Barbara Cone

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Scholarly Contributions

Chapters

• Cone, B. (2012). Screening and Assessment of Hearing Loss in Infants. In Handbook of Deafness and Deaf Education(pp 439-451). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199750986.013.0031

Journals/Publications

• Cheek, D., & Cone, B. (2021). Evidence of Vowel Discrimination Provided by the Acoustic Change Complex. Ear and hearing, 41(4), 855-867.
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  The objectives of this study were to measure the effects of level and vowel contrast on the latencies and amplitudes of acoustic change complex (ACC) in the mature auditory system. This was done to establish how the ACC in healthy young adults is affected by these stimulus parameters that could then be used to inform translation of the ACC into a clinical measure for the pediatric population. Another aim was to demonstrate that a normalized amplitude metric, calculated by dividing the ACC amplitude in the vowel contrast condition by the ACC amplitude obtained in a control condition (no vowel change) would demonstrate good sensitivity with respect to perceptual measures of vowel-contrast detection. The premises underlying this research were that: (1) ACC latencies and amplitudes would vary with level, in keeping with principles of an increase in neural synchrony and activity that takes place as a function of increasing stimulus level; (2) ACC latencies and amplitudes would vary with vowel contrast, because cortical auditory evoked potentials are known to be sensitive to the spectro-temporal characteristics of speech.
• Smith, S. B., & Cone, B. (2021). Efferent unmasking of speech-in-noise encoding?. International journal of audiology, 1-10. doi:10.1080/14992027.2020.1862425
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  The medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex provides efferent feedback from the brainstem to cochlear outer hair cells. Physiologic studies have demonstrated that the MOC reflex is involved in "unmasking" of signals-in-noise at the level of the auditory nerve; however, its functional importance in human hearing remains unclear..This study examined relationships between pre-neural measurements of MOC reflex strength (click-evoked otoacoustic emission inhibition; CEOAE) and neural measurements of speech-in-noise encoding (speech frequency following response; sFFR) in four conditions (Quiet, Contralateral Noise, Ipsilateral Noise, and Ipsilateral + Contralateral Noise). Three measures of CEOAE inhibition (amplitude reduction, effective attenuation, and input-output slope inhibition) were used to quantify pre-neural MOC reflex strength. Correlations between pre-neural MOC reflex strength and sFFR "unmasking" (i.e. response recovery from masking effects with activation of the MOC reflex in time and frequency domains) were assessed..18 young adults with normal hearing..sFFR unmasking effects were insignificant, and there were no correlations between pre-neural MOC reflex strength and sFFR unmasking in the time or frequency domain..Our results do not support the hypothesis that the MOC reflex is involved in speech-in-noise neural encoding, at least for features that are represented in the sFFR at the SNR tested.
• Smith, S. B., & Cone, B. (2021). Efferent unmasking of speech-in-noise encoding?. International journal of audiology, 60(9), 677-686. doi:10.1080/14992027.2020.1862425
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  The medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex provides efferent feedback from the brainstem to cochlear outer hair cells. Physiologic studies have demonstrated that the MOC reflex is involved in "unmasking" of signals-in-noise at the level of the auditory nerve; however, its functional importance in human hearing remains unclear..This study examined relationships between pre-neural measurements of MOC reflex strength (click-evoked otoacoustic emission inhibition; CEOAE) and neural measurements of speech-in-noise encoding (speech frequency following response; sFFR) in four conditions (Quiet, Contralateral Noise, Ipsilateral Noise, and Ipsilateral + Contralateral Noise). Three measures of CEOAE inhibition (amplitude reduction, effective attenuation, and input-output slope inhibition) were used to quantify pre-neural MOC reflex strength. Correlations between pre-neural MOC reflex strength and sFFR "unmasking" (i.e. response recovery from masking effects with activation of the MOC reflex in time and frequency domains) were assessed..18 young adults with normal hearing..sFFR unmasking effects were insignificant, and there were no correlations between pre-neural MOC reflex strength and sFFR unmasking in the time or frequency domain..Our results do not support the hypothesis that the MOC reflex is involved in speech-in-noise neural encoding, at least for features that are represented in the sFFR at the SNR tested.
• Everett, A., Wong, A., Piper, R., Cone, B., & Marrone, N. (2020). Sensitivity and Specificity of Pure-Tone and Subjective Hearing Screenings Using Spanish-Language Questions. American journal of audiology, 1-15.
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  Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine the sensitivities and specificities of different audiometric hearing screening criteria and single-item and multi-item hearing disability questionnaires among a group of Spanish-speaking adults in a rural community. Method Participants were 131 predominantly older (77% 65+ years) Hispanic/Latinx adults (98%). A structured Spanish-language interview and pure-tone threshold test data were analyzed for each participant. The sensitivities and specificities of three single questions and the Hearing Handicap Index for the Elderly-Screening (HHIE-S; Ventry & Weinstein, 1983) in Spanish, as well as three audiometric screening criteria, were evaluated in relation to the pure-tone threshold test for detecting hearing loss. Results Sensitivity and specificity of audiometric screening criteria varied, but the highest sensitivity was found for the criterion of > 25 dB HL at 1-4 kHz in either ear. The single self-perception question, " ( was shown to be the most sensitive self-report screening compared to other single-item questions and the HHIE-S. This single question was as sensitive as an audiometric screening to detect a moderate hearing loss (> 40 dB HL in either ear). Results from the Spanish HHIE-S indicated poor performance to detect hearing loss in this population, consistent with previous research. Conclusions Among older Spanish-speaking adults, self-reported hearing status had varying sensitivities depending on the question asked. However, of the tools evaluated, the self-perception question proved to be a more sensitive and specific tool than a multi-item screen. Objective audiometric testing (> 25 dB HL) resulted in the highest sensitivity to detect a mild hearing loss.
• Iliadou, V. V., Chermak, G. D., Bamiou, D. E., Rawool, V. W., Ptok, M., Purdy, S., Jutras, B., Moncrieff, D., Stokkereit Mattsson, T., Ferre, J. M., Fox, C., Grech, H., Geffner, D., Hedjever, M., Bellis, T. J., Nimatoudis, I., Eleftheriadis, N., Pedersen, E. R., Weihing, J., , Guillory, L., et al. (2020). Letter to the Editor: An Affront to Scientific Inquiry Re: Moore, D. R. (2018) Editorial: Auditory Processing Disorder, Ear Hear, 39, 617-620. Ear and hearing, 39(6), 1236-1242.
• St George, B. V., & Cone, B. (2020). Perceptual and Electrophysiological Correlates of Fixed Versus Moving Sound Source Lateralization. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, 63(9), 3176-3194.
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  Purpose The aims of the study were (a) to evaluate the effects of systematically varied factors of stimulus duration, interaural-level difference (ILD), and direction on perceptual and electrophysiological metrics of lateralization for fixed versus moving targets and (b) to evaluate the hemispheric activity underlying perception of fixed versus moving auditory targets. Method Twelve normal-hearing, young adult listeners were evaluated using perceptual and P300 tests of lateralization. Both perceptual and P300 tests utilized stimuli that varied for type (fixed and moving), direction (right and left), duration (100 and 500 ms), and magnitude of ILD (9 and 18 dB). Listeners provided laterality judgments and stimulus-type discrimination (fixed vs. moving) judgments for all combinations of acoustic factors. During P300 recordings, listeners discriminated between left- versus right-directed targets, as the other acoustic parameters were varied. Results ILD magnitude and stimulus type had statistically significant effects on laterality ratings, with larger magnitude ILDs and fixed type resulting in greater lateralization. Discriminability between fixed versus moving targets was dependent on stimulus duration and ILD magnitude. ILD magnitude was a significant predictor of P300 amplitude. There was a statistically significant inverse relationship between the perceived velocity of targets and P300 latency. Lateralized targets evoked contralateral hemispheric P300 activity. Moreover, a right-hemisphere enhancement was observed for fixed-type lateralized deviant stimuli. Conclusions Perceptual and P300 findings indicate that lateralization of auditory movement is highly dependent on temporal integration. Both the behavioral and physiological findings of this study suggest that moving auditory targets with ecologically valid velocities are processed by the central auditory nervous system within a window of temporal integration that is greater than that for fixed auditory targets. Furthermore, these findings lend support for a left hemispatial perceptual bias and right hemispheric dominance for spatial listening.
• Cone, B. K., & Cheek, D. S. (2019). Evidence of vowel discrimination provided by the acoustic change complex. Ear and Hearing, published ahead of print, 13.
• Finn, P., Cone, B., Ciccia, A., & Beverly, B. L. (2019). Bridging Knowledge Between Research and Practice. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 4(1), 1-2. doi:10.1044/2018_pers-st-2018-0014
• Musiek, F. E., Chermak, G. D., & Cone, B. (2019). Central deafness: a review of past and current perspectives. International journal of audiology, 58(10), 605-617.
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  The purpose of this review was to describe and differentiate clinical syndromes caused by lesions of the central auditory nervous system (CANS). Relevant literature was identified through Pubmed and Google Scholar searches using the key terms: central deafness, auditory agnosia, word deafness and cortical deafness. Given the authors' intent to review past and current perspectives on central deafness, no publication date range was imposed. The review is organised around complete central deafness (CCD), central deafness (CD), word deafness and nonverbal agnosia (NVA), including anatomy and pathophysiology, symptom profile and audiological findings. Four case studies are presented to demonstrate the clinical correlates of CD. Central deafness is a rare condition typically resulting from bilateral compromise of the CANS. The closer to the auditory cortex bilateral lesions are located, the greater the probability of CD. A variety of symptoms present with or appear subsequent to CD, including tinnitus, hallucinations, voice changes and hypersensitivity to sounds (if heard by the patient), as well as diverse neurological symptoms depending on the non-auditory areas of the brain that may also be involved. Thorough and appropriate audiological testing is critical to accurately diagnose CD and its variants.
• Cone, B. K., & Cheek, D. (2017). Employing the acoustic change complex for vowel discrimination. Bulletin of the American Auditory Society, 42(1).
• Ichiba, K., Schoelen, S., Pourjavid, A., & Cone, B. K. (2017). MOCR variability across CEOAEs and DPOAEs. Bulletin of the American Auditory Society, 42(1).
• Smith, S. B., Ichiba, K., Velenovsky, D. S., & Cone, B. (2017). Efferent modulation of pre-neural and neural distortion products. HEARING RESEARCH, 356, 25-34.
• Smith, S. B., Lichtenhan, J. T., & Cone, B. K. (2017). Contralateral Inhibition of Click- and Chirp-Evoked Human Compound Action Potentials. Frontiers in neuroscience, 11, 189.
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  Cochlear outer hair cells (OHC) receive direct efferent feedback from the caudal auditory brainstem via the medial olivocochlear (MOC) bundle. This circuit provides the neural substrate for the MOC reflex, which inhibits cochlear amplifier gain and is believed to play a role in listening in noise and protection from acoustic overexposure. The human MOC reflex has been studied extensively using otoacoustic emissions (OAE) paradigms; however, these measurements are insensitive to subsequent "downstream" efferent effects on the neural ensembles that mediate hearing. In this experiment, click- and chirp-evoked auditory nerve compound action potential (CAP) amplitudes were measured electrocochleographically from the human eardrum without and with MOC reflex activation elicited by contralateral broadband noise. We hypothesized that the chirp would be a more optimal stimulus for measuring neural MOC effects because it synchronizes excitation along the entire length of the basilar membrane and thus evokes a more robust CAP than a click at low to moderate stimulus levels. Chirps produced larger CAPs than clicks at all stimulus intensities (50-80 dB ppeSPL). MOC reflex inhibition of CAPs was larger for chirps than clicks at low stimulus levels when quantified both in terms of amplitude reduction and effective attenuation. Effective attenuation was larger for chirp- and click-evoked CAPs than for click-evoked OAEs measured from the same subjects. Our results suggest that the chirp is an optimal stimulus for evoking CAPs at low stimulus intensities and for assessing MOC reflex effects on the auditory nerve. Further, our work supports previous findings that MOC reflex effects at the level of the auditory nerve are underestimated by measures of OAE inhibition.
• Smith, S. B., Lichtenhan, J., & Cone, B. (2016). Behavioral Pure-Tone Threshold Shifts Caused by Tympanic Membrane Electrodes. Ear and hearing.
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  To determine whether tympanic membrane (TM) electrodes induce behavioral pure-tone threshold shifts.
• Cone, B. K. (2015). Infant cortical electrophysiology and perception of vowel contrasts. International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology, 95(2), 65-76.
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  Cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) were obtained for vowel tokens presented in an oddball stimulus paradigm. Perceptual measures of vowel discrimination were obtained using a visually-reinforced head-turn paradigm. The hypothesis was that CAEP latencies and amplitudes would differ as a function of vowel type and be correlated with perceptual performance. Twenty normally hearing infants aged 4-12 months were evaluated. CAEP component amplitudes and latencies were measured in response to the standard, frequent token /a/ and for infrequent, deviant tokens /i/, /o/ and /u/, presented at rates of 1 and 2 tokens/s. The perceptual task required infants to make a behavioral response for trials that contained two different vowel tokens, and ignore those in which the tokens were the same. CAEP amplitudes were larger in response to the deviant tokens, when compared to the control condition in which /a/ served as both standard and deviant. This was also seen in waveforms derived by subtracting the response to standard /a/ from the responses to deviant tokens. CAEP component latencies in derived responses at 2/s also demonstrated some sensitivity to vowel contrast type. The average hit rate for the perceptual task was 68.5%, with a 25.7% false alarm rate. There were modest correlations of CAEP amplitudes and latencies with perceptual performance. The CAEP amplitude differences for vowel contrasts could be used as an indicator of the underlying neural capacity to encode spectro-temporal differences in vowel sounds. This technique holds promise for translation to clinical methods for evaluating speech perception.
• Cone, B., & Norrix, L. W. (2015). Measuring the Advantage of Kalman-Weighted Averaging for Auditory Brainstem Response Hearing Evaluation in Infants. American journal of audiology, 24(2), 153-68.
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  The purposes of this study were to (a) measure the effects of Kalman-weighted averaging methods on auditory brainstem response (ABR) threshold, latency, and amplitude; (b) translate lab findings to the clinical setting; and (c) estimate cost savings when ABRs can be obtained in nonsedated infants.
• Liu, J., Cone, B., & Baker, K. (2015). Electrophysiology of infant speech feature detection and discrimination.. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 129(4), 2414-2414. doi:10.1121/1.3587873
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  Cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) were obtained from awake, typically developing, normally‐hearing infants, aged 4–10 months, in response to speech sound tokens. In experiment 1, 50‐ms tokens of “Ling sounds” (/a/, /i/, /u/, /s/, /∫/, /m/) and 50‐ms tone bursts at 500–4000 Hz were used as stimuli and presented at 10 dB level increments to develop CAEP latency and amplitude input‐output functions. Observer‐based psychophysical methods were used to determine detection thresholds for the tone bursts and speech tokens. Infant thresholds were elevated by more than 20 dB for tone bursts and by more than 30 dB for speech tokens with respect to adults. CAEP input‐output functions in infants had significantly steeper slopes than those for adults. In experiment 2, 500‐ms synthesized vowel tokens (/a/, /i/, /o/, /u/) were used to evoke CAEP components P1‐N1‐P2 and the acoustic change complex (ACC). Observer‐based psychophysical methods were used to determine the infants’ ability to discriminate between the...
• Smith, S. B., & Cone, B. (2015). The medial olivocochlear reflex in children during active listening. International journal of audiology, 54(8), 518-23.
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  To determine if active listening modulates the strength of the medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex in children.
• Smith, S., & Cone, B. K. (2015). Inhibition of human CAPS and OAEs with contralateral acoustic stimulation. Bulletin of the American Auditory Society, 40(1).
• Cone, B., & Whitaker, R. (2013). Dynamics of infant cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) for tone and speech tokens. International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology, 77(7), 1162-73.
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  Cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) to tones and speech sounds were obtained in infants to: (1) further knowledge of auditory development above the level of the brainstem during the first year of life; (2) establish CAEP input-output functions for tonal and speech stimuli as a function of stimulus level and (3) elaborate the data-base that establishes CAEP in infants tested while awake using clinically relevant stimuli, thus providing methodology that would have translation to pediatric audiological assessment. Hypotheses concerning CAEP development were that the latency and amplitude input-output functions would reflect immaturity in encoding stimulus level. In a second experiment, infants were tested with the same stimuli used to evoke the CAEPs. Thresholds for these stimuli were determined using observer-based psychophysical techniques. The hypothesis was that the behavioral thresholds would be correlated with CAEP input-output functions because of shared cortical response areas known to be active in sound detection.
• Cone-Wesson, B., & Cone-Wesson, B. K. (0). Prenatal alcohol and cocaine exposure: influences on cognition, speech, language, and hearing. Journal of communication disorders, 38(4).
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  This paper reviews research on the consequences of prenatal exposure to alcohol and cocaine on children's speech, language, hearing, and cognitive development. The review shows that cognitive impairment, learning disabilities, and behavioral disorders are the central nervous system manifestations of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), and cranio-facial abnormalities are also present. Delays in language acquisition, as well as receptive and expressive language deficits, are commonly reported. The cranio-facial abnormalities of FAS, which sometimes include cleft palate, make the child prone to otitis media with effusion and conductive hearing loss. The family environment in which one or both parents is a heavy alcohol user presents challenges to a child with normal intelligence, but may be especially deleterious to the child with mental retardation. Prenatal exposure to cocaine results in subtle cognitive disabilities when measured at 4 years of age. The cognitive effects may be ameliorated by a stimulating and sensitive care-giving environment. A small, deleterious "cocaine-effect" is also seen in speech and language development. The child with prenatal exposure to cocaine may be considered at increased risk for language delay or disorder. There is no evidence that prenatal cocaine exposure by itself is a risk factor for sensorineural hearing impairment, although auditory evoked potentials from the brainstem and cortex suggest some abnormalities in central auditory processing, at least during the newborn period. The strong effect of the home environment for ameliorating the effects of prenatal cocaine-exposure suggests that a family-focused approach for cognitive, language, and social-emotional habilitation would be beneficial to all.
• Garinis, A. C., Glattke, T., & Cone, B. K. (2011). The MOC reflex during active listening to speech. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, 54(5), 1464-76.
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  The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that active listening to speech would increase medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferent activity for the right vs. the left ear.
• Markevych, V., Asbjørnsen, A. E., Lind, O., Plante, E., & Cone, B. (2011). Dichotic listening and otoacoustic emissions: shared variance between cochlear function and dichotic listening performance in adults with normal hearing. Brain and cognition, 76(2), 332-9.
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  The present study investigated a possible connection between speech processing and cochlear function. Twenty-two subjects with age range from 18 to 39, balanced for gender with normal hearing and without any known neurological condition, were tested with the dichotic listening (DL) test, in which listeners were asked to identify CV-syllables in a nonforced, and also attention-right, and attention-left condition. Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) were recorded for both ears, with and without the presentation of contralateral broadband noise. The main finding was a strong negative correlation between language laterality as measured with the dichotic listening task and of the TEOAE responses. The findings support a hypothesis of shared variance between central and peripheral auditory lateralities, and contribute to the attentional theory of auditory lateralization. The results have implications for the understanding of the cortico-fugal efferent control of cochlear activity.
• Cone, B. K., Wake, M., Tobin, S., Poulakis, Z., & Rickards, F. W. (2010). Slight-mild sensorineural hearing loss in children: audiometric, clinical, and risk factor profiles. Ear and hearing, 31(2), 202-12.
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  Slight or mild hearing loss has been posited as a factor affecting speech, language, learning, and academic outcomes, but the risk factors for slight-mild sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) have not been ascertained. The two specific aims for this research were (1) to describe the audiometric and clinical characteristics of children identified with slight-mild bilateral SNHL and (2) to compare children with slight-mild SNHL with those with normal hearing (NH) with respect to potential risk factors for congenital or acquired for hearing loss.
• Garinis, A. C., & Cone, B. (2009). Auditory steady-state responses and speech feature discrimination in infants.. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 20(10), 629-43. doi:10.3766/jaaa.20.10.5
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  The aim of this study was to determine whether there was a correlation between auditory steady-state responses (ASSRs) for complex toneburst stimuli and speech feature discrimination (SFD) abilities in young infants..Seventeen infants (mean age = 9.4 months) and 21 adults (mean age = 27 years) with normal hearing had ASSR and SFD tests..The ASSR test employed an eight-component complex toneburst stimulus; threshold and input-output functions were determined as level was systematically varied. The SFD test utilized an observer-based, visual-reinforcement test procedure to determine the infant's ability to detect the speech feature change from /ba/ to /da/..The correlation of the group mean /ba/-/da/ discrimination performance (percent correct) with the group mean ASSR score (percent responses present) ranged from r = 0.64 for the 1500 Hz amplitude-modulated and frequency-modulated tone burst to 0.99 for ASSRs for all stimulus components; however, correlations between ASSRs and SFD scores for individual subjects were modest..The ASSR and SFD results appear to reflect the audibility of the stimuli.
• Cone, B., & Garinis, A. (2008). Auditory steady-state responses and speech feature discrimination in infants. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 20(10), 629-43.
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  The aim of this study was to determine whether there was a correlation between auditory steady-state responses (ASSRs) for complex toneburst stimuli and speech feature discrimination (SFD) abilities in young infants.
• Cone-Wesson, B., Garinis, A. C., Glattke, T., & Cone-Wesson, B. K. (2008). TEOAE suppression in adults with learning disabilities. International journal of audiology, 47(10).
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  The presentation of contralateral noise during the recording of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) reduces the amplitude of the TEOAE in normally-hearing adults. This is known as TEOAE suppression. The present study investigated TEOAE suppression in 18 adults with learning disabilities (LDs) compared to 18 adults without LDs. TEOAEs were elicited by 60 dB p.e. SPL clicks and were suppressed by the presentation of 60 dB SPL contralateral broadband noise. Suppression was measured as a change in the overall TEOAE response amplitude, and also analysed in 2-ms epochs representing different TEOAE frequency-response bands. A significant interaction was evident between group type and ear tested. Participants in the control group had right ear dominance for the suppression effect, whereas the left ear was found to be dominant for the LD group. These findings suggest a mechanism of the medial olivary cochlear bundle and efferent auditory pathway that differs in those with LD compared to those with typical learning abilities.
• Sininger, Y., & Cone, B. (2008). Comment on "Ear Asymmetries in middle-ear, cochlear, and brainstem responses in human infants" [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 123, 1504-1512]. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 124(3), 1401-3.
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  Following Sininger and Cone-Wesson [Science 305, 1581], Sininger and Cone-Wesson [Hear. Res. 212, 203-211], Keefe et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 123(3), 1504-1512] described ear asymmetries in middle ear, cochlear, and brainstem responses of infants. Keefe et al. state that their data do not support the findings of Sininger and Cone-Wesson [Science 305, 1581] who found asymmetries in evoked otoacoustic emissions and auditory brainstem responses and proposed that stimulus-directed asymmetries in processing may facilitate development of hemispheric specialization. The Keefe et al. findings, in fact, replicated and extended the findings of Sininger and Cone-Wesson (2004, 2006) and support, rather than refute, the conclusions. Keefe et al. controlled neither the background noise nor averaging time across test conditions (ear or otoacoustic emission type) and thus their separate analyses of signal and noise magnitude exceed the limitations imposed by the data collection methods.
• Cone-Wesson, B., Garinis, A. C., & Cone-Wesson, B. K. (2007). Effects of stimulus level on cortical auditory event-related potentials evoked by speech. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 18(2).
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  The effect of stimulus level on cortical auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) evoked by consonant-vowel (CV) contrasts, /ta/, /da/, and /sa/, was investigated. The lowest level at which CVs were discriminated with >95% accuracy was determined for 15 normally hearing adults. ERPs were obtained at 0, 20, and 40 dB SL above this level during active listening. ERP latencies decreased as level increased. P300 amplitude did not vary with CV level or type; however, obligatory ERPs decreased in amplitude as level increased. The effect of level on P300 latency is likely related to the cognitive processing speed needed to perform speech discrimination. Obligatory ERP amplitude results suggest that attention demands vary with level during discrimination of speech features.

Presentations

• Cone, B. K. (2019, Fall). Aging, Hearing Loss, Cognition and Electrophysiology. Nebraska Speech-Language and Hearing Association Convention. Omaha, Nebraska: Nebraska Speech-Language and Hearing Association Convention.
• Cone, B. K., & Carter, J. (2019, Summer). Informational and energetic masking effects on speech- and tone evoked CAEPs.. XXVIth Biennial symposium of the International Evoked response Audiometry Study Group, Sydney, Australia (2019). Sydney, Australia: International Evoked Response Audiometry Study Group.
• Cone, B. K. (2018, October). AEP Evidence of binaural- and spatial release-from-masking. World Congress of Audiology. Cape Town, South Africa: International Society of Audiology.
• Marrone, N. L., Mishra, S., & Franca, M. (2018, November). Engaging Undergraduates in High Impact Learning Practices. American Speech-Language and Hearing Association Convention. Boston, MA: American Speech-Language and Hearing Association.
• Pourjavid, A., McFarland, K., Marrone, N., & Cone, B. K. (2018, Spring). Electrophysiologic investigation of spatial release from masking. Association for Research in Otolaryngology.
• Cone, B. K., & Cheek, D. (2017, Spring). Employing the acoustic change complex for vowel discrimination. American Auditory Society.
• Cone, B. K., Smith, S., & Cheek, D. (2017, May). Using cortical evoked potentials to predict speech feature perception in infants. XXV Biennial Symposium of the International Evoked Response Audiometry Study Group Biennial Symposium. Warsaw, Poland.
• Cone, B. K., Smith, S., & Cheek, D. (2017, May). Variability of medial olivo-cochlear reflex across click - and distortion product evoked otoacoustic emissions. XXV Biennial Symposium of the International Evoked Response Audiometry Study Group Biennial Symposium. Warsaw, Poland.
• Smith, S., Ichiba, K., Velenovsky, D., & Cone, B. K. (2017, Spring). Efferent effects on complementary pre-neural and neural distortion products. Association for Research in Otolaryngology.
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  Volume 40, 2017 page 52
• Beckerman, M., Cone, B. K., Montano, J., & Fifer, R. (2016, November). The Future of Audiology. American Speech Language and Hearing Association Convention. Philadelphia PA: American Speech Language and Hearing Association.
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  Presentation of 4 ASHA Board of Directors members at the ASHA Convention
• Cone, B. K. (2016, November). Enhancing Ph.D. Preparation through Shared Ideas Across CSD Programs. ASHA Convention. Philadelphia PA: ASHA.
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  Multiple authors: members of the Academic Affairs Board of ASHA
• Cone, B. K. (2016, November). Thinking about a Ph.D.? Information for Prospective Doctoral Students. ASHA Convention. Philadelphia PA: ASHA.
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  Multiple authors, ASHA Research and Scientific Affairs Committee
• Smith, S., Lichtenhan, J., & Cone, B. K. (2016, Spring). Contralateral inhibition of click- and chirp-evoked human compound action potentials. Association for Research in Otolaryngology.
• Cone, B. K. (2015, April). Assessment and Treatment of Auditory Neuropathy. ArSHA. Tempe: Arizona Speech-Language and Hearing Association.
• Cone, B. K. (2015, August). Early detection of speech, language, hearing and cognitive disorders: Effects of prenatal exposure to substances. Erskine Fellowship Lecture. Christchurch New Zealand: The University of Canterbury, Christchurch New Zealand.
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  In 2010 I had the honour of giving a lecture that considered the impact of early detection and intervention of hearing loss on infants, their families and communities. My lecture this year continues on that theme by considering early detection and intervention for infants exposed to substances of abuse. Exposure to tobacco, alcohol, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and other substances of abuse are risk factors for hearing loss in the adults who use them, but what about during foetal development? The consequences of prenatal exposure to these substances on speech, language and hearing development will be considered. Although there are undisputable neurotoxic effects of these substances, the literature also shows that family-centred intervention/support can provide significant benefit and ameliorate the cognitive deficits. Significantly, the consequences of economic deprivation (poverty) have the same or even more negative impact on speech, language, hearing and cognitive development as do these drugs. Public policy, then, must be developed to combat poverty rather than to stigmatize those trapped in a cycle of neurotoxic substance use.
• Cone, B. K. (2015, August). Electrophysiology of infant speech feature detection and discrimination. Invited lecture at the University of Melbourne, Australia and Bionics Institute. Melbourne, Australia: The University of Canterbury, Christchurch New Zealand and the Bionics Institute.
• Cone, B. K. (2015, July). Electrophysiology of infant speech feature detection and discrimination. Frontiers in Hearing. Colorado: Marion Down's Hearing Research Center and the University of Colorado.
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  https://www.mariondowns.com/education/frontiers-in-hearing-symposium
• Cone, B. K. (2015, November). Electrophysiology of infant speech feature detection and discrimination. ASHA Convention. Denver, Colorado: ASHA.
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  60 minute research presentation
• Cone, B. K. (2015, November). Past, Present and Future: the Au.D. training model. ASHA Convention. Denver, Colorado: ASHA.
• Cone, B. K., Smith, S., & Cheek, D. (2015, Spring). Using cortical auditory evoked potentials to predict speech feature discrimination in infants. Association for Research in Otolaryngology.
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  Volume 38, 2015 p 442

Poster Presentations

• Cone, B. K., & St George, B. V. (2020, Spring). Hemispheric Processing Asymmetries for Fixed vs. Moving Auditory Stimuli. The 46th Annual Scientific and Technology Conference of the American Auditory Society. Scottsdale Arizona: American Auditory Society.
• Cone, B. K., Ichiba, K., & Smith, S. (2019, Summer). The ASSR, ACC and BMLD. XXVIth Biennial symposium of the International Evoked response Audiometry Study Group, Sydney, Australia. Sydney, Australia: International Evoked Response Audiometry Study Group.
• Cone, B. K., Pourjavid, A., & MacFarlane, K. (2019, Summer). Electrophysiologic correlates of spatial release from masking. XXVIth Biennial symposium of the International Evoked response Audiometry Study Group, Sydney, Australia. Sydney, Australia: International Evoked Response Audiometry Study Group.
• Ichiba, K., Schoelen, S., & Smith, S. (2018, March). The ASSR, ACC and BMLD. American Auditory Society Annual Meeting/Conference. Scottsdale Arizona: American Auditory Society.
• McFarlane, K., Marrone, N. L., & Pourjavid, A. (2018, March). Electrophysiologic Investigation of Spatial Release from Masking. American Auditory Society Conference/Meeting. Scottsdale, AZ: American Auditory Society.
• McFarlane, K., Pourjavid, A., & Marrone, N. (2018, Feb.). Electrophysiologic Investigation of Spatial Release from Masking in Adults with Normal Hearing. Association for Research in Otolaryngology 41st Mid-Winter Meeting. San Diego, California: Association for Research in Otolaryngology.
  More info

  See abstract book of ARO 41st Midwinter Meeting.
• Sanders, H. (2018, November). Sex Differences in Speech Evoked Middle Latency Response. American Speech-Language and Hearing Association Convention. Boston, MA: American Speech-Language and Hearing Association.
• Tyler, A., Gillam, R., Koehnke, J., & Whitfield, J. (2018, November). Best Practices and Innovative Models for Ph.D. Education. American Speech-Language and Hearing Association Convention. Boston: American Speech-Language and Hearing Association.
• Smith, S. B., & Lichtenhan, J. (2016, February). Contralateral inhibition of click- and chirp- evoked human compound action potentials. ARO 39th Mid-Winter Meeting. San Diego CA: Association for Research in Otolaryngology.
  More info

  Spencer Smith is primary author and Jeff Lichtenhan (Washington University School of Medicine) is second author and I am third author. This is one of Spencer's dissertation studies. Volume 39, 2016, p 196