A frequency peak at 3.1 kHz obtained from the spectral analysis of the cochlear implant electrocochleography noise.

Introduction: The functional evaluation of auditory-nerve activity in spontaneous conditions has remained elusive in humans. In animals, the frequency analysis of the round-window electrical noise recorded by means of electrocochleography yields a frequency peak at around 900 to 1000 Hz, which has been proposed to reflect auditory-nerve spontaneous activity. Here, we studied the spectral components of the electrical noise obtained from cochlear implant electrocochleography in humans.

Supra-Threshold LS CE-Chirp Auditory Brainstem Response in the Elderly.

Introduction: Aging deteriorates peripheral and central auditory structures and functions. In elders, for an accurate audiological evaluation, it is important to explore beyond the cochlear receptor. Audiograms provide an estimation of hearing thresholds, while the amplitudes and latencies of supra-threshold auditory brainstem response (ABR) can offer noninvasive measures of the auditory pathways functioning.

Maintained Spatial Learning and Memory Functions in Middle-Aged α9 Nicotinic Receptor Subunit Knock-Out Mice.

Age-related hearing loss is linked to cognitive impairment, but the mechanisms that relate to these conditions remain unclear. Evidence shows that the activation of medial olivocochlear (MOC) neurons delays cochlear aging and hearing loss. Consequently, the loss of MOC function may be related to cognitive impairment.

MATE1 expression in the cochlea and its potential involvement in cisplatin cellular uptake and ototoxicity.

Background: Cisplatin appears to enter the cochlear cells through the organic cation transporter 2 (OCT2). There is recent evidence that multidrug and toxin extrusion protein 1 (MATE1) is involved in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. Its presence and role in the ear are unknown.

Hearing loss in school-aged children.

Background: Hearing loss is a common disability affecting 5% of the world's population. A lack of opportune diagnosis affects both the individual and society. In order to develop public health policies in the field of hearing health, countries must have information about epidemiology.

Supporting Cells and Their Potential Roles in Cisplatin-Induced Ototoxicity.

Cisplatin is a known ototoxic chemotherapy drug, causing irreversible hearing loss. Evidence has shown that cisplatin causes inner ear damage as a result of adduct formation, a proinflammatory environment and the generation of reactive oxygen species within the inner ear. The main cochlear targets for cisplatin are commonly known to be the outer hair cells, the stria vascularis and the spiral ganglion neurons.

Color Dependence Analysis in a CNN-Based Computer-Aided Diagnosis System for Middle and External Ear Diseases.

Artificial intelligence-assisted otologic diagnosis has been of growing interest in the scientific community, where middle and external ear disorders are the most frequent diseases in daily ENT practice. There are some efforts focused on reducing medical errors and enhancing physician capabilities using conventional artificial vision systems. However, approaches with multispectral analysis have not yet been addressed.

Reduced suprathreshold auditory nerve responses are associated with slower processing speed and thinner temporal and parietal cortex in presbycusis.

Unlabelled: Epidemiological evidence shows an association between hearing loss and dementia in elderly people. However, the mechanisms that connect hearing impairments and cognitive decline are still unknown. Here we propose that a suprathreshold auditory-nerve impairment is associated with cognitive decline and brain atrophy.

Computer-aided diagnosis of external and middle ear conditions: A machine learning approach.

In medicine, a misdiagnosis or the absence of specialists can affect the patient's health, leading to unnecessary tests and increasing the costs of healthcare. In particular, the lack of specialists in otolaryngology in third world countries forces patients to seek medical attention from general practitioners, whom might not have enough training and experience for making correct diagnosis in this field. To tackle this problem, we propose and test a computer-aided system based on machine learning models and image processing techniques for otoscopic examination, as a support for a more accurate diagnosis of ear conditions at primary care before specialist referral; in particular, for myringosclerosis, earwax plug, and chronic otitis media.

p27 down-regulation as achieved by two clinically feasible means did not induce proliferation of supporting cells in the rat neonatal cochlea in vivo.

In mammals, the cochlear sensory epithelium becomes quiescent early during development. After the first postnatal week, there is no cell replacement or proliferation, and severe damage leads to permanent deafness. Supporting cells' trans-differentiation has been suggested as a way to regenerate cochlear hair cells after damage.

Transcriptomic Analysis of Mouse Cochlear Supporting Cell Maturation Reveals Large-Scale Changes in Notch Responsiveness Prior to the Onset of Hearing.

Neonatal mouse cochlear supporting cells have a limited ability to divide and trans-differentiate into hair cells, but this ability declines rapidly in the two weeks after birth. This decline is concomitant with the morphological and functional maturation of the organ of Corti prior to the onset of hearing. However, despite this association between maturation and loss of regenerative potential, little is known of the molecular changes that underlie these events.

The Specification of Cortical Subcerebral Projection Neurons Depends on the Direct Repression of TBR1 by CTIP1/BCL11a.

The acquisition of distinct neuronal fates is fundamental for the function of the cerebral cortex. We find that the development of subcerebral projections from layer 5 neurons in the mouse neocortex depends on the high levels of expression of the transcription factor CTIP1; CTIP1 is coexpressed with CTIP2 in neurons that project to subcerebral targets and with SATB2 in those that project to the contralateral cortex. CTIP1 directly represses Tbr1 in layer 5, which appears as a critical step for the acquisition of the subcerebral fate.

Changes in the regulation of the Notch signaling pathway are temporally correlated with regenerative failure in the mouse cochlea.

Sensorineural hearing loss is most commonly caused by the death of hair cells in the organ of Corti, and once lost, mammalian hair cells do not regenerate. In contrast, other vertebrates such as birds can regenerate hair cells by stimulating division and differentiation of neighboring supporting cells. We currently know little of the genetic networks which become active in supporting cells when hair cells die and that are activated in experimental models of hair cell regeneration.

p27Kip1 knockdown induces proliferation in the organ of Corti in culture after efficient shRNA lentiviral transduction.

The cells in the organ of Corti do not exhibit spontaneous cell regeneration; hair cells that die after damage are not replaced. Supporting cells can be induced to transdifferentiate into hair cells, but that would deplete their numbers, therefore impairing epithelium physiology. The loss of p27Kip1 function induces proliferation in the organ of Corti, which raises the possibility to integrate it to the strategies to achieve regeneration.

Analysis of FGF-dependent and FGF-independent pathways in otic placode induction.

The inner ear develops from a patch of thickened cranial ectoderm adjacent to the hindbrain called the otic placode. Studies in a number of vertebrate species suggest that the initial steps in induction of the otic placode are regulated by members of the Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) family, and that inhibition of FGF signaling can prevent otic placode formation. To better understand the genetic pathways activated by FGF signaling during otic placode induction, we performed microarray experiments to estimate the proportion of chicken otic placode genes that can be up-regulated by the FGF pathway in a simple culture model of otic placode induction.

Current challenges and future perspectives of the role of governments in the psychiatric/mental health systems of Latin America.

The practices and systems of mental health in Latin America and the Caribbean are heterogeneous and are connected to dissociation between national macro systems and the complex quotidian that occurs in the daily attention of mental pathologies. The health care experiences in mental health are diverse and go back to the 1960s; these took a boost with the Caracas Declaration of 1990. The Health Care Reform has had several stages, lately focused in the strength that derives from a growing psychiatric epidemiology "base".

CoREST represses the heat shock response mediated by HSF1.

The stress response in cells involves a rapid and transient transcriptional activation of stress genes. It has been shown that Hsp70 limits its own transcriptional activation functioning as a corepressor of heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) during the attenuation of the stress response. Here we show that the transcriptional corepressor CoREST interacts with Hsp70.