Danyal Raza
Pronouns: He/Him
Research Mentor(s): Bo Duan, Assistant professor
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Presentation Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021
Session: Session 6 (4pm-4:50pm)
Breakout Room: Room 12
Presenter: 6
Abstract
Hyperacusis is an auditory disorder characterized by an increased sensitivity to sounds, which can result reduced auditory pain threshold. Sex differences in the induction of hyperacusis are not well understood. Reports of hyperacusis in humans are higher in men (Paulin et. al., 2016), under the assumption that males have a higher exposure to high-intensity noise resulting in hyperacusis. However, a noise-exposure-induced threshold shift is not necessary for hyperacusis. Due to variability in noise-exposure across life-span and reporting, it is difficult to accurately assess sex differences in the prevalence of hyperacusis in humans. In this study, the same level of noise-exposure was administered to male and female mice, followed by behavioral assays to determine the hyperacusis status of each animal. Preliminary data in the conditioned place-aversion test suggest that there are sex differences in the induction of hyperacusis in mice. To support these results, the facial grimace test was adapted to assess the auditory pain threshold in mice. The facial grimace can be characterized by previously established grimace scales. Data from the facial grimace test in both male and female mice was analyzed in order to determine whether a sex difference was present between mice with and without hyperacusis. This assay confirmed the presence of hyperacusis in male but not female mice. Future studies are needed to investigate the underlying genetic predisposition to the development of noise-induced hyperacusis. Paulin, J., Andersson, L., & Nordin, S. (2016). Characteristics of hyperacusis in the general population. Noise & health, 18(83), 178-184. https://doi.org/10.4103/1463-1741.189244
Authors: Danyal Raza, Lorraine Horwitz, Bo Duan
Research Method: Laboratory Research with Animals
