Expertise

Topics:  Non-Invasive Brain Monitoring, Mathematical & Statistical Methods, Computational, Cognitive Neuroscience, Characterization of Neural Circuits, Auditory Research, Behavioral Methods, Computational Neuroscience, Executive Control & Memory, Spatial Cognition & Attention, Sensation & Perception

Industries: Education/Learning

Barbara Shinn-Cunningham is the director of the Carnegie Mellon Neuroscience Institute. Her research explores such issues as how do we make sense of speech and other sounds, how our brain networks allow us to focus attention and suppress uninteresting sound and whether we can develop new assistive communication devices and technologies that leverage knowledge from auditory neuroscience to aid listeners with hearing impairment or other communication disorders. Her work uses behavioral, neuroimaging and computational methods to understand auditory processing, from how sound is encoded in the inner ear to how cognitive networks modulate the representation of auditory information in the brain.

Media Experience

Neuroscientists and Game Designers Play Well Together  — Carnegie Mellon University
"Neuroscience is trending in the direction of using richer, more natural stimuli and less constrained behavior," Shinn-Cunningham said. "To get good data, past research often has been repetitive and dull, dividing tasks into brief 'trials' that constrain what happens. Acquiring information isn't fun or meaningful like it is in real life. One of the things game designers can teach us is how to make tasks fun, which can change how the brain functions."

Pittsburgh’s ‘neighborly playground’ for neuroscience has new leadership  — Pittwire - University of Pittsburgh
“We went through many exercises to try to figure out what people need and want out of the center and were able to generate feedback in a bottom up, grassroots way,” Shinn-Cunningham said. “The neuroscience programs at both universities have grown substantially over the years — but everyone still recognizes how much they gain from being part of the larger, more diverse community.”

Otonomy Reports Positive Top-Line Results from Phase 2a Clinical Trial of OTO-413 in Patients with Hearing Loss  — Benzinga
"The most common complaint of patients seeking treatment for hearing loss is difficulty hearing a conversation in a noisy setting," said Barbara Shinn-Cunningham, Ph.D., Director, Carnegie Mellon Neuroscience Institute and Cowan Professor of Auditory Neuroscience, Biomedical Engineering, Psychology, and Electrical & Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

Otonomy Reports Positive Top-Line Results from Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial of OTO-413 in Patients with Hearing Loss  — Investors Hub
“Difficulty hearing a conversation with noise in the background is a common complaint by patients presenting for hearing loss treatment and this is only expected to grow as the population ages and noise exposure in our society continues to increase,” said Barbara Shinn-Cunningham, Ph.D., Director, Carnegie Mellon Neuroscience Institute and Cowan Professor of Auditory Neuroscience, Biomedical Engineering, Psychology, and Electrical & Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

When Your Eyes Move, So Do Your Eardrums  — The Atlantic
Barbara Shinn-Cunningham, from Boston University, also studies the neuroscience of hearing, and she is more circumspect. “It is a very interesting and previously unknown phenomenon, which may turn out to be incredibly important,” she says, “But so far, there is no evidence it is. We just don’t yet know why it happens or what it means.”