Research underway by faculty in the department of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville is seeking to provide a better understanding of the relationship between music, language, and social development and to use that understanding to help build better communication skills in people, such as those with autism spectrum disorder. The Vanderbilt Music Cognition Lab—housed in […]
Does tympanostomy tube placement affect vestibular function in young children? Background: One of the most common questions we are asked as otolaryngologists is whether placement of ventilation tubes will help a child who has otitis media with an effusion (OME). OME is defined as the presence of a middle-ear effusion with signs or symptoms of an […]
What is the importance of pre-linguistic vocalization? Background: The characterization and significance of pre-linguistic vocalization has long been the subject of research and debate. Pre-linguistic vocalization can generally be classified into non-speech-like vocalizations, including vegetative sounds, and speech-like vocalizations known as protophones. Most protophones begin with vowel-like vocalizations and culminate in well-formed, reduplicated consonant-vowel combinations referred […]