See
Less, Hear More
Becky Copper
Becky Copper
Is it possible to improve
hearing by reducing vision? According to a recent scientific study
published in the journal Neuron, being subjected to less sight
(like staying in a dark room for a long period of time) can actually
help with audio processing in the brain. Patrick Kanold and
Hey-Kyoung Lee, two researchers at the University of Maryland, tested
their hypothesis by keeping mice in darkness for about a week. The
restricted vision led to advancement in the sound processing part of
the brain. The mice's neurons, or nerve cells, reacted more strongly
to various pitches and volumes played to them after being kept in the
dark for so long. This discovery could potentially solve the issue of
the dynamic change deaf people experience when receiving cochlear*
implants. The extreme adjustment is often difficult for the brain to
handle, so the transition could be smoother if those people receiving
cochlear implants* were limited in sight after the surgery.
*Cochlear- adjective of cochlea, a
spiral-shaped cavity forming a division of the internal ear in humans
and in most other mammals (Dictionary.com)
*Cochlear
implants- a device consisting of microelectrodes that deliver
electrical stimuli directly to the auditory nerve when surgically
implanted into the cochlea, enabling a person with sensorineural
deafness to hear (Dictionary.com)
NOS
Themes:
- Science is collaborative; 2 researchers and others worked together to produce and analyze the results of this experiment
- Science is based on evidence; to conclude that people receiving cochlear implants could adjust more easily to their restored hearing by limiting vision, scientists performed an experiment on mice to support their hypothesis
- Science is subject to debate and tentative; others could argue that this experiment was so far performed only on mice, not people, so results may have the possibility of differing from expectations
- Role of credibility; the researchers provided solid evidence in their experiments, as well as credible and reasonable explanations for their results
- Role of skepticism; there are many exceptions and specific cases that could lead to a different outcome than in the experiment
- Role of motivation and curiosity; people with limited hearing or auditory disorders may find this article useful and intriguing, and the researchers themselves were motivated by curiosity in the beginning to have conducted this experiment
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