Pierre Apostolides, Ph.D.

Meet the Researcher

Apostolides received his doctorate at the Vollum Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, and completed postdoctoral training at Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Virginia. He is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan’s Kresge Hearing Research Institute. His 2019 Emerging Research Grant was generously supported by donors to Hearing Health Foundation.

Although there is currently no cure for tinnitus, recent experimental studies propose vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) may be a potential treatment to mitigate the condition because VNS releases natural chemicals (neuromodulators) that increase the brain’s ability to change. This is interesting because VNS has previously received Food and Drug Administration approval for treating drug-resistant epilepsy and treatment-resistant major depressive disorder.

Despite considerable interest, how neuromodulators released by VNS could be therapeutically useful for tinnitus is unknown. This project will employ cutting-edge techniques to test a novel hypothesis: that a major mechanism of action for neuromodulators is that they affect the function of dendrites, the branchlike structures upon which neurons receive and integrate electrical signals. The hope is that this leads to testable theories for human auditory function, particularly as it relates to understanding speech, language, and music perception.

As a child and teenager, I was more interested in art, literature, theater, and music; it wasn’t until I entered college that I discovered my strong interest in science. By majoring in psychology, I quickly realized just how little we know about how the brain gives rise to thoughts, sensations, and purposeful behavior.

I’ve personally had lingering tinnitus for quite a while, and some longtime friends are musicians who have struggled with similar issues. I think these experiences not only spiked my interest in auditory physiology but also have given me a much greater appreciation for ways to preserve and promote hearing health. I won’t attend a concert without wearing earplugs, and I actively encourage similar precautions for my friends and loved ones.

Funnily enough, when I was younger my hobby was tinkering with audio recording equipment, analog synthesizers, etc. This has come in quite handy for our current work because a lot of our auditory experiments require significant background knowledge of acoustics and signal processing.

My interest in music extends to having a rather extensive vinyl record collection consisting mostly of obscure music from the ’70s and ’80s. More importantly, since May 2019 my time is now happily occupied by our first child, Lucien.

Pierre Apostolides, Ph.D., is funded by donors to Hearing Health Foundation who designated their gifts for the most promising research. These projects address the full range of hearing and balance science.

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The Research

University of Michigan
Novel mechanisms of cortical neuromodulation

Although there is currently no cure for tinnitus, recent experimental studies propose vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) may be a potential treatment to mitigate the condition because VNS releases natural chemicals (neuromodulators) that increase the brain’s ability to change. This is interesting because VNS has previously received Food and Drug Administration approval for treating drug-resistant epilepsy and treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. Despite considerable interest, how neuromodulators released by VNS could be therapeutically useful for tinnitus is unknown. This project will employ cutting-edge techniques to test a novel hypothesis: A major mechanism of action for neuromodulators is that they affect the function of dendrites, the long cable-like structures upon which neurons receive and integrate electrical signals. By identifying how neuromodulators impact the function of dendrites, these experiments may uncover novel targets for developing new treatments for tinnitus. 

Long‐term goal: To achieve a mechanistic understanding of how neuromodulators control the excitability of dendrites in central auditory neurons; to identify how neuromodulators impact hearing and auditory perception; and to leverage this knowledge to guide the development of new treatments for hearing disorders.