APPW2025

Oranizers :Takashi Nakagawa (Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University) and Hiroshi Kuba (Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University)

Sponsored by : TEAM project, The Japanese Medical Science Federation

Hearing loss not only reduces quality of life but also is a high risk for dementia. Thus, it is crucial to develop preventive and therapeutic strategies for hearing loss. Sounds are received in peripheral auditory organ. Thereafter, the electrical signals are transmitted through the brainstem and finally reach the cerebral cortex. In this pathway, the encoded information is processed by a variety of elements in the neural circuits unique to auditory system. Recent studies have visualized how hearing loss affect the circuits. In addition, the mechanisms underlying the relationship between hearing loss and dementia has been described step by step. In this symposium, two physiologists studying audition, a clinical otolaryngologist, an epidemiologist, and a pharmacologist working on dementia will gather and show their achievements and prospects in terms of central nervous system and epidemiology. They will also discuss possible approaches to overcome dementia from a standpoint of hearing impairment.