Prof. Yael Henkin

Senior Lecturer, Department of Communication Disorders, Tel Aviv University 

Head- Hearing, Speech and Language Center, Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer

Research focuses on neurophysiologic and behavioral manifestations of auditory processing, as well as the relation between the two, in the normal and impaired auditory system. By means of event-related potentials (ERPs), voltage changes recorded from the scalp that trace events in time known to reflect discrete stages of neural processing, and a functional imaging technique (sLORETA), we study the time-course and cortical activation patterns during auditory (speech) processing. Of special interest are patients that have experienced bilateral and/or unilateral auditory deprivation and are habilitated by cochlear implants (CI) and/or hearing aids (HA). Currently under study are neurophysiologic processes that underlie: (1) Binaural processing in children that were sequentially or simultaneously implanted, in those using CI and HAs (bimodal hearing), and in those with HAs; and (2) Auditory-cognitive processing in elderly patients with CI.

Additional lines of research incorporate neurophysiologic and behavioral measures for studying: (1) The effect of auditory processing disorders (APD) on perceptual and post-perceptual stages of linguistic processing; and (2) The involvement of the peripheral and central auditory system in selective mutism and autism. 

Understanding normal and impaired auditory processing contributes to the formation of rehabilitative technologies and approaches for auditory disorders.

O. Miron, D. Ari-Even Roth, L. Gabis, Y. Henkin, S. Shefer, I. Dinstein, R. Geva. Prolonged auditory brainstem responses in infants with autism. Autism Research 9:689-95, 2016.

Y. Henkin, Y. Yaar-Soffer, L. Givon, M. Hildesheimer. Hearing with two ears: evidence for cortical binaural interaction during speech processing. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology 26: 384-392, 2015.

Y. Shapira, L. Migirov, Y. Yaar-Soffer, C. Muchnik, M. Hildesheimer, Y. Henkin. Pain in cochlear implant recipients – An uncommon, yet serious consequence of cochlear implantation. The Larynogoscope 125:1946-1951, 2015.

G. Nakache, L. Migirov, S. Trommer, M. Drendel, M. Wolf, Y. Henkin. Steroid based treatments for patients with total sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Acta Otolaryngologica 135:907-913, 2015.

D. Reznik, Y. Henkin, O. Levy, R. Mukamel. Perceived loudness of self-generated sounds is differentially modulated by expected sound amplitude.PLoS ONE 10:e0127651, 2015.

Y. Henkin, Y. Bar-Haim. An auditory-neuroscience perspective on selective mutism. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 12: 86-93, 2015.

K.A. Gordon, Y. Henkin, A. Kral. Asymmetric hearing during development: the aural preference syndrome and treatment options. Pediatrics 136: 141-53, 2015.

Y. Henkin, Y. Yaar-Soffer, M. Steinberg, C. Muchnik. Neural correlates of auditory-cogntive processing in older adults with cochlear implants. Audiology & Neurotology 19:S21-6, 2014.

D. Reznik, Y. Henkin, N. Schadel, R. Mukamel. Lateralized enhancement of auditory cortex activity and increased sensitivity to self-generated sounds. Nature Communications, 5:4059, 2014.

Y. Henkin, R. Taitelbaum-Swead, D. Ari-Even Roth, L. Kishon-Rabin, Y. Shapira, L. Migirov, M. Hildesheimer, R. Kaplan-Neeman. Evidence for a right cochlear implant advantage in simultaneous bilateral cochlear implantation. The Laryngoscope 124:1937-41, 2014

C. Muchnik, D. Ari-Even Roth, M. Hildesheimer, Y. Bar-Haim, Y. Henkin. Abnormalities in Auditory Efferent Activities in Children with Selective Mutism. Audiology & Neurootology 18:353-361, 2013

Y. Henkin. Auditory event-related potentials: a potential objective tool for evaluating auditory cognitive processing in older adults with cochlear implants. Journal of Hearing Science, 4(2)1-3, 2012

R. Kaplan-Neeman, C. Muchnik, M. Hildesheimer, Y. Henkin. Hearing aid satisfaction and use in the advanced digital era. The Laryngoscope, 122:2029-36, 2012

D. Ari-Even Roth, , C. Muchnik, E. Sabtai, M. Hildesheimer, Y. Henkin. Evidence for atypical auditory brainstem responses in young children with suspected autism spectrum disorders. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 54:23-9, 2012

Y. Henkin, L. Givon, Y.Yaar-Soffer, M. Hildesheimer. Cortical binaural interaction during speech processing in children with bilateral cochlear implants. Cochlear Implants International, 12:61-5, 2011