Research on central auditory disorders

On 16 December at 13:00 in an open meeting of the Medical Promotion Council of Rīga Stradiņš University which will be held in the Hippocrates Lecture Theatre (16 Dzirciema Street, Rīga), Diāna Raumane will defend her doctoral thesis “Psychoacoustical and Electrophysiological Aspects of Central Auditory Disorders”.

The author of the thesis has carried out research on central auditory disorders with an aim to determine psychoacoustical and electrophysiological criteria of central auditory damage, evaluate the impact of drug therapy on the function of central auditory in patients with central auditory disorders. 

Up till now the diagnostics of central auditory function in Latvia has been limited. One of the tasks was to develop language material for speech audiometry for evaluation of  the speech reception threshold. The electrophysiological method – a type of electroencephalography during which sound stimuli are performed – was used for the evaluation of central auditory function.

Currently there are no common international guidelines for drug treatment of central auditory disorders, therefore, the author investigated the action of drugs that are characterised by modulation of neuron synapsis by promoting signal transfer.

The author of the research has concluded that drug therapy has a positive impact on central auditory function and has determined criteria that testify to central auditory disorders based on speech audiometry and acoustic signal transfer speed parameters in the cortex.