2024 New Investigator Awards Program (NIAP)
Developing a mouse model of auditory dysfunction in Alzheimer’s Disease
How does hearing loss contribute to Alzheimer’s risk?
Chris Rodgers, Ph.D.
Emory University
Atlanta, GA - United States
Background
Hearing loss and other sensory impairments are common in older adults and are associated with the memory and cognitive difficulties related to Alzheimer’s and other dementia. Recent studies have shown that hearing loss can occur when nerve cells in the brain become overly excited. This process, called hyperexcitability, can overstimulate nerve cells and synapses (specialized structures that nerve cells use to communicate with one another). Hyperexcitability is also associated with cognitive impairment and an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s. However, it is unknown whether hearing loss results from underlying cognitive impairment, or if hearing loss itself leads to cognitive impairment. Dr. Chris Rodgers and colleagues aim to identify the mechanisms linking hearing loss and cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s.
Research Plan
Dr. Rodgers and the team will use genetically engineered Alzheimer’s-like mice to study the impact of hearing loss on Alzheimer’s progression. They will surgically induce hearing loss in mice that develop amyloid plaques (one of the hallmark brain changes in Alzheimer’s) as well as cognitively unimpaired mice and measure differences in hyperexcitability levels and where hyperexcitability occurs in the brain. Next, the researchers will perform sound-based cognitive assessments on the same mice to examine whether hearing loss impacts cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s.
Impact
This study could shed new light on the mechanisms linking hearing loss, cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s risk in older adults. These findings may lead to the development of new intervention strategies for slowing hearing loss, and potentially cognitive impairment, in Alzheimer’s.
The New Investigator Program Award (NIAP) is jointly funded by the Alzheimer's Association and National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center.