A cross-disciplinary team of researchers in the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has discovered hearing impairment in a preclinical model of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). More specifically, the researchers report in the Journal of Neuroscience that they observed mild hearing loss and defects in auditory nerve function. Closer examination of the nerve tissue revealed abnormal supportive cells called glia, aging-like degeneration and inflammation. The findings from this study highlight the importance of considering sensory organs and their interactions with the brain in understanding autism.
Many autistic patients show increased sensitivity to sound. While many scientists in the past have looked to the brain for an underlying cause, the MUSC team took a different approach by studying the peripheral hearing system.
“Hearing impairment may have an impact on the higher-level auditory system and, eventually, cognitive function,” said Hainan Lang, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at MUSC and one of two senior authors of the study. Jeffrey Rumschlag, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher in the MUSC Hearing Research Program, is a co-first author of the manuscript.
Is there a link between hearing loss and autism?
Is there a link between hearing loss and autism?
Is there a link between hearing loss and autism?
A cross-disciplinary team of researchers in the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has discovered hearing impairment in a preclinical model of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). More specifically, the researchers report in the Journal of Neuroscience that they observed mild hearing loss and defects in auditory nerve function. Closer examination of the nerve tissue revealed abnormal supportive cells called glia, aging-like degeneration and inflammation. The findings from this study highlight the importance of considering sensory organs and their interactions with the brain in understanding autism.
Many autistic patients show increased sensitivity to sound. While many scientists in the past have looked to the brain for an underlying cause, the MUSC team took a different approach by studying the peripheral hearing system.
“Hearing impairment may have an impact on the higher-level auditory system and, eventually, cognitive function,” said Hainan Lang, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at MUSC and one of two senior authors of the study. Jeffrey Rumschlag, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher in the MUSC Hearing Research Program, is a co-first author of the manuscript.
Find the full manuscript here.