The layering of auditory experiences in driving experience-dependent subcortical plasticity.

The layering of auditory experiences in driving experience-dependent subcortical plasticity. Hear Res. 2014 Jan 17; Authors: Skoe E, Chandrasekaran B Abstract Auditory brain function is shaped by a combination of genetic factors and one's auditory experiences. Genetic factors set the gross architecture of the system, whereas experiences fine-tune that architecture and its functionality throughout life. In this review article, we focus on recent discoveries of experiential influences on brainstem function. Using these studies as scaffolding, we then lay the initial groundwork for the Layering Hypothesis, a new hypothesis of experience-dependent plasticity that explicates how experiences combine to shape subcortical auditory function. Our hypothesis is built on the idea that the subcortical auditory system reflects the collective auditory experiences of an individual, including interactions with sound that occurred in the distant past. Our goal for this article is to begin to shift the field away from looking at the effect of single experiences to examining how different auditory experiences layer or superimpose on each other. PMID: 24445149 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Hearing Research - Category: Audiology Authors: Tags: Hear Res Source Type: research