI Veterans will show decreased cognitive control of sound
encoding compared to control participants, and that cortical and cognitive AEP indices will be
well correlated with behavioral measures of hearing ability. The outcomes of this research
proposal include a better understanding of the bottom-up vs top-down contributions to auditory
processing diso...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10189736
- **Project number:** 5IK2RX002673-04
- **Recipient organization:** PORTLAND VA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Melissa Papesh
- **Activity code:** IK2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10189736

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10189736, Physiological Assessment of Auditory Processing Disorders in TBI (5IK2RX002673-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10189736. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*