Beyond cochlear implants: awakening the deafened brain

PA 144/09 Pioneering research, being carried out in Nottingham, into the development of cochlear implants — hearing devices that convert sound into neural signals — and the future of this technology will feature in a special focus on Tuesday 26 May 2009. The focus issue 'How do we hear?' looks at the neurobiology of hearing and highlights the work of the MRC Institute of Hearing Research (IHR) and the National Biomedical Research Unit in Hearing (NBRUH) in partnership with The University of Nottingham and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH). The article 'Beyond cochlear implants: awakening the deafened brain' by Professor David Moore, Director of IHR and Scientific Director of NBRUH, and Professor Robert Shannon from the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles, discusses the ability of the brain to learn how to use cochlear implants and the importance of understanding this process to the future of implant technology. Seven perspective and review articles will be highlighted covering recent advances in our understanding of how sounds are converted into neural signals, how these processes go wrong in hearing loss, and what attempts to rectify such hearing loss tell us about brain function. Hearing loss affects the majority of older adults, resulting in greatly reduced quality of life. In children it can impede proper development. Cochlear implants have provided hearing to more than 120,000 deaf people, both young and old.