# Neuroplasticity in Auditory Aging

> **NIH NIH P01** · UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK · 2021 · $1,641,823

## Abstract

ABSTRACT: OVERALL
Significant hearing loss among older Americans exceeds 50%, suggesting that age-related
hearing loss (ARHL) is one of the most common chronic health conditions experienced by
older people. Untreated hearing loss is linked to depression, social isolation, and cognitive
decline. While hearing aids remain the primary device for improving communication for those
with ARHL, the take-up rate is relatively low at about 25%. Understanding speech in
degraded listening situations (e.g., noise, reverberation, fast speech) continues to be a major
challenge for older people, even among those with normal hearing. The underlying problem
stems from limitations in the auditory periphery, the central auditory pathways, cognitive
abilities, and alterations in the auditory-cognitive networks that support processing of auditory
signals in noise and other forms of stimulus degradation. While a broad understanding of the
problems experienced by older people is crystallizing, efforts to alleviate the problem through
systematic investigation have been sparse. Thus, the over-arching goal of this Program
Project Grant is to develop an integrative model of neuroplasticity in auditory aging, which
will identify beneficial intervention strategies for mitigating the impact of auditory -cognitive
decline with aging and will identify key loci of change in the auditory pathways that correlate
with the most positive outcomes. The focus is on adaptive behavioral training to 1) enhance
the auditory attention network to improve selective attention to relevant information and to
suppress irrelevant information; 2) re-establish the appropriate balance between excitatory
and inhibitory firing patterns to enhance auditory processing and cognition; and 3) improve
neural timing to enhance precision of coding of acoustic stimuli to improve acoustic scene
analysis and speech recognition. These targeted indices of positive neural plasticity will be
monitored through a systems approach using behavior, electrophysiology, and imaging with
humans and animals. The program includes 3 projects (P1: (Listening in noise, clutter, and
reverberant environments – central effects of aging and approaches to remediation; P2:
Auditory temporal processing; P3: Speech Perception Training with High Cognitive Demand)
and 3 cores (Core A: Administrative; Core B: Signal Processing and Data Analysis; Core C:
Human Subjects Research Core), and involves 9 highly collaborative auditory and cognitive
neuroscientists with a dedicated interest in solving the problems of speech communication
with aging. If successful, the program has the potential to restore successful communication
and improve quality of life for millions of older Americans.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10198720
- **Project number:** 5P01AG055365-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
- **Principal Investigator:** Sandra M Gordon-Salant
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,641,823
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-15 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10198720

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10198720, Neuroplasticity in Auditory Aging (5P01AG055365-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10198720. Licensed CC0.

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