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Uncovering Deficits In Auditory Processing And Cognition Following Hearing Loss And Prefrontal Cortex Dysfunction, Krystyna B. Wieczerzak

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

How the auditory cortex and higher-order cortical regions, e.g., the prefrontal cortex, interact for accurate auditory processing and perception is not fully understood. Furthermore, although hearing loss is correlated with cognitive impairment, and animal studies have shown that loud noise exposure causes hippocampal neuropathology, the effects of noise-induced hearing loss on the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and higher-level cognitive functions have not been well studied. Using electrophysiological and cognitive-behavioural testing in rats, Chapter 2 provides the first evidence of noise-induced plasticity in the mPFC (e.g., loss of functional connectivity with the auditory cortex) and deficits in stimulus-response habit learning. Although …