Steven Jeffrey Eliades
Associate Professor of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences

Research in my group focuses on the neural basis of vocal communication.  Communication is a dynamic process that encompasses both production and perception, occurring in an interactive and contextually-dependent fashion.  We approach this both through basic scientific model systems and through parallel experiments in human subjects, including patients with hearing and communication disorders.  We are particularly interested in questions of vocal self-monitoring, that is, how do you hear yourself when you speak, how does your brain process that information differently than others sound you might hear, and how do you use this to help you control your voice.  We also have interests in sensory processing in naturalistic environments, and how the brain encodes sound differently than when listening in more traditional laboratory testing.  We are also interested in the role of social context and decision making in animal communication.  Finally, we use comparative approaches to determine how these processes are conserved between animals and humans, and how they are affected by hearing loss and other disorders of vocal communication.

In addition to my research lab, I am a clinician-scientist and Otolaryngologists, with a focus in diseases of the ear, hearing, and balance (Otology).  As part of this role, I have research interests in cochlear implants, in particular the learning and plasticity that affects implant outcome.  I also collaborate with other clinicians and investigators to apply quantitative analysis to understanding and categorizing disorders of hearing and balance.

Current Research Interests

We are interested in vocal communication.  Our current research is primarily interested in auditory self-monitoring during vocal production, and the control of voice.  We examine this using basic science models as well as normal human subjects and patients with hearing and voice disorders.  We are also interested in hearing and sensory processing in naturalistic listening environments, and the neural and social origins of vocal decision making.  Finally, we have interests in learning and plasticity in cochlear implant patients.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Contact Information

Some information on this profile has been compiled automatically from Duke databases and external sources. (Our About page explains how this works.) If you see a problem with the information, please write to Scholars@Duke and let us know. We will reply promptly.