Language, Aging, and Central Hearing Disorders (LACH)

Group Leaders: Prof. Dr. Nathalie Giroud, Prof. Dr. Martin Meyer, PD Dr. Patrick Neff

Group Members: Zino Wellauer, M.Sc., Nick Sommerhalder, M.Sc., Jessica Fritzsche, M.Sc., Julian Ockelmann, M.Sc., Jinyi Han

In our research, we focus on both healthy individuals and those on the neuro- and hearing- spectrum (e.g., age-related hearing loss, dementia, tinnitus, hearing sensitivities, ADHD, autism).

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 processing difficulties, language pathologies and cognition on the brain and how to counteract that.
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

HearHere – Mapping and Resolving Sensory Challenges in the Urban Soundscape (Stadt Zürich)

Links

Vivid Sound Lab

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