The C-CEBH has as its overall theme the study of auditory neuroscience, with considerable emphasis in many of our laboratories on questions that directly or indirectly related to issues on evolution and comparative hearing. The goal of this evolutionary and comparative approach is to develop a better understanding of the function auditory systems and the origins of vertebrate hearing. To this end, investigators in the C-CEBH use a wide range of animal models to understand the complexities of hearing among the vertebrates including humans.

Research laboratories in C-CEBH use experimental models that include insects (Yager), fish (Popper), amphibians (Yager, Popper), reptiles (Dooling, Carr), birds (Carr, Dooling, Hall), and a variety of mammalian species including ferrets (Shamma, Simon), bats (Moss), and humans (Gordon-Salant, Poeppel, Leek , and Ryals). Research methods include molecular biology, neurophysiology, psychophysics, brain imaging, neuroethology, microscopy at all levels, and many more. The research questions asked by our investigators and the individuals in their laboratories are equally diverse and are highlighted in the individual research pages.

Finally, our very close collaboration with colleagues at NIDCD provide added special opportunities for bringing additional expertise, skills, and facilities to collaborative research questions especially in the areas of molecular genetics, developmental biology, and brain imaging. Together, the breadth of research questions addressed by faculty and students at C-CEBH and their NIDCD collaborators is unparalleled.

C-CEBH is supported by a variety of sources including research, training, and core facilities support from the NIH, the University of Maryland, and various other governmental and non-governmental agencies.