Language, Aging, and Central Hearing Disorders (LACH)

Group Leaders: Prof. Dr. Nathalie Giroud, Prof. Dr. Martin Meyer

Group Members: PD Dr. Patrick Neff, Zino Wellauer, M.Sc., Nick Sommerhalder, M.Sc., Jessica Fritzsche, M.Sc., Julian Ockelmann, M.Sc.

In our research, we focus on both healthy individuals and those with neuropathology or hearing and speech impairments (e.g., age-related hearing loss, dementia, Alzheimer's disease).

We have four main objectives:

1. Basic research: Understanding the relationships between sensory processing, language, cognition, general health status, neuroanatomy, and functional properties of the brain across the lifespan.
2. Clinical research: Effects of sensory impairments and language pathologies on cognition and the brain.
3. Applied research/innovations: Digital and neurophysiological technology to improve diagnostics and interventions for hearing and speech disorders.
4. Tinnitus research: Basic and intervention research in the field of neuroplasticity of subjective chronic tinnitus.

Projects

Lippenlesen lernen mit Pro Audito Schweiz

Track Your Hearing

Links

Computational Neuroscience of Speech & Hearing

Interdisciplinary Tinnitus Research Zurich

Selected Publications

Elmer, S., Meyer, M., & Giroud, N. (2023). A multidimensional characterization of the neurocognitive architecture underlying age-related temporal speech deficits. NeuroImage. 278, 120285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120285

Schmitt, R., Meyer, M., Giroud, N. (2023). Improvements in naturalistic speech-in-noise comprehension in older adults with hearing impairment after three weeks of computer-based speechreading training. npj Science of Learning, 8:32. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-023-00179-6

Schmitt, R., Meyer, M., & Giroud, N. (2022). Better speech-in-noise comprehension is associated with enhanced neural speech tracking in older adults with hearing impairment. Cortex, 151, 133-146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2022.02.017

Giroud, N.*, Keller, M.*, & Meyer, M. (2021). Interacting effects of frontal lobe neuroanatomy and working memory capacity to older listeners’ speech recognition in noise. Neuropsychologia, 158, 107892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107892 *shared first authorship.

Isler, B., Giroud, N., Hirsiger, S., Kleinjung, T., Meyer, M. (2021). Bilateral age-related atrophy in the planum temporale is associated with vowel discrimination difficulty in healthy older adults. Hearing Research, 406, 108252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heares.2021.108252