Description du projet
Comprendre la maturation du traitement auditif à l’adolescence
Le traitement auditif complexe, tel que la perception de la parole dans le bruit, suit un développement prolongé jusqu’au milieu ou à la fin de l'adolescence. Pourtant, l’adolescence pourrait être une période caractérisée par une plasticité neuronale accrue, qui pourrait être déclenchée par la puberté et les changements hormonaux qui y sont associés. L’interaction entre le début de la puberté et l’expérience sensorielle des jeunes (par exemple, la perte auditive ou la formation auditive) reste encore débattue. Le projet SensationaHL, financé par l’UE, adoptera une approche multidisciplinaire unique pour étudier la maturation du traitement auditif complexe à l’adolescence. Il entend générer de nouvelles connaissances dans le domaine des neurosciences cognitives développementales de l’audition et à approfondir la compréhension des périodes sensibles tout au long de la vie.
Objectif
Orienting oneself in a crowded playground, understanding the teacher’s explanation despite the surrounding chatter, lip-reading to support auditory perception in noisy backgrounds: these are all complex but essential skills for navigating lively schools. In children with normal hearing, the auditory system is functionally mature by 6 months of age. Yet complex auditory processing remains immature until mid to late adolescence. Strikingly, adolescence is characterized by the onset of puberty, which triggers a cascade of hormonal changes that drive neural plasticity, and vice-versa. The overarching hypothesis of SensationaHL is that adolescence might present a second sensitive period for complex auditory processing. Just like puberty is a gradual process spanning years, sensitive periods unfold over time. In this project, I propose a multi-method approach to advance our understanding of maturation of complex auditory processing at adolescence. Specifically, I will combine neuroendocrinology, neuroimaging and psychophysics to identify the mechanisms that govern sensitive periods as they unfold over time. First, I will zoom in on the onset of puberty as a potential trigger for heightened plasticity associated with sensitive periods. Next, I will investigate the effect of altered auditory input (due to hearing loss, noise exposition or auditory training) on maturation of complex auditory processing in adolescents. Last, I will focus on the braking factors that contribute to a decrease in plasticity observed at the end of adolescence. SensationaHL uses an innovative multidisciplinary perspective to tackle a remaining challenge in the field of (developmental) auditory cognitive neuroscience. It will have significant impacts on public health (i.e. prevention and clinical management of hearing loss), language education (i.e. speech perception in challenging backgrounds in children) and theoretical understanding of sensitive periods across the lifespan.
Champ scientifique
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Thème(s)
Régime de financement
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsInstitution d’accueil
1050 Bruxelles / Brussel
Belgique