# Neuroplasticity in Auditory Aging

> **NIH NIH P01** · UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK · 2020 · $55,733

## Abstract

PROJECT 2 – ABSTRACT
The detrimental effects of aging on auditory temporal processing have been well documented in humans and
animal models. At present, there are gaps in knowledge of the extent to which these auditory temporal processing
deficits can be mitigated in older adults with or without hearing loss through auditory training and neuroplasticity,
to improve precision of neural timing and speech understanding. Our long-term goal is to determine the extent
to which hearing deficits in older adults can be ameliorated with auditory training. We propose an innovative
approach to the investigation of aging, hearing, and neuroplasticity by marrying perceptual training experiments
with electrophysiological measurements. The objectives are to compare young normal-hearing (YNH), older nor-
mal-hearing (ONH), young hearing-impaired, (YHI), and older hearing-impaired (OHI) adult listeners, and eval-
uate the improvements in perceptual and electrophysiological measures of temporal processing after explicit
training on auditory temporal processing tasks. Our central hypothesis is that training of auditory temporal pro-
cessing will produce concomitant improvements in both perceptual performance and neural encoding, which will
close the gap in the age-related differences between groups. With strong preliminary data in hand, the central
hypothesis will be tested by pursuing three specific aims: (1) Determine the extent to which perceptual training
on temporal rate discrimination using simple non-speech stimuli improves perceptual and neural encoding in
YNH, YHI, ONH, and OHI listeners; (2) Determine the extent to which perceptual training on speech cue dis-
crimination in contrasting words differing in discrete temporal cues improves perceptual and neural encoding in
YNH, YHI, ONH, and OHI listeners; and (3) Determine the extent to which perceptual training on the processing
of sentences with increasing presentation rate can improve behavioral performance and neural encoding in YNH,
YHI, ONH, and OHI listeners. The expected outcomes are that we will learn what perceptual training tasks lead
to simultaneous improvements in perceptual and neural auditory temporal processing and the findings will pro-
duce a significant impact in older listeners who experience difficulty in communicating in daily life because they
will lead directly to focused and novel forms of rehabilitation. This research is innovative because we will have
established techniques that are proven to provide significant improvements in auditory temporal processing and
speech perception, combined with evidence of improvements to neural encoding. These studies will serve the
larger goals of the program project grant because they will help identify the neuroplastic mechanisms in the brain
of humans that correspond to successful behavioral outcomes in younger and older adults. These studies will
serve the larger goals of the program project grant because they will help identify the neuroplastic...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10201858
- **Project number:** 3P01AG055365-04S1
- **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:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $55,733
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2017-09-15 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10201858

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10201858, Neuroplasticity in Auditory Aging (3P01AG055365-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10201858. Licensed CC0.

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