SEMINAR: Investigation into tinnitus and possible treatments in an animal model

The Seminar: Tinnitus is a phantom auditory sensation, a continuous “ringing in the ears” that is frequently associated with hearing loss. Tinnitus is remarkably common, being experienced by about 10% of the Australian adult population and reduces the quality of life for many. There is as yet no accepted standard treatment. The neural substrate for tinnitus is still debated but is very likely to involve abnormal activity in the brain. In the Auditory laboratory we have developed an animal model of hearing loss, increased spontaneous activity in the brain and tinnitus. This model is used to explore the mechanisms of increased activity after hearing loss, the generation of tinnitus and to investigate treatment options.

The Speaker: Helmy Mulders obtained her PhD in 1997 from The University of Nijmegen in The Netherlands. She then took up a Postdoc position at UWA at the Department of Anatomy and Human Biology supervised by Lutz Slomianka and Alan Harvey. After two years she moved to the area of Auditory Neuroscience in Physiology with Don Robertson in The Auditory Laboratory where she remains today.

She has been mainly funded in the last 10 years by NHMRC and Action on Hearing Loss in the UK. Her main research interests are plasticity in sensory pathways and the role of centrifugal systems.