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The Western Illinois University 2016 Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Sandra L. McFadden will present "More Than Meets the Eye: The Ear" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 30 in the College of Fine Arts and Communication (COFAC) Recital Hall (Macomb) and at 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 12 at the WIU-QC Riverfront Campus, room 103-104 (Moline).
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McFadden: 2016 DFL; Lectures Set for March 30 in Macomb, April 12 at WIU-QC

March 25, 2016

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MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – The Western Illinois University 2016 Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Sandra L. McFadden will present "More Than Meets the Eye: The Ear" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 30 in the College of Fine Arts and Communication (COFAC) Recital Hall (Macomb) and at 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 12 at the WIU-QC Riverfront Campus, room 103-104 (Moline). The lecture is open free to the public.

In her presentation, McFadden, who is an auditory neuroscientist and has served as a professor in the WIU Department of Psychology since 2005, will talk about the importance and complexity of the auditory system and provide an overview of three common types of acquired hearing loss—noise-induced, drug-induced (or ototoxicity) and age-related (or presbycusis)—which can decrease an individual's quality of life. In her lecture, McFadden will discuss what happens at the inner ear level and illustrate the effects of different types of cellular pathology on hearing function, as measured by common hearing tests.

"Much of my research has been devoted to understanding the mechanisms underlying these different forms of hearing loss," noted McFadden. "The bad news is, even if we have good hearing now, we all are at risk of acquiring hearing loss in the future. The good news is, however, we have discovered a common mechanism, oxidative damage by free radicals, which can be targeted in prevention strategies for all three forms of acquired hearing loss."

According to McFadden, this knowledge offers hope that many types of hearing loss can be prevented or at least reduced through antioxidant interventions.

"It also offers a potential explanation for the amazingly broad continuum of susceptibility to hearing loss that we see in both animals and humans. Because most research in this area has been accomplished using animal models, I intend to introduce my audience to the common ones—mice and chinchillas, in particular. An interesting set of discoveries about hearing has come about through the use of the chinchilla model, and this will lead me to the final topic of my talk: the surprising effects of selective inner hair cell loss on hearing and an overview of my research aimed at discovering the source of a puzzling perceptual disorder called 'auditory neuropathy.' At the end of my lecture, I hope the audience members will have an increased understanding of the auditory system and an appreciation there is far more to the ear than meets the eye."

Throughout her career, McFadden has presented her research at many scholarly conferences and meetings, including at the Association for Psychological Science Conference, the Society for Neuroscience, the Annual Meeting of the Neurobehavioral Teratology Society and the Midwestern Psychological Association Annual Meeting. She has co-authored journal articles in such publications as Behavioural Brain Research, Brain Research, European Journal of Neuroscience and American Journal of Audiology, as well as authored textbook chapters on hearing loss.

McFadden earned her Ph.D. (1993) and M.A. (1991) in psychology from Northern Illinois University and bachelor's degrees in psychology and industrial education (1978 and 1979, respectively) from WIU. She also served in the U.S. Air Force and the Illinois Air National Guard as an electronics specialist. She is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honorary Society, the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, the Midwestern Psychology Association and the Association for Psychological Science.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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