Biological Foundations of Speech and Music (310-0-20)
Instructors
Nina Kraus
847/491-3181
2240 Campus Drive
Hugh Knowles Professor, Neurobiology & Physiology, Otolaryngology
nkraus@northwestern.edu
Frances Searle Building
2240 Campus Drive, Room 2-346
Evanston, IL 60208-2952
847-491-3181
Graduate Programs: Communication Sciences and Disorders
Nina Kraus investigates the neurobiology underlying speech and music perception and learning-associated brain plasticity. She studies normal listeners throughout the lifespan, clinical populations (poor-readers; autism; hearing loss), auditory experts (musicians) and an animal model. Her method of assessing the brain¿s encoding of sounds has been adapted as BioMARK (biological marker of auditory processing), a commercial product that helps educators and clinicians better diagnose learning disabilities.
Jennifer Lynn Krizman
Meeting Info
Frances Searle Building 2370: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM
Overview of class
Anatomy and physiology of the central auditory pathway, experience-related neural plasticity, right/left brain specialization, audiovisual integration, auditory learning and perception, and neural encoding of speech and music. Crosslisted with CSD 410-0 and SAI 502-0. Prerequisite: junior standing or consent of instructor.
Registration Requirements
Junior standing or consent of instructor
Class Materials (Required)
"Of Sound Mind: How our brain constructs a meaningful sonic world" by Nina Kraus, ISBN: 0262045869, ~$29.
All other required readings as well as audio and video recordings will be available for free on Canvas.
Students are encouraged to consult alternate vendors (Amazon, book
rentals, etc.)
Class Notes
This course will review the biological foundations of speech and music perception. Topics include an overview of the central auditory system - neuroanatomy and physiology, the acoustic properties of speech and music and how these features are encoded by the nervous system, the effect of cognitive processes on auditory perception and neural encoding, and how these auditory processes are enhanced in auditory experts (musicians/bilinguals) and impaired in populations with learning impairments.
Class Attributes
Natural Sciences Distro Area