University of Cambridge and Institut Pasteur
Dorothée Arzounian is an Inserm Researcher at the Hearing Institute (Institut de l’Audition, Institut Pasteur / CNRS / Inserm) in Paris, France and a Visiting Scientist at the University of Cambridge.
In 2022, she joined the group of Bob Carlyon at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, carrying out an RNID-funded project investigating progressive changes in sound perception experienced by users of cochlear implants.
More about Dorothée’s work
Dorothée completed her PhD at the Perceptual Systems Laboratory (Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris). She developed a deep expertise in the neurophysiology of the human auditory system, studying both brain responses to natural sounds and to electrical auditory stimulation with cochlear implants.
A particular focus of her work lies in how hearing changes with time – shaped by changing contexts, early development, hearing loss, and interventions like cochlear implants.
Being both an engineer and a cognitive neuroscientist, Dorothée’s research aims at advancing our understanding of the physiological mechanisms underlying our auditory experience of the world and using this knowledge to refine technology and better address sensory impairments.
Whole-brain measurements for tailoring cochlear implants to individual users
Read about Dorothée’s research projectDorothée’s approaches to hearing research
I am constantly amazed by the emotional power of sound in my own life. I am convinced that the experience of music plays an important role in maintaining people’s physical and mental health, and we should endeavour to make it possible for anyone.
On top of that, I think most people with healthy hearing do not realise to what extent they unconsciously rely on sounds to connect with their environment, navigate the world, and stay safe. I also experience mild tinnitus myself and can imagine how burdening it can be for people with more severe forms.
All of this makes hearing health a major societal issue in my opinion.
While studying cognitive sciences at university, I quickly realised that the way our brain processes sound is far from trivial. Our hearing sense gives us an extremely rich amount of information about the world around us: the presence of natural elements like water, wind, fire; the presence and identity of animals and people; their number and locations in the 3D space; the approximate age and sex of a person speaking on the radio; the meaning of their speech, etc.
How can the brain access all this information when the only signal on the body is a vibration created by surrounding air pressure waves?
I felt a strong need to understand how the brain does this interpretation magic, and that is what brought me to contacting hearing researchers to start a PhD working in the field.
When it comes to cochlear implants, I am both amazed that we are capable of recreating a sense of hearing with medical technology, and aware that there is plenty of room for improvement, which I see as an exciting challenge. I am convinced there has to be a better way of providing sounds with these devices, and I am very eager to contribute to the next advances in this area
RNID funded the Discovery Grant that supported the project I have been conducting in Dr Bob Carlyon’s group at the University of Cambridge, a step of my career that has been absolutely rewarding and determining in shaping my research vision, and I am very grateful for this opportunity.
The Innovation Seed Fund that my colleague Charlotte Garcia and I were awarded is now playing a crucial role in establishing my independent line of research. The fact that it was selected by RNID to be funded is an encouraging sign that our research is perceived as having the potential to impact the lives of people with deafness, hearing loss, or tinnitus positively.