Multisensory decision-making with hearing loss in adults
Official title: Multisensory decision-making under conditions of normal hearing and hearing loss
Funded at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences · NIH-11370502 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study in adults with and without hearing loss will look at how seeing lips and hearing sounds together influence decision-making, using animal models and brain measurements to understand the brain mechanisms involved.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Newark, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 21, 2026 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $431,750 |
| NIH project number | 1R21DC023000-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11370502 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with and without hearing loss who could benefit from improved understanding of audiovisual processing and potential future therapies.
✕Less likely to help
People without hearing loss or those not involved in audiovisual processing research may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
This project explores how hearing loss changes the way the brain combines what we see and hear to make quick judgments. Researchers will train gerbils to perform audiovisual decision tasks and record brain activity in the parietal cortex before and after inducing noise-related hearing loss. They will use computational models to understand how sensory information is weighted and how evidence is accumulated during decisions. The study will also examine how inputs from auditory and visual regions to the parietal cortex are affected, using advanced techniques to tag and measure neural signals. Findings could reveal targets to support better communication for people with hearing loss.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could guide new strategies to improve multisensory processing and communication for adults with hearing loss.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work shows that multisensory processing can be altered by hearing loss, but the neural mechanisms are not yet clear in humans; this study advances that understanding.
Where this research is happening
-
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
Newark, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Yao, Justin Daniel — Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Yao, Justin Daniel
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.