Dr Meher Lad has just won the Newcastle University Medical Sciences Doctoral Thesis Prize for the wonderful thesis he's recently submitted for his PhD on hearing, memory, and MCI. A preprint will be out soon and you are welcome to contact us for further information if you're interested in this topic! Congratulations Meher!

In this new work published in Hearing Research, we show robust event-related potentials during figure-ground segregation even during passive listening. This was in contrast to speech-in-noise perception, which showed weak neural responses only during active listening. 

Comprehensive review by our group (Alexander J Billig, Meher Lad, William Sedley, and Timothy D Griffiths) on the role of hippocampus in auditory processing.

The hippocampus has a well-established role in spatial and episodic memory. Neural bases of sound analysis have been described in the pathway to auditory cortex, but wider networks supporting auditory cognition are still being established. We review what is known about the role of the hippocampus in processing auditory information, and how the hippocampus itself is shaped by sound. In examining imaging, recording, and lesion studies in species from rodents to humans, we uncover a hierarchy of hippocampal responses to sound. We describe how the hippocampus' connectivity and computational architecture allow it to track and manipulate auditory information – whether in the form of speech, music, or environmental, emotional, or phantom sounds. Functional and structural correlates of auditory experience are also identified. The extent of auditory-hippocampal interactions is consistent with the view that the hippocampus makes broad contributions to perception and cognition, beyond spatial and episodic memory. More deeply understanding these interactions may unlock applications including entraining hippocampal rhythms to support cognition, and intervening in links between hearing loss and dementia.

​Read it in full here.
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We are proud to announce this year's ARO Young Investigator Awardee was our colleague Dr. Emma Holmes. Congratulations!
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A full-time Research  Associate at level 2 (research role profiles) is required to work in the Auditory Cognition Group at Newcastle University (https://www.auditorycognition.org/) under the supervision of Professor TD Griffiths. The work is funded for five years by an MRC programme grant in which the group will examine brain mechanisms for auditory cognition. The programme includes behavioural work and EEG studies in Newcastle, fMRI at 3T and 7T at UCL, and human direct neurophysiological recordings carried out at the Human Brain Research Laboratory at Iowa University. The programme will address mechanisms for fundamental auditory pattern analysis in the cortex, which are a critical determinant of speech-in-noise perception: the most common complaint of subjects with hearing loss. The MRC-funded work is carried out in normal-hearing subjects but informs other work carried out by the group on hearing impaired subjects supported by NIH(USA). The group within the three centres collaborates closely based on several weekly meetings and there are opportunities for collaboration with the other sites.
 
This post is central to the programme. The successful candidate will develop new paradigms to assess auditory pattern analysis and run EEG experiments in the Newcastle lab to assess the brain basis. The work will inform the design of work in the other centres based on fMRI and neurophysiological recordings. A PhD student will also contribute to the work in Newcastle.
 
Candidates are strongly encouraged to make a pre-submission enquiry about the post before any application. 

Auditory Cognition Group will be virtually presenting 6 posters at APAN 2020. All below presentation times are specified in UTC-4 time zone.

Poster #21 Oct-22 11:15 - 12:15 pm: Pradeep Dheerendra - Dynamics underlying auditory working memory

Poster #87 Oct-22 01:45 - 02:45 pm: Phillip Gander - Direct electrical recordings of neural activity related to auditory figure-ground segregation in the human auditory cortex
Poster #100 Oct-22 01:45 - 02:45 pm: Ester Benzaquen - The role of expectation on aversive auditory processing: behavioural and EEG signatures of prediction
Poster #161 Oct-22 01:45 - 02:45 pm: Joel Berger - Distribution of multi-unit pitch responses recorded intracranially from human auditory cortex

Poster #77 Oct-23 11:15 - 12:15 pm: Alexander J. Billig - Signatures of Auditory Regularity Processing in Human Intracranial Recordings
Poster #94 Oct-23 11:15 - 12:15 pm: Emma Holmes - Using active inference to model selective attention during cocktail party listening

Dr William Sedley gives a detailed podcast interview on his current and planned research into brain mechanisms for tinnitus, how these might help develop new treatments, and the journey that has brought him to this exciting and important field of research.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/podcast/episode/tinnitus-and-the-power-of-prediction-will-sedley/

Post-doctoral position in central auditory function in cochlear implant users

Applications are invited for a full-time Postdoctoral Research Scholar to work in the world class research environment of the Cochlear Implant Research Center at the University of Iowa. The Postdoctoral Scholar will contribute to projects that examine cortical networks / functions and their longitudinal change after hearing interventions (with both Cochlear Implants and Hearing Aids) using source localized EEG, MRI and eye-tracking.

This position is part of a larger NIDCD funded P50 project that examines the role of peripheral processing, cortical (re)organization, and higher-order language processing on audiological and real-world outcomes of individuals with hearing impairment. The successful candidate will work across two subprojects (central auditory integration, and cognitive dynamics of language processing), focusing on investigating both auditory/cognitive bases of speech in noise perception as well as higher level language processing.  The project leaders are Drs. Tim Griffiths (Newcastle University) and Bob McMurray (University of Iowa). Dr. Inyong Choi will provide on-site training and supervision at the University of Iowa.

This position will provide a unique opportunity to collect high-density EEG, pupillometry, and eye-tracking (Visual World Paradigm) data from a large cohort of hearing-impaired listeners including adult cochlear implant users, hearing aid users, and individuals using unique hearing preservation cochlear implants that use electric and acoustic hearing. Over the last 30 years, the Iowa Cochlear Research Center has built an efficient infrastructure for recruiting and scheduling subjects that allows testing a large number of hearing impaired participants with minimal administrative burden for researchers. The candidate will be involved in all stages of the research projects.  Specifically, he/she will be involved in designing experiments, supervising research assistants for data collection, analyzing data, preparing reports, and disseminating the results in high-quality publications and at conferences.

Candidates are expected to have a PhD in neuroscience, audiology, psychology, cognitive science, biomedical/electrical engineering, or a related field. Ideal candidates will have strong research interests in human neuroscience and translational hearing science. Experience with signal processing of EEG and analyzing structural MRI data is desirable. Previous experience with hearing impaired populations is preferred but not required. Demonstrated skills of positive interactions with research subjects, project management, and independent work are also preferred. 

Salary will be based on NIH guidelines. If you are interested in this position, please contact Dr. Inyong Choi ([email protected]) with a brief description of your research experience and interests, a CV, and contact information of two references. Application review will begin August 1st, 2020.

New fully funded PhD position available in Auditory Coginition Group in Newcastle. Great opportunity to learn/develop EEG skills and auditory psychophysics! 
Closing date for applications: 29/07/2020 
Details: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/funding/sources/allstudents/bi030.html ​