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Robert Burkard

Publications and source records attributed to Robert Burkard.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Calibration of acoustic transients.

This article reviews the appropriate stimulus parameters (click duration, toneburst envelope) that should be used when eliciting auditory brainstem responses from mice. Equipment specifications required to calibrate these acoustic transients are discussed. Several methods of calibrating the level of acoustic transients are presented, including the measurement of peak equivalent sound pressure level (peSPL) and peak sound pressure level (pSPL). It is hoped that those who collect auditory brainstem response thresholds in mice will begin to use standardized methods of acoustic calibration, so that hearing thresholds across mouse strains obtained in different laboratories can more readily be compared.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

The effects of nembutal anesthesia on the auditory steady-state response (ASSR) from the inferior colliculus and auditory cortex of the chinchilla.

We examined the effects of nembutal anesthesia on the amplitude of the auditory steady-state response (ASSR) in the inferior colliculus (IC) and auditory cortex (AC) of the chinchilla. Tungsten electrodes were chronically implanted following anesthesia with ketamine/acepromazine. After a recovery period, the chinchillas were placed in a passive restraining device and put in a sound-attenuating booth. Recordings were made from the right IC and AC simultaneously, while a two-tone stimulus was presented to the left ear. The stimuli consisted of two equal-level tones (F1 and F2) that were mixed acoustically; F1 remained constant at 2000 Hz, while F2 varied between 2029 and 2249 Hz, in steps of approximately 20 Hz. The stimuli decreased in 10 dB steps from 80 to 30 dB pSPL. Animals were evaluated when unanesthetized, as well as when anesthetized with nembutal (on separate days). In the IC, the administration of nembutal resulted in either no change in ASSR amplitude or an amplitude increase for difference tone (DT) frequencies below 90 Hz, while an amplitude decrease was typically seen for DT frequencies at or above 90 Hz. In the AC, a decrease in amplitude was seen across DT frequencies and stimulus levels after the administration of nembutal anesthesia. Our results suggest that both the AC and IC may contribute to the scalp-recorded ASSR in the awake state. However, in the nembutal-anesthetized state, it seems unlikely that the AC contributes substantially to the surface-recorded ASSR, as the AC response was greatly attenuated under nembutal anesthesia. In contrast, the IC ASSR responses remained robust, which makes it a likely contributor to the surface-recorded responses under nembutal anesthesia.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Functional imaging during covert auditory attention in multiple sclerosis.

Recent literature suggests that the brain in multiple sclerosis (MS) undergoes reorganization that subserves the performance of visual and motor tasks. We identified sites of cerebral activity in 16 MS patients while performing a covert attention (CA) task, presented in the auditory modality. Positron emission tomography (PET) revealed activation of rostral/dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in normal subjects studied previously. Activity in this region was not significant in MS patients, but there was a large region of activity in superior temporal cortex. Decreased activation of frontal attentional networks and greater activity in sensory/perceptual cortical areas (auditory association cortex) suggests a reduction of transmission along white matter tracts connecting these regions. This study demonstrates cingulate hypoactivity and cerebral reorganization during auditory attention in MS.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

The AuD program at the University at Buffalo.

The doctor of audiology (AuD) program at the University at Buffalo is summarized in this article. We begin with a description of the city of Buffalo and the University at Buffalo. This is followed by a brief history of the university and the Department of Communicative Disorders & Sciences. We then summarize the timeline and the process required to develop the AuD program. Admissions policies and prerequisites are then reviewed. We discuss the faculty active in our AuD program and present the requirements (clinical, academic, research) for the degree. The article ends with a delineation of the challenges we face, as well as a description of some of the factors that make the audiology program at the University at Buffalo unique.

Audiology↗

The masking level difference in chinchilla auditory cortex. Effects of inner hair cell loss.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate responses from the unanesthetized chinchilla auditory cortex (AC) to conditions producing a masking level difference (MLD) in perceptual studies, both before and after inner hair cell (IHC) loss caused by carboplatin. Tungsten electrodes were chronically implanted in the right AC (active) and anterior cranium (common) in six adult chinchillas. Following a recovery period, AC responses were obtained from the unanesthetized animal placed in a passive restraint. Toneburst input/output functions were obtained. Tonebursts (500 Hz) ranged from 0 to 80 dB pSPL, in 10 dB steps, and were presented to the left ear, the right ear, binaural (in-phase) and binaural (out-of-phase). For the MLD series, responses to 70 dB pSPL, 500 Hz tonebursts and a continuous broadband noise (40-90 dB SPL, in 5 dB steps) were studied. Three MLD versus non-MLD conditions were obtained: SpiN0/S0N0, SLN0/SLNL, and SRN0/SRNR. Following baseline data collection, each animal was given 75 mg/kg carboplatin intraperitoneally. Four to five weeks later, the electrophysiology protocol was followed again. At 5 weeks post-carboplatin, the animals were sacrificed, the cochleas were harvested, and cochleograms (hair cell loss across cochlear place) were constructed. For all conditions, response latencies increased and amplitudes decreased with decreasing toneburst level and increasing level of masking noise. Masked AC response thresholds were higher (better) for the MLD conditions than their respective non-MLD conditions. AC response latencies across masking noise level did not appear to vary systematically across conditions. Under some conditions, the MLD conditions showed larger amplitudes than their respective non-MLD conditions for equivalent masker levels. Post-carboplatin, cochleograms showed moderate IHC loss (on average, approximately 40% loss in apex) with minimal outer hair cell loss. The differences in MLD versus non-MLD conditions in terms of masked threshold and response amplitude were often reduced post-carboplatin.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Onset and offset responses from inferior colliculus and auditory cortex to paired noisebursts: inner hair cell loss.

Thirteen adult chinchillas were anesthetized with ketamine/acepromazine and tungsten electrodes were placed in the right inferior colliculus (IC) and auditory cortex (AC). A reference electrode was implanted in the anterior cranium. Following a recovery period, AC and IC responses to left ear stimulation were obtained from unanesthetized animals resting in a passive restraint inside a sound-attenuating booth. After the first recording, the animals were injected with carboplatin (75 mg/kg). Four to five weeks later, a second recording was made. Stimuli were 50 ms duration (0 ms rise and fall time), 80 dB SPL noiseburst pairs. In one group of seven animals, the gap time varied from 1 to 64 ms. In a second group of six animals, the gap time ranged from 0.25 to 64 ms in order to determine gap threshold. The responses were amplified (10000x) and filtered from 10 to 3000 Hz. Each response was the average of 100 stimulus presentations. The dependent variables were the latency of the initial positive peak and the amplitude of the response from initial positive peak to the following negativity. Following the second recording, all animals were sacrificed, the cochleas harvested, and cochleograms were obtained by counting outer hair cells (OHCs) and inner hair cells (IHCs). For the onset response to the second noiseburst of each pair, response amplitudes decreased and latencies increased with decreasing gap time. For a 64 ms gap time, the IC response approached the latencies and amplitudes seen for the onset response to the single noiseburst or first noiseburst in the pair (herein called "baseline" values), while the AC response latency approached baseline values, but AC amplitude did not. Interestingly, the offset responses to the first noiseburst were not present at gaps of less than 8 ms, while the onset responses to the second noiseburst were typically present at gaps of 1-2 ms. Cochleograms revealed a normal (or near-normal) complement of OHCs, and IHC loss averaging roughly 30-40% in apical regions and increasing to 60-70% in more basal regions (compared to normative data). Following carboplatin, the latencies of IC onset responses were delayed by several tenths of a millisecond, with the greatest pre- versus post-carboplatin latency shift occurring at short noiseburst gaps. AC response latencies were largely unaffected by carboplatin. IC onset response amplitudes were reduced following carboplatin, while AC onset responses were similar to pre-carboplatin values. IC offset response latencies to the first noiseburst were increased post-carboplatin, while AC offset response latencies varied little from pre-carboplatin values. IC and AC offset response amplitudes to the first noiseburst were decreased post-carboplatin.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

The influence of inner hair cell loss on the instantaneous frequency of the cochlear microphonic.

The cochlear microphonic (CM) is produced by a change in standing currents during the motion of the cochlear partition. The motion of the partition and associated hair cell transduction processes are nonlinear and are reflected in the variation of the instantaneous frequency (IF) of the CM. Although the CM is dominated from receptor currents from outer hair cells (OHCs), receptor currents from inner hair cells (IHCs) may contribute to the fluctuation in the IF. In this paper we examine the influence of IHCs on the variation of the IF of the CM. A 75 mg/kg intraperitoneal (i.p.) dose of carboplatin reduced the IHC population by approximately 40%. The reduction in IHCs did not substantially affect the amplitude of the CM. The amplitude of the IF, however, was reduced at high signal levels (90 and 100 dB peak SPL). A phenomenological model of the CM indicated that the contribution of IHC receptor currents to the IF was small and that changes in OHC transducer characteristics may have a greater impact on the IF.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Inner hair cell loss and steady-state potentials from the inferior colliculus and auditory cortex of the chinchilla.

Steady-state evoked potentials were measured from unanesthetized chinchillas both before and after carboplatin-induced selective inner hair cell loss. Recordings were made from both the inferior colliculus (IC) and the auditory cortex (AC). The steady-state potential was measured in the form of the envelope following response (EFR), obtained by presenting a two-tone stimulus (f1 = 2000 Hz; f2 = 2020, 2040, 2080, 2160, or 2320 Hz), and measuring the magnitude of the Fourier coefficient at the f2-f1 difference frequency. From the IC, precarboplatin, EFR amplitude vs difference tone frequency showed a bandpass pattern, with maximum amplitude at either 160 or 80 Hz, depending upon stimulus level. Postcarboplatin, the preferred difference frequency was 80 Hz for all stimulus levels. From the AC, EFR amplitude versus difference tone frequency also showed a bandpass pattern, with the maximum amplitude at 80 Hz both pre- and postcarboplatin. EFR amplitude from the IC was decreased for some conditions postcarboplatin, while the amplitude from the AC showed no significant change.

Animals↗