This book reviews the growing literature that is consistent with the hypothesis that hormones can regulate auditory physiology and perception across a broad range of animal taxa, including humans. Understanding how hormones modulate auditory function has far reaching implications for advancing our knowledge in the basic biomedical sciences and in understanding the evolution of acoustic communication systems. A fundamental goal of neuroscience is to understand how hormones modulate neural circuits and behavior. For example, steroids such as estrogens and androgens are well-known regulators of vocal motor behaviors used during social acoustic communication. Recent studies have shown that these same hormones can also greatly influence the reception of social acoustic signals, leading to the more efficient exchange of acoustic information.

Insect Hearing provides a broadly based view of the functions, mechanisms, and evolution of hearing in insects. With a single exception, the chapters focus on problems of hearing and their solutions, rather than being focused on particular taxa. The exception, hearing in Drosophila, is justified because, due to its ever growing toolbox of genetic and optical techniques, Drosophila is rapidly becoming one of the most important model systems in neurobiology, including the neurobiology of hearing. Auditory systems, whether insectan or vertebrate, must perform a number of basic tasks: capturing mechanical stimuli and transducing these into neural activity, representing the timing and frequency of sound signals, distinguishing between behaviorally relevant signals and other sounds and localizing sound sources. Studying how these are accomplished in insects offers a valuable comparative view that helps to reveal general principles of auditory function.

Presents a comprehensive review of nonhuman primate audition and vocal communication. These are obviously intimately related topics, but are often addressed separately. The hearing abilities of primates have been tested experimentally in a large number of species across the primate order, and these studies have revealed both consistent patterns as well as interesting variation within and between taxonomic groups. Recent studies have shed light on how variation in anatomical structures along the auditory pathway relates to variation in auditory sensitivity. At the same time, ongoing studies of vocal communication in wild primate populations continue to reveal new insights into the social and environmental contexts of many primate calls, and the range of known primate vocalizations has increased dramatically with the development of more sophisticated and accessible auditory equipment and software that enables the recording and analysis of higher-fidelity and broader-band recordings, including documenting very high frequency (i.e. ultrasound) vocalizations. Historically the relative importance of primate calls has been evaluated qualitatively by the perception of the researcher, but new methods and approaches now enable a greater appreciation for how signals are used and perceived by the primates in question. The integration of anatomical and behavioral data on acoustic communication and the environmental correlates thereof has significant potential for reconstructing behavior in the fossil record. This confluence of factors and accumulating evidence for the sophistication and complexity in both the signal and its interpretation indicate that a book synthesizing this information across primates is warranted and represents an important contribution to the literature.

The middle ear plays a vital role in the sense and sensitivity of hearing. Of the various characteristics that distinguish mammals from other vertebrates, several pertain specifically to the middle-ear system, such as the presence of three middle-ear bones and the four-layer composite structure of the tympanic membrane. The Middle Ear attempts to elucidate the role this system plays in sound transmission, as viewed from both scientific and clinical perspectives.

The hearing organs of non-mammals, which show quite large and systematic differences to each other and to those of mammals, provide an invaluable basis for comparisons of structure and function. By taking advantage of the vast diversity of possible study organisms provided by the "library" that is biological diversity, it is possible to learn how complex functions are realized in the inner ear through the evolution of specific structural, cellular and molecular configurations. Insights from Comparative Hearing Research brings together some of the most exciting comparative research on hearing and shows how this work has profoundly impacted our understanding of hearing in all vertebrates.

The evolution of vertebrate hearing is of considerable interest in the hearing community. However, there has never been a volume that has focused on the paleontological evidence for the evolution of hearing and the ear, especially from the perspective of some of the leading paleontologists and evolutionary biologists in the world. Thus, this volume is totally unique, and takes a perspective that has never been taken before. It brings to the fore some of the most recent discoveries among fossil taxa, which have demonstrated the sort of detailed information that can be derived from the fossil record, illuminating the evolutionary pathways this sensory system has taken and the diversity it had achieved.

This volume brings together noted scientists who study presbycusis from the perspective of complementary disciplines, for a review of the current state of knowledge on the aging auditory system. Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is one of the top three most common chronic health conditions affecting individuals aged 65 years and older. The high prevalence of age-related hearing loss compels audiologists, otolaryngologists, and auditory neuroscientists alike to understand the neural, genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying this disorder. A comprehensive understanding of these factors is needed so that effective prevention, intervention, and rehabilitative strategies can be developed to ameliorate the myriad of behavioral manifestations.

The aim is to provide students and researchers in auditory science and aging with a understanding of the various effects of aging on the auditory system.

Contents:

• Introduction and Overview Sandra Gordon-Salant and Robert D. Frisina
• The Physiology of Cochlear Presbyacusis Richard A. Schmiedt
• The Cell Biology and Physiology of the Aging Central Auditory Pathway Barbara Canlon, Robert Benjamin Illing, and Joseph Walton
  
• Closing the Gap between Neurobiology and Human Presbycusis: Behavioral and Evoked Potential Studies of Age-related Hearing Loss in Animal Models and in Humans James R. Ison, Kelly L. Tremblay, and Paul D. Allen
• Behavioral Studies with Aging Humans: Hearing Sensitivity and Psychoacoustics Peter J. Fitzgibbons and Sandra Gordon-Salant.
• Binaural Processing and Auditory Asymmetries David A. Eddins and Joseph W. Hall III

• The Effects of Senescent Changes in Audition and Cognition on Spoken Language Comprehension Bruce A. Schneider, Kathy Pichora-Fuller, and Meredyth Daneman
• Factors Affecting Speech Understanding in Older Adults Larry E. Humes and Judy R. Dubno
• Epidemiology of Age-related Hearing Impairment Karen J. Cruickshanks, Weihai Zhan, and Wenjun Zhong
• Interventions and Future Therapies: Lessons from Animal Models James F. Willott and Jochen Schacht

Sandra Gordon-Salant is Professor and Director of the Doctoral Program in Clinical Audiology in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park. Robert D. Frisina is Professor of Otolaryngology, Neurobiology & Anatomy, and Biomedical Engineering, and Associate Chair of Otolaryngology at the University of Rochester Medical School. Arthur N. Popper is Professor in the Department of Biology and Co-Director of the Center for Comparative and Evolutionary Biology of Hearing at the University of Maryland, College Park. Richard R. Fay is Director of the Parmly Hearing Institute and Professor of Psychology at Loyola University of Chicago.

About the series:

The Springer Handbook of Auditory Research presents a series of synthetic reviews of fundamental topics dealing with auditory systems. Each volume is independent and authoritative; taken as a set, this series is the definitive resource in the field.

Translational Research is the interface between basic science and human clinical application, including the entire process from animal studies to human clinical trials (phases I, II, and III). Translational Research moves promising basic science results from the laboratory to bedside application. Yet, this transition is often the least-defined, least-understood part of the research process. Most scientific training programs provide little or no systematic introduction to the issues, challenges, and obstacles that prevent effective research translation, even though these are the key steps that enable high-impact basic science to ultimately result in significant clinical advances that improve patient outcome. This volume will provide an overview of key issues in translation of research from "bedside to bench to bedside", not only from the perspective of the key funding agencies, but also from the scientists and clinicians who are currently involved in the translational research process. It will attempt to offer insight into real-world experience with intellectual property and technology transfer activities that can help move auditory technologies ahead, as scientists and clinicians typically have little or no formal training in these areas. Translational Research in Audiology and the Hearing Sciences will be aimed at graduate students and postdoctoral investigators, as well as professionals and academics. It is intended to function as a high-profile and up-to-date reference work on Translational Research in the auditory sciences, emphasizing research programs in the traditional areas including drugs and devices, as well as less traditional, still emerging, areas such as sensorineural hearing loss, auditory processing disorder, cochlear implants and hearing aids, and tinnitus therapies.

Efferent sensory systems have emerged as major components of processing by the central nervous system. Whereas the afferent sensory systems bring environmental information into the brain, efferent systems function to monitor, sharpen, and attend selectively to certain stimuli while ignoring others. This ability of the brain to implement these functions enables the organism to make fine discriminations and to respond appropriately to environmental conditions so that survival is enhanced. Our focus will be on auditory and vestibular efferents, topics linked together by the inner ear connection.

The biological utility of the efferent system is striking. How it functions is less well understood, and with each new discovery, more questions arise. The book that is proposed here reflects our vision to share what is known on the topic by authors who actually have made the observations.

The Springer Handbook of Auditory Research presents a series of comprehensive and synthetic reviews of the fundamental topics in modern auditory research. The v- umes are aimed at all individuals with interests in hearing research including advanced graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and clinical investigators. The volumes are intended to introduce new investigators to important aspects of hearing science and to help established investigators to better understand the fundamental theories and data in fields of hearing that they may not normally follow closely. Each volume presents a particular topic comprehensively, and each serves as a synthetic overview and guide to the literature. As such, the chapters present neither exhaustive data reviews nor original research that has not yet appeared in pe- reviewed journals. The volumes focus on topics that have developed a solid data and conceptual foundation rather than on those for which a literature is only beg- ning to develop. New research areas will be covered on a timely basis in the series as they begin to mature.

This volume will cover a variety of topics, including child language development; hearing loss; listening in noise; statistical learning; poverty; auditory processing disorder; cochlear neuropathy; attention; and aging. It will appeal broadly to auditory scientists-and in fact, any scientist interested in the biology of human communication and learning. The range of the book highlights the interdisciplinary series of questions that are pursued using the auditory frequency-following response and will accordingly attract a wide and diverse readership, while remaining a lasting resource for the field.

Two groups of animals, bats and odontocetes (toothed whales), have independently developed the ability to orient and detect prey by biosonar (echolocation). This active mechanism of orientation allows these animals to operate under low light conditions. "Biosonar"is a conceptual overview of what is known about biosonar in bats and odontocetes. Chapters are written by bat and odontocetes experts, resulting in collaborations that not only examine data on both animals, but also compare and contrast mechanisms. This book provides a unique insight that will help improve our understanding of biosonar in both animal groups. "

Hearing and communication present a variety of challenges to the nervous system. To be heard and understood, a communication signal must be transformed from a time-varying acoustic waveform to a perceptual representation to an even more abstract representation that integrates memory stores with semantic/referential information. Finally, this complex, abstract representation must be interpreted to form categorical decisions that guide behavior. Did I hear the stimulus? From where and whom did it come? What does it tell me? How can I use this information to plan an action? All of these issues and questions underlie auditory cognition. Since the early 1990s, there has been a re-birth of studies that test the neural correlates of auditory cognition with a unique emphasis on the use of awake, behaving animals as model. Continuing today, how and where in the brain neural correlates of auditory cognition are formed is an intensive and active area of research. Importantly, our understanding of the role that the cortex plays in hearing has the potential to impact the next generation of cochlear- and brainstem-auditory implants and consequently help those with hearing impairments. Thus, it is timely to produce a volume that brings together this exciting literature on the neural correlates of auditory cognition. This volume compliments and extends many recent SHAR volumes such as Sound Source Localization (2005) Auditory Perception of Sound Sources (2007), and Human Auditory Cortex (2010). For example, in many of these volumes, similar issues are discussed such as auditory-object identification and perception with different emphases: in Auditory Perception of Sound Sources, authors discuss the underlying psychophysics/behavior, whereas in the Human Auditory Cortex, fMRI data are presented. The unique contribution of the proposed volume is that the authors will integrate both of these factors to highlight the neural correlates of cognition/behavior. Moreover, unlike other these other volumes, the neurophysiological data will emphasize the exquisite spatial and temporal resolution of single-neuron as opposed to more coarse fMRI or MEG data] responses in order to reveal the elegant representations and computations used by the nervous system.

This volume presents a set of essays that discuss the development and plasticity of the vertebrate auditory system. The topic is one that has been considered before in the Springer Handbook of Auditory Research (volume 9 in 1998, and volume 23 in 2004) but the field has grown substantially and it is appropriate to bring previous material up to date to reflect the wealth of new data and to raise some entirely new topics. At the same time, this volume is also unique in that it is the outgrowth of a symposium honoring two-time SHAR co-editor Professor Edwin W Rubel on his retirement. The focus of this volume, though, is an integrated set of papers that reflect the immense contributions that Dr. Rubel has made to the field over his career. Thus, the volume concurrently presents a topic that is timely for SHAR, but which also honors the pioneer in the field. Each chapter explores development with consideration of plasticity and how it becomes limited over time. The editors have selected authors with professional, and often personal, connections to Dr. Rubel, though all are, in their own rights, outstanding scholars and leaders in their fields. The specific audience will be graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and established psychologists and neuroscientists who are interested in auditory function, development, and plasticity. This volume will also be of interest to hearing scientists and to the broad neuroscience community because many of the ideas and principles associate with the auditory system are applicable to most sensory systems. The volume is organized to appeal to psychophysicists, neurophysiologists, anatomists, and systems neuroscientists who attend meetings such as those held by the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, the Acoustical Society of America, and the Society for Neuroscience.

This book considers deafness as a medical condition, exploring the neuronal consequences on the peripheral and the central nervous system as well as on cognition and learning, viewed from the standpoint of genetics, neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, molecular biology, systems neuroscience, and cognitive neuroscience.

This volume details the essential role of the spiral ganglion neurons. The volume elucidates and characterizes their development, their environment, their electrophysiological characteristics, their connectivity to their targets in the inner ear and the brain, and discusses the potential for their regeneration. A comprehensive review about the spiral ganglion neurons is important for researchers not only in the inner ear field but also in development, neuroscience, biophysics as well as neural networks researchers. The chapters are authored by leading researchers in the field.

Arguably biosonar is one of the 'eye-opening' discoveries about animal behavior and the auditory systems of echolocators are front and center in this story. Echolocation by bats has proven to be a virtual gold mine for colleagues studying neurobiology, while providing many rich examples of its impact on other areas of bats' lives. In this volume we briefly review the history of the topic (reminding readers of the 1995 Hearing by Bats). We use a chapter on new findings in the phylogeny of bats to put the information that follows in an evolutionary context. This includes an examination of the possible roles of Prestin and FoxP2 genes and various anatomical features affecting bat vocalizations. We introduce recent work on the role of noseleafs, ears, and other facial components on the focusing of sound and collection of echoes.

Cochlear implants are currently the standard treatment for profound sensorineural hearing loss. In the last decade, advances in auditory science and technology have not only greatly expanded the utility of electric stimulation to other parts of the auditory nervous system in addition to the cochlea, but have also demonstrated drastic changes in the brain in responses to electric stimulation, including changes in language development and music perception. Volume 20 of SHAR focused on basic science and technology underlying the cochlear implant. However, due to the newness of the ideas and technology, the volume did not cover any emerging applications such as bilateral cochlear implants, combined acoustic-electric stimulation, and other types of auditory prostheses, nor did it review brain plasticity in responses to electric stimulation and its perceptual and language consequences. This proposed volume takes off from Volume 20, and expands the examination of implants into new and highly exciting areas. This edited book starts with an overview and introduction by Dr. Fan-Gang Zeng. Chapters 2-9 cover technological development and the advances in treating the full spectrum of ear disorders in the last ten years. Chapters 10-15 discuss brain responses to electric stimulation and their perceptual impact. This volume is particularly exciting because there have been quantum leap from the traditional technology discussed in Volume 20. Thus, this volume is timely and will be of real importance to the SHAR audience.

Tinnitus is a prevalent hearing disease, affecting 15% of the population, particularly hearing impaired, veterans and even young people who grow up with mp3 players and iPods. The mechanisms underlying tinnitus remain controversial. At present there is no cure for tinnitus, and treatment options are limited. Different from previous tinnitus books, including A. R. Moller's book [in press at Springer], which typically have a strong clinical flavor, the present volume focuses on neural mechanisms of tinnitus and its behavioral consequences. The proposed book starts with a general summary of the field and a short introduction on the selection and content of the remaining chapters. Chapter 2 overviews tinnitus prevalence and etiologies to set the tone for significance and complexity of this neurological disorder spectrum. Chapters 3-8 cover neuroscience of tinnitus in animal models from molecular mechanisms to cortical manifestation. Chapters 9-12 cover human brain responses to tinnitus and it clinical management.

Although the fundamental principles of vocal production are well-understood, and are being increasingly applied by specialists to specific animal taxa, they stem originally from engineering research on the human voice. These origins create a double barrier to entry for biologists interested in understanding acoustic communication in their study species. The proposed volume aims to fill this gap, providing easy-to-understand overviews of the various relevant theories and techniques, and showing how these principles can be implemented in the study of all main vertebrate groups. The volume will have eleven chapters assembled from the world's leading researchers, at a level intelligible to a wide audience of biologists with no background in engineering or human voice science. Some will cover sound production in a particular vertebrate group; others will address a particular issue, such as vocal learning, across vertebrate taxa. The book will highlight what is known and how to implement useful techniques and methodologies, but will also summarize current gaps in the knowledge. It will serve both as a tutorial introduction for newcomers and a springboard for further research for all scientists interested in understanding animal acoustic signals.

This new definitive volume on fish auditory systems will interest investigators in both basic research of fish bioacoustics as well as investigators in applied aspects of fisheries and resource management. Topics cover structure, physiology, localization, and acoustic behavior as well as more applied topics such as using sound to detect and locate fish.

This volume will provide an important contemporary reference on hearing development and will lead to new ways of thinking about hearing in children and about remediation for children with hearing loss. Much of the material in this volume will document that a different model of hearing is needed to understand hearing during development. The book is expected to spur research in auditory development and in its application to pediatric audiology.

The concept of the “Soundscapes� includes all of the sounds in one’s environment and focuses not only on the sounds itself. Instead, it focuses on the interrelationships between person and activity and place, both in space and time. Soundscape also include influences on the acoustic environment through auditory sensation, its interpretation, and the responses to the acoustic environment in context. The conceptual framework of Soundscape describes the “process of perceiving or experiencing and/or understanding an acoustic environment, highlighting general concepts and their relationships: context, sound sources, acoustic environment, auditory sensation, interpretation of auditory sensation, responses, and outcomes� (International Organization for Standardization, ISO 12913-1:2014 Acoustics Soundscape Part Definition and Conceptual Framework, ISO, Geneva, 2014). With soundscape, one achieves a deeper understanding of acoustic environment and its effects on people.  The ISO standard 12931-1 on soundscape provides an important, and rigorous, distinction in the use of “Soundscape.� But, it is recognizable that some individuals, particularly planners, designers, lay persons, and even those primarily interested in management of the acoustic environment through environmental noise control, will find it convenient to use “Soundscape� as a synonym for the physical acoustic environment. When it comes to noise management and urban planning, soundscape research has the potential to promote healthy urban environments by sharing and incorporating the significant knowledge of all concerned parties. Understandably, this shows that the communication with regard to noise management has to be forced to guarantee that the specifics of Soundscapes (i.e., the relevance of perception) are seriously considered alongside the whole. This book will bridge the gap between soundscape theory and practice and therefore it   will be different from our earlier publications as “Soundscape and the built environment� (ed. by J. Kang and B. Schulte-Fortkamp CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton, Fl  2016) and also from the respective Special Issues on Soundscapes  in 2012 in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (ed. by B. Schulte-Fortkamp and J. Kang), and also the Special Issue in Acta Acustica 2006 *(ed. by B. Schulte-Fortkamp and D. Dubois), and the E-book on soundscape  This volume will be driven by the difficult process of standardization of Soundscape and its evaluation procedures. The main goal of the proposed volume is to present and review the developments in Soundscape, reflecting the standardization procedure and the diverse inputs.   the needs in management and planning in urban acoustic environments, the book will also focus on the difficulties, as well as the solutions, in interdisciplinary grounded communication, that is, on the one hand, related to science, but on the other to application, that needs guidance.

This volume provides a detailed update on progress in the field of hair cell regeneration. This topic is of considerable interest to academicians, clinicians, and commercial entities, including students of auditory and vestibular neuroscience, audiologists, otologists, and industry, all of whom may have interest in hair cell regeneration as a potential future therapy for hearing and balance dysfunction.  In 2008, Springer published a SHAR volume on this subject (Hair Cell Regeneration, Repair, and Protection, Editors Richard Salvi and Richard Fay).  Since that time, there has been considerable advancement in this field.This book provides a historical perspective on the field, but the emphasis is on more "prospective" views of the various facets of regeneration research, in the hope that the volume will stimulate new projects and approaches, focusing on the limitations of current knowledge and describing promising strategies for future work. The book will include the following key features of hair cell regeneration: • Cellular and molecular control hair cell regeneration in non-mammalian species (in particular zebrafish and chickens) • Our current understanding of the capacity for hair cell replacement in mammals (rodents and humans).   • Signals controlling pro-regenerative behaviors in supporting cells, the hair cell progenitors.  • New techniques that have been applied to study the genetic and epigenetic regulation of hair cell regeneration in mammals and non-mammals.  • Contributions of stem cells toward building new tools to explore how hair cell regeneration is controlled and toward developing cells and tissue for therapeutic transplantation. •  Studies that have applied gene and drug therapy to promote regeneration in mammals.

The Springer Handbook of Auditory Research presents a series of comprehensive and synthetic reviews of the fundamental topics in modern auditory research. The v- umes are aimed at all individuals with interests in hearing research including advanced graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and clinical investigators. The volumes are intended to introduce new investigators to important aspects of hearing science and to help established investigators to better understand the fundamental theories and data in fields of hearing that they may not normally follow closely. Each volume presents a particular topic comprehensively, and each serves as a synthetic overview and guide to the literature. As such, the chapters present neither exhaustive data reviews nor original research that has not yet appeared in pe- reviewed journals. The volumes focus on topics that have developed a solid data and conceptual foundation rather than on those for which a literature is only beg- ning to develop. New research areas will be covered on a timely basis in the series as they begin to mature.