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Department of Otolaryngology, Temple University School of Medicine Department of Otolaryngology, Temple University School of Medicine Department of Otolaryngology, Temple University School of Medicine

department of otolaryngology

head and neck surgery

Research Programs

 

Garfield Auditory Research Laboratory

Hearing Science

Electrophysiology

Garfield Auditory Research Laboratory


The Garfield Auditory Research Laboratory markedly increased the scope and intensity of its research over the past years in the areas of:

  • Cochlear physiology
  • Auditory neurophysiology
  • Tinnitus
  • General neurophysiology


We had the honor of hosting postdoctoral fellows from Israel, China and Germany who participated in several diverse research projects. In addition, we progressed significantly in the development of new signal processing hardware and software to be applied for both clinical and research purposes.

The goals of the Garfield Auditory Research Laboratory are:

  • To conduct thorough and relevant research, both basic science and clinical, in the fields of hearing science and neurophysiology, through individual and collaborative efforts with other scientists at Temple University and at other universities and research institutions. In doing so, to make significant contributions to the international scientific community.
  • To train Temple University School of Medicine medical residents, postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students in the scientific methods of clinical and basic science research.
  • To provide the Temple University research community with resources of expertise in the areas of hearing science, physiology, physics, mathematics and computer science.
  • To develop new technologies in terms of computer applications, instrumentation, and techniques in order to further science in our field.

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Hearing Science

 

The Hearing Science Research Program consists of animal and human experimentation directed at developing an objective, quantitative, and non-invasive technique with which to identify and measure tinnitus. In addition, the mechanisms of tinnitus generation are under investigation. In parallel to the tinnitus studies, the mechanisms of distortion product otoacoustic emissions generation are being evaluated in animal and human models. We are also performing a study of noise exposure levels on intensive care nursery babies during the normal work week to determine if the levels may be sufficient to induce hearing loss.

 

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Electrophysiology

 

The Electrophysiology Project has five sections:

  1. Development of techniques for electrophysiologically evaluating the placement of pedicle screws during major back surgery in order to reduce the likelihood of postoperative morbidity. This is a collaborative project with the Departments of Neurosurgery and Orthopedic Surgery.
  2. Evaluation of auditory and somatosensory brainstem activity during deterioration to brain death by studying the changes in orientation of the equivalent dipoles for each using 3-channel Lissajous trajectory recordings.
  3. Evaluation of the effects of maternal cocaine abuse on development of peripheral auditory function and of the auditory pathway by recording auditory brainstem evoked potentials from infants testing positive for cocaine at birth.
  4. Evaluation of the predictive efficiency of intraoperative upper and lower extremity somatosensory evoked potentials and motor evoked potentials monitoring applied during back surgery.
  5. We have completed a review of facial nerve function studies from over 400 acoustic neuroma resections, evaluating the effectiveness of facial nerve monitoring.

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