# Development of medial efferent mechanisms in children.

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY · 2022 · $12,380

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ ABSTRACT
 (parent R01)
 Efferent feedback—a hallmark of peripheral sound coding—plays a critical role in
auditory development and plasticity and offers a potential mechanism for minimizing
noise-induced cochlear synaptopathy and supra-threshold perceptual deficits. However,
our knowledge of how efferent mechanisms develop in humans is extremely limited. The
overarching goal of this research is to understand the development of medial efferent
mechanisms in humans and their involvement in auditory development. The objective of
the proposed project is to systematically investigate the development of the temporal
features of efferent effects. Our central hypothesis is that children exhibit developmental
changes in efferent effects as a result of developmental plasticity in the brainstem. Our
rationale is that detailed knowledge of how efferents work and develop will lead to a better
understanding of the role of efferents in auditory development and perceptual deficits.
The proposed project has two specific aims: 1) To determine the development of the
efferent sensitivity to temporal fluctuations; and 2) To determine the developmental
changes in the temporal dynamics of efferent effects. The proposed work is conceptually
innovative because it will provide information on the poorly-understood developmental
aspects of efferent effects in the children. The approach involves a compelling mix of
sweep-tone OAE measurements with advanced signal processing (time-frequency
analysis) techniques. The proposed research will provide significant new knowledge
regarding how efferents develop in humans, and has implications for (1) for understanding
the involvement of efferents in supra-threshold hearing, (2) forming theories of auditory
development, (3) developing OAE-based tests of efferent function for predicting
susceptibility to noise-induced hearing loss, (4) constructing accurate auditory models,
and (5) designing improved hearing device algorithms. The principal investigator is
experienced in conducting this kind of research in the current environment. Overall, the
proposed project will make a sustained impact on our understanding of the human
efferent system and its development, and on the field of pediatric audiology.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10553566
- **Project number:** 3R01DC018046-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY
- **Principal Investigator:** Srikanta Mishra
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $12,380
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10553566

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10553566, Development of medial efferent mechanisms in children. (3R01DC018046-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10553566. Licensed CC0.

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