The annual gathering features significant discoveries or "breakthroughs" by 20 of the world's leading scientists and social
leaders across a wide range of fields.
During her 15-minute talk, Kraus explained how she was able to solve a
major problem in the field by devising a new way to measure what
happens in the brain when it's processing sound.
"The sounds of our lives change our brain," said Kraus, an inventor,
amateur musician and director of Northwestern's Auditory Neuroscience
Lab in the School of Communication. "In our lab, we investigate how our
life in sound changes the brain, and how different forms of enrichment
or decline influence how our brain processes sound."
To measure the brain's response to sound, researchers play speech or
music directly into the ears of study volunteers. The scientists then
measure the electricity created by the brain as it translates sound
through sensors attached to participants' heads.
Results from a series of studies involving thousands of participants
from birth to age 90 suggest that the brain's ability to process sound
is influenced by everything from playing music and learning a new
language to aging, language disorders and hearing loss.
Studies indicate that across the lifespan, people who actively play
music (as a hobby) can hear better in noise than those who don't play
music. Kraus' work also suggests that poverty and a mother's education
level can affect a child's ability to process the essential parts of
sound.
"We're able to look at how the brain processes essential ingredients
in sound, which are rooted in pitch and timing and timbre," Kraus said
at Falling Walls. "A mixing board is a good analogy. It's very fine
tuning."
The newfound ability to measure sound processing in the brain has led
to other important discoveries in neuroeducation by Kraus and her team.
Moving out of the lab, they have conducted studies in schools,
community centers and clinics.
Other findings:
• Kraus lab discovers biological approach to measure an individual's sound processing with unprecedented precision.
•
The way a pre-literate child processes the ingredients of sound --
pitch, timing and timbre -- can predict future reading ability.
• Sound processing disadvantages can be partially offset by making music as well as speaking another language.
• Engagement matters. The brains of children who were more actively involved in Kraus lab studies saw more robust changes.
• Sound processing in the brain can be a neurological marker for issues such as autism, dyslexia and learning delays.
"Making sense of sound is one of the most computationally complex
tasks we ask our brains to do, because we process information in
microseconds," said Kraus, the Hugh Knowles Professor of Communication
Sciences.
"It's not surprising that one of the first problems we encounter with
so many disorders -- you get hit in the head, have a psychiatric
problem or simply get older -- is understanding sound in a complex
environment, like hearing a friend's voice in a noisy place. Sound
processing in the brain really is a measure of brain health." Science Daily
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