Audiology: brain is 'wired so we can hear ourselves speak'
Friday 10th December 2010
The brain has a network of volume settings designed so that humans can better hear themselves speak, according to new findings.
Researchers from the University of California (UC) Berkeley, UC San Francisco and Johns Hopkins University found that the brain has the ability to effectively silence and amplify the sounds we make and hear.
The study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found closely knit patches of cortex that react differently to our own speech than other sounds we hear.
"We found evidence of millions of neurons firing together every time you hear a sound right next to millions of neurons ignoring external sounds but firing together every time you speak," said lead author Adeen Flinker.
"Such a mosaic of responses could play an important role in how we are able to distinguish our own speech from that of others," he added.
This comes after research from McMaster University in Ontario showed that tinnitus is caused by changes in the brain when hearing deteriorates.
Posted by James Puckle
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