World cognitive hearing conference

The world’s leading experts on cognitive hearing and communication are gathering for a conference in Linköping in mid-June. Their field of research is new, and very expansive.

So says Jerker Rönnberg, professor of psychology and chief executive of Linnaeus Centre HEAD (HEaring And Deafness) where cognitive hearing research is part of the very leading edge of the field.

“Within cognitive hearing science we study the brain’s role in hearing. So it’s not just about the auditory functions of the ear as such, but what happens when the signal has left the cochlea and is on the way up to the cerebral cortex, and above all how the signal is handled by the central, ‘higher’ levels of the cerebral cortex,” he explains.

The research contributions that will be presented at the conference deal with things such as hearing under difficult conditions, for instance the buzz of a social event, and the role working memory plays in this. Other themes are the hearing aids of the future, how the brain can be trained for better hearing with the help of music, and “multi-modal” hearing, or visual communication such as lip-reading and sign language. Recent neuroscientific discoveries will be presented in all the sections. Clinical research on cochlear implants, as well as auditory and Internet-based training programs, will also be presented.

The frontier of the science stretches from basic research to clinical operations, and is therefore of interest to many, Rönnberg states. Industry will also be on site. Hearing aids is an expansive industry, especially considering the ageing populations in many countries.

The conference participants will be coming from all the corners of the globe. 200 participants are expected at the conference, the official name of which is the Second International Conference on Cognitive Hearing Science for Communication, CHSCOM2013.

This is the second time this conference has been held at Linköping University. And it will happen at least once more. When the Linnaeus Centre was founded in 2008, a budget for three international conferences was set aside.

“We are a world leader in this field,” says Rönnberg; “in fact, we’re the ones who named it and developed it. And we want to contribute to its scientific development through this conference, which is the only international one of its type.”

The conference is held on 16-19 June at Konsert & Kongress in Linköping. 
 

Related links

The conference programme

 

Anika Agebjörn 2013-06-14

---

Their plant sticks won third prize

Small sticks in the soil send a signal to your mobile that it is high time to get watering. Of the 22 competing teams at the CDIO Academy at MIT; Victor, Fredrik and Victor won third prize.

Farewell to master’s graduates

Congratulatory speeches, entertainment and a lot of reminiscing. For international master’s graduates the Farewell Ceremony on 12 June marked the end of their studies and the beginning of their time as Linköping University alumni.

No Campus bus this summer

From 21 June to 11 August, the Campus Bus - bus number 73 - is out of service. The bus runs Monday to Friday as usual from Monday 12 August.

Intuitive thinking does not increase willingness to cooperate

A study that was presented in Nature last year attracted a great deal of attention when it asserted that intuition promotes cooperation. But a group of researchers in behavioural and neuroeconomics at Linköping University say that this is not true, in a new study now being published in Nature.

Cultural conference on movement

Movement and flexibility in the arts and in everyday life is the theme of a conference being held in Norrköping on 11-13 June. The weekly travel of the children of divorced parents, labour and climate-induced migration, tourism and cosmopolites, and protest movements are examples of the subjects to be discussed.

International conference on challenges in working life

Conditions for development and innovation in working life are the theme of a conference being held in Linköping on 11-14 June. Examples of subjects that will be discussed are employees who themselves develop ideas for improving their work, conditions for running businesses in eastern Africa, and the effects of large projects.

U.S. Ambassador to Sweden gives lecture

The U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, Mark Brzezinski, will give a lecture at Linköping University on Thursday 30 May.

Scholarships for students in Norrköping

Ten students in Norrköping will share SEK 200,000 (ca EURO 23,000) in scholarship funding for studies and work abroad.

Successful collaboration with Rwanda

Ten years ago a Sida-funded collaboration between Linköping University and the National University of Rwanda regarding postgraduate studies in educational science was launched. It has now yielded its tenth dissertation.

Plagiarist researcher decides to resign

The researcher at the Faculty of Science and Engineering found guilty of research misconduct through plagiarising large quantities of text has decided to resign, thereby avoiding any measures the Staff Disciplinary Board would otherwise have decided to take against him.

Electric current gets signal substances moving

After more than 30 years of electric brain stimulation against Parkinson’s disease, it is still unclear why the method works. Clinical research at Linköping University now shows that electrical shocks actually increase the release of dopamine, a necessary signal substance.

Don’t tar all clothing companies with the same brush

The collapse of a factory in Bangladesh a month ago killed more than 1,100 textile workers, mostly young women, and fuelled an already strong hostility towards the appalling working conditions. But the debate should be more nuanced, and good initiatives should be recognised, says Nandita Farhad, herself from Bangladesh.

Students get scholarships

Eight students and two PhD students have been awarded a total of SEK 168,000 (ca EURO 20,000) to carry out studies with an international focus, including exchange studies in various parts of the world.

Outstanding Chinese PhD students awarded

Dr. Lin Zheng and Zaifei Ma have been awarded the Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad.

Dishonesty in research discovered

The board of the Faculty of Science and Engineering has confirmed a case of misconduct in research. It consists of confirmed large-scale plagiarism of text.

iDay takes you on a cultural journey

International Day, iDay, was back again on 16 May with yet another multicultural explosion. Walking from one end of Colosseum (on Campus Valla) to the other, you passed through 14 countries. All under the same roof.

He will speak at the Farewell Ceremony

Emmanuel Letsu-Dake won the Alumni Stories competition and will be LiU’s first International Master’s Alumni Speaker at the Farewell Ceremony in June. He is a senior research scientist at Honeywell Aerospace in the US, where he works to make air transport safer.

LiU project in Vietnam against antibiotic crisis

In close cooperation with Vietnamese doctors, LiU researchers run a project in an attempt to change the development of resistance to antibiotics in Vietnam, which is one of the most vulnerable countries.

First professor of Engineering Education

Jonte Bernhard is Sweden’s first professor of Engineering Education, a relatively new research subject which is now spreading across the world. The knowledge of how students connect formulae to reality is central in his research.

Industrial symbiosis may be the solution

Michael Martin of the Division for Environmental Technology and Management shows in his PhD thesis that industrial symbiosis may be one way to reach EU targets for biofuels. He also introduces a method for calculating the contribution from individual companies.

All the important issues – all at once

Like a giant cocktail party with several hundred of the leading decision makers and thinkers in Sweden, where the absolutely most important issues in society are discussed – that is Development Days. And they are happening right now in Linköping.

KVIT celebrates 20 years with interdisciplinary conference

KVIT, the annual student conference of cognitive science and information technology celebrates its 20th anniversary with an interdisciplinary conference for 200 participants, also from European universities, at Östergötland Museum on 16-17 May.

University of Tromsø goes for “the Linköping model"

Linköping University was the first in the world with student-run hospital departments, known as Clinical Training Wards (KUA). After receiving a visit from the Faculty of Health Sciences, the University of Tromsø decided to invest in what they call the “Linköping model”.

Water governs cell movement

Water gives life. Researchers at Linköping University now show how the cells in our bodies are driven mainly by water power - a discovery that in the long run opens the way for a new strategy in cancer therapy.

Safer brain tumour surgeries on children

With the aid of new medical technology, brain tumours in children will be able to be operated on - more safely and effectively. Researchers at Linköping University are to receive over SEK 5 million (ca EURO 600,000) from the Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation.

The apocalypse awaits after 40 years

On Wednesday, 8 May, the 40-year-old Student Orchestra Festival, SOF, kicks off. There is a warm-up party in Norrköping, a festival on Valla, and a parade through Linköping. And the festive theme of the 40 year anniversary? The apocalypse.