Research at
Gallaudet University
2005 - 2006

Early Development of Auditory Temporal Processing

Status: Ongoing Begin date: October 1, 2005 End date: September 30, 2007

Description

Behavioral research has shown that lead-exposed chicks, lead-exposed children, and children with ADHD are all abnormally distracted by unpredictable background sounds. These similarities are of interest because lead poisoning is implicated by human epidemiological studies as a risk factor for attention and learning deficits. The use of an animal model of ADHD might allow insights into possible mechanisms of this puzzling and common disorder. The role of the Gallaudet investigator has been to measure levels of lead in the brain in preparation for more detailed studies of where the heavy metals might have affected the central or peripheral nervous system. The blood-lead levels of these animals were similar to those experienced by millions of children around the world.

Investigators