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Háden GP, Bouwer FL, Honing H, Winkler I. Beat processing in newborn infants cannot be explained by statistical learning based on transition probabilities. Cognition 2024; 243:105670. [PMID: 38016227 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
Newborn infants have been shown to extract temporal regularities from sound sequences, both in the form of learning regular sequential properties, and extracting periodicity in the input, commonly referred to as a regular pulse or the 'beat'. However, these two types of regularities are often indistinguishable in isochronous sequences, as both statistical learning and beat perception can be elicited by the regular alternation of accented and unaccented sounds. Here, we manipulated the isochrony of sound sequences in order to disentangle statistical learning from beat perception in sleeping newborn infants in an EEG experiment, as previously done in adults and macaque monkeys. We used a binary accented sequence that induces a beat when presented with isochronous timing, but not when presented with randomly jittered timing. We compared mismatch responses to infrequent deviants falling on either accented or unaccented (i.e., odd and even) positions. Results showed a clear difference between metrical positions in the isochronous sequence, but not in the equivalent jittered sequence. This suggests that beat processing is present in newborns. Despite previous evidence for statistical learning in newborns the effects of this ability were not detected in the jittered condition. These results show that statistical learning by itself does not fully explain beat processing in newborn infants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gábor P Háden
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok körútja 2, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary; Department of Telecommunications and Media Informatics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Magyar tudósok körútja 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Fleur L Bouwer
- Music Cognition Group, Institute for Logic, Language, and Computation, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94242, 1090 GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 15900, 1001 NK Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, Brain & Cognition, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 15900, 1001 NK Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology & Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, 2333 AK Leiden, the Netherlands.
| | - Henkjan Honing
- Music Cognition Group, Institute for Logic, Language, and Computation, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94242, 1090 GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 15900, 1001 NK Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - István Winkler
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar tudósok körútja 2, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary.
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2
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Bouwer FL, Háden GP, Honing H. Probing Beat Perception with Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) in Human Adults, Newborns, and Nonhuman Primates. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2024; 1455:227-256. [PMID: 38918355 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-60183-5_13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to give an overview of how the perception of rhythmic temporal regularity such as a regular beat in music can be studied in human adults, human newborns, and nonhuman primates using event-related brain potentials (ERPs). First, we discuss different aspects of temporal structure in general, and musical rhythm in particular, and we discuss the possible mechanisms underlying the perception of regularity (e.g., a beat) in rhythm. Additionally, we highlight the importance of dissociating beat perception from the perception of other types of structure in rhythm, such as predictable sequences of temporal intervals, ordinal structure, and rhythmic grouping. In the second section of the chapter, we start with a discussion of auditory ERPs elicited by infrequent and frequent sounds: ERP responses to regularity violations, such as mismatch negativity (MMN), N2b, and P3, as well as early sensory responses to sounds, such as P1 and N1, have been shown to be instrumental in probing beat perception. Subsequently, we discuss how beat perception can be probed by comparing ERP responses to sounds in regular and irregular sequences, and by comparing ERP responses to sounds in different metrical positions in a rhythm, such as on and off the beat or on strong and weak beats. Finally, we will discuss previous research that has used the aforementioned ERPs and paradigms to study beat perception in human adults, human newborns, and nonhuman primates. In doing so, we consider the possible pitfalls and prospects of the technique, as well as future perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fleur L Bouwer
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
- Department of Psychology, Brain & Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Gábor P Háden
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Telecommunications and Media Informatics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Henkjan Honing
- Music Cognition group (MCG), Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC), Amsterdam Brain and Cognition (ABC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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3
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Menn KH, Männel C, Meyer L. Phonological acquisition depends on the timing of speech sounds: Deconvolution EEG modeling across the first five years. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadh2560. [PMID: 37910625 PMCID: PMC10619930 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh2560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
The late development of fast brain activity in infancy restricts initial processing abilities to slow information. Nevertheless, infants acquire the short-lived speech sounds of their native language during their first year of life. Here, we trace the early buildup of the infant phoneme inventory with naturalistic electroencephalogram. We apply the recent method of deconvolution modeling to capture the emergence of the feature-based phoneme representation that is known to govern speech processing in the mature brain. Our cross-sectional analysis uncovers a gradual developmental increase in neural responses to native phonemes. Critically, infants appear to acquire those phoneme features first that extend over longer time intervals-thus meeting infants' slow processing abilities. Shorter-lived phoneme features are added stepwise, with the shortest acquired last. Our study shows that the ontogenetic acceleration of electrophysiology shapes early language acquisition by determining the duration of the acquired units.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina H. Menn
- Research Group Language Cycles, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity, Stephanstr 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Claudia Männel
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Audiology and Phoniatrics, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Lars Meyer
- Research Group Language Cycles, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Clinic for Phoniatrics and Pedaudiology, University Hospital Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, 48149 Münster, Germany
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4
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Daubney K, Suata Z, Marriott Haresign I, Thomas M, Kushnerenko E, Wass SV. The development of the relationship between auditory and visual neural sensitivity and autonomic arousal from 6 m to 12 m. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 63:101289. [PMID: 37597447 PMCID: PMC10458697 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The differential sensitivity hypothesis argues that environmental sensitivity has the bivalent effect of predisposing individuals to both the risk-inducing and development-enhancing influences of early social environments. However, the hypothesis requires that this variation in environmental sensitivity be general across domains. In this study, we focused on neural sensitivity and autonomic arousal to test domain generality. Neural sensitivity can be assessed by correlating measures of perceptual sensitivity, as indexed by event-related potentials (ERP) in electrophysiology. The sensitivity of autonomic arousal can be tested via heart rate changes. Domain generality was tested by comparing associations in perceptual sensitivity across auditory and visual domains, and associations between sensitivity in sensory domains and heart rate. We contrasted ERP components in auditory (P3) and visual (P1, N290 and P4) detection-of-difference tasks for N = 68 infants longitudinally at 6 and 12 months of age. Domain generality should produce correlated individual differences in sensitivity across the two modalities, with higher levels of autonomic arousal associating with increased perceptual sensitivity. Having controlled for multiple comparisons, at 6 months of age, the difference in amplitude of the P3 component evoked in response to standard and deviant tones correlated with the difference in amplitude of the P1 N290 and P4 face-sensitive components evoked in response to fearful and neutral faces. However, this correlation was not found at 12 months of age. Similarly, autonomic arousal correlated with neural sensitivity at 6 months but not at 12 months. The results suggest bottom-up neural perceptual sensitivity is domain-general across auditory and visual domains and is related to autonomic arousal at 6 months but not at 12 months of age. We interpret the development of the association of these markers of ES within a neuroconstructivist framework and with respect to the concept of interactive specialisation. By 12 months of age, more experience of visual processing may have led to top-down endogenous attention mechanisms that process visual information in a way that no longer associates with automatic auditory perceptual sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Daubney
- BabyDevLab, University of East London, UK.
| | | | | | - M Thomas
- Centre for Educational Neuroscience, BirkBeck University of London, UK
| | | | - S V Wass
- BabyDevLab, University of East London, UK
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5
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Kujala T, Partanen E, Virtala P, Winkler I. Prerequisites of language acquisition in the newborn brain. Trends Neurosci 2023; 46:726-737. [PMID: 37344237 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2023.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
Learning to decode and produce speech is one of the most demanding tasks faced by infants. Nevertheless, infants typically utter their first words within a year, and phrases soon follow. Here we review cognitive abilities of newborn infants that promote language acquisition, focusing primarily on studies tapping neural activity. The results of these studies indicate that infants possess core adult auditory abilities already at birth, including statistical learning and rule extraction from variable speech input. Thus, the neonatal brain is ready to categorize sounds, detect word boundaries, learn words, and separate speech streams: in short, to acquire language quickly and efficiently from everyday linguistic input.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teija Kujala
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Eino Partanen
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Paula Virtala
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - István Winkler
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
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6
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López-Arango G, Deguire F, Agbogba K, Boucher MA, Knoth IS, El-Jalbout R, Côté V, Damphousse A, Kadoury S, Lippé S. Impact of brain overgrowth on sensorial learning processing during the first year of life. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:928543. [PMID: 35927999 PMCID: PMC9344916 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.928543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Macrocephaly is present in about 2–5% of the general population. It can be found as an isolated benign trait or as part of a syndromic condition. Brain overgrowth has been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism during the first year of life, however, evidence remains inconclusive. Furthermore, most of the studies have involved pathological or high-risk populations, but little is known about the effects of brain overgrowth on neurodevelopment in otherwise neurotypical infants. We investigated the impact of brain overgrowth on basic perceptual learning processes (repetition effects and change detection response) during the first year of life. We recorded high density electroencephalograms (EEG) in 116 full-term healthy infants aged between 3 and 11 months, 35 macrocephalic (14 girls) and 81 normocephalic (39 girls) classified according to the WHO head circumference norms. We used an adapted oddball paradigm, time-frequency analyses, and auditory event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to investigate differences between groups. We show that brain overgrowth has a significant impact on repetition effects and change detection response in the 10–20 Hz frequency band, and in N450 latency, suggesting that these correlates of sensorial learning processes are sensitive to brain overgrowth during the first year of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela López-Arango
- Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Neurosciences, Montreal University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- *Correspondence: Gabriela López-Arango,
| | - Florence Deguire
- Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Psychology, Montreal University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Kristian Agbogba
- Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Inga S. Knoth
- Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Ramy El-Jalbout
- Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Medical Imaging, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Valérie Côté
- Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Amélie Damphousse
- Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Medical Imaging, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Sarah Lippé
- Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Psychology, Montreal University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Sarah Lippé,
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7
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Suppanen E, Winkler I, Kujala T, Ylinen S. More efficient formation of longer-term representations for word forms at birth can be linked to better language skills at 2 years. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 55:101113. [PMID: 35605476 PMCID: PMC9130088 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2021] [Revised: 04/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Infants are able to extract words from speech early in life. Here we show that the quality of forming longer-term representations for word forms at birth predicts expressive language ability at the age of two years. Seventy-five neonates were familiarized with two spoken disyllabic pseudowords. We then tested whether the neonate brain predicts the second syllable from the first one by presenting a familiarized pseudoword frequently, and occasionally violating the learned syllable combination by different rare pseudowords. Distinct brain responses were elicited by predicted and unpredicted word endings, suggesting that the neonates had learned the familiarized pseudowords. The difference between responses to predicted and unpredicted pseudowords indexing the quality of word-form learning during familiarization significantly correlated with expressive language scores (the mean length of utterance) at 24 months in the same infant. These findings suggest that 1) neonates can memorize disyllabic words so that a learned first syllable generates predictions for the word ending, and 2) early individual differences in the quality of word-form learning correlate with language skills. This relationship helps early identification of infants at risk for language impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Suppanen
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
| | - István Winkler
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
| | - Teija Kujala
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Sari Ylinen
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Logopedics, Welfare Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Finland
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8
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Relevance to the higher order structure may govern auditory statistical learning in neonates. Sci Rep 2022; 12:5905. [PMID: 35393525 PMCID: PMC8989996 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-09994-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Hearing is one of the earliest senses to develop and is quite mature by birth. Contemporary theories assume that regularities in sound are exploited by the brain to create internal models of the environment. Through statistical learning, internal models extrapolate from patterns to predictions about subsequent experience. In adults, altered brain responses to sound enable us to infer the existence and properties of these models. In this study, brain potentials were used to determine whether newborns exhibit context-dependent modulations of a brain response that can be used to infer the existence and properties of internal models. Results are indicative of significant context-dependence in the responsivity to sound in newborns. When common and rare sounds continue in stable probabilities over a very long period, neonates respond to all sounds equivalently (no differentiation). However, when the same common and rare sounds at the same probabilities alternate over time, the neonate responses show clear differentiations. The context-dependence is consistent with the possibility that the neonate brain produces more precise internal models that discriminate between contexts when there is an emergent structure to be discovered but appears to adopt broader models when discrimination delivers little or no additional information about the environment.
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9
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López-Arango G, Deguire F, Côté V, Barlaam F, Agbogba K, Knoth IS, Lippé S. Infant repetition effects and change detection: Are they related to adaptive skills? Eur J Neurosci 2021; 54:7193-7213. [PMID: 34585451 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Repetition effects and change detection response have been proposed as neuro-electrophysiological correlates of fundamental learning processes. As such, they could be a good predictor of brain maturation and cognitive development. We recorded high density EEG in 71 healthy infants (32 females) aged between 3 and 9 months, while they listened to vowel sequences (standard /a/a/a/i/ [80%] and deviant /a/a/a/a/ [20%]). Adaptive skills, a surrogate of cognitive development, were measured via the parent form of the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System Second Edition (ABAS-II). Cortical auditory-evoked potentials (CAEPs) analyses, time-frequency analyses and a statistical approach using linear mixed models (LMMs) and linear regression models were performed. Age and adaptive skills were tested as predictors. Age modulation of repetition effects and change detection response was observed in theta (3-5 Hz), alpha (5-10 Hz) and high gamma (80-90 Hz) oscillations and in all CAEPs. Moreover, adaptive skills modulation of repetition effects was evidenced in theta (3-5 Hz), high gamma oscillations (80-90 Hz), N250/P350 peak-to-peak amplitude and P350 latency. Finally, adaptive skills modulation of change detection response was observed in the N250/P350 peak-to-peak amplitude. Our results confirm that repetition effects and change detection response evolve with age. Moreover, our results suggest that repetition effects and change detection response vary according to adaptive skills displayed by infants during the first year of life, demonstrating their predictive value for neurodevelopment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela López-Arango
- Neurosciences Department, Montreal University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Florence Deguire
- Psychology Department, Montreal University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Valérie Côté
- Psychology Department, Montreal University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Fanny Barlaam
- Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Kristian Agbogba
- Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Inga S Knoth
- Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Sarah Lippé
- Psychology Department, Montreal University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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10
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Bednaya E, Pavani F, Ricciardi E, Pietrini P, Bottari D. Oscillatory signatures of Repetition Suppression and Novelty Detection reveal altered induced visual responses in early deafness. Cortex 2021; 142:138-153. [PMID: 34265736 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Revised: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The ability to differentiate between repeated and novel events represents a fundamental property of the visual system. Neural responses are typically reduced upon stimulus repetition, a phenomenon called Repetition Suppression (RS). On the contrary, following a novel visual stimulus, the neural response is generally enhanced, a phenomenon referred to as Novelty Detection (ND). Here, we aimed to investigate the impact of early deafness on the oscillatory signatures of RS and ND brain responses. To this aim, electrophysiological data were acquired in early deaf and hearing control individuals during processing of repeated and novel visual events unattended by participants. By studying evoked and induced oscillatory brain activities, as well as inter-trial phase coherence, we linked response modulations to feedback and/or feedforward processes. Results revealed selective experience-dependent changes on both RS and ND mechanisms. Compared to hearing controls, early deaf individuals displayed: (i) greater attenuation of the response following stimulus repetition, selectively in the induced theta-band (4-7 Hz); (ii) reduced desynchronization following the onset of novel visual stimuli, in the induced alpha and beta bands (8-12 and 13-25 Hz); (iii) comparable modulation of evoked responses and inter-trial phase coherence. The selectivity of the effects in the induced responses parallels findings observed in the auditory cortex of deaf animal models following intracochlear electric stimulation. The present results support the idea that early deafness alters induced oscillatory activity and the functional tuning of basic visual processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evgenia Bednaya
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy
| | - Francesco Pavani
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences - CIMeC, University of Trento, Italy; Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Italy
| | | | - Pietro Pietrini
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy
| | - Davide Bottari
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy.
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11
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Moser J, Schleger F, Weiss M, Sippel K, Semeia L, Preissl H. Magnetoencephalographic signatures of conscious processing before birth. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 49:100964. [PMID: 34023644 PMCID: PMC8163957 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The concept of fetal consciousness is a widely discussed topic. In this study, we applied a hierarchical rule learning paradigm to investigate the possibility of fetal conscious processing during the last trimester of pregnancy. We used fetal magnetoencephalography, to assess fetal brain activity in 56 healthy fetuses between gestational week 25 and 40, during an auditory oddball paradigm containing first- and second-order regularities. The comparison of fetal brain responses towards standard and deviant tones revealed that the investigated fetuses show signs of hierarchical rule learning, and thus the formation of a memory trace for the second-order regularity. This ability develops over the course of the last trimester of gestation, in accordance with processes in physiological brain development and was only reliably present in fetuses older than week 35 of gestation. Analysis of fetal autonomic nervous system activity replicates findings in newborns, showing importance of activity state for cognitive processes. On the whole, our results support the assumption that fetuses in the last weeks of gestation are capable of consciously processing stimuli that reach them from outside the womb.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Moser
- IDM/fMEG Center of the Helmholtz Center Munich at the University of Tübingen, University of Tübingen, German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Tübingen, Germany; Graduate Training Centre of Neuroscience, International Max Planck Research School, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Franziska Schleger
- IDM/fMEG Center of the Helmholtz Center Munich at the University of Tübingen, University of Tübingen, German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Magdalene Weiss
- IDM/fMEG Center of the Helmholtz Center Munich at the University of Tübingen, University of Tübingen, German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Tübingen, Germany; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Katrin Sippel
- IDM/fMEG Center of the Helmholtz Center Munich at the University of Tübingen, University of Tübingen, German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Tübingen, Germany; Department of Internal Medicine IV, University Hospital of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Lorenzo Semeia
- IDM/fMEG Center of the Helmholtz Center Munich at the University of Tübingen, University of Tübingen, German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Tübingen, Germany; Graduate Training Centre of Neuroscience, International Max Planck Research School, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hubert Preissl
- IDM/fMEG Center of the Helmholtz Center Munich at the University of Tübingen, University of Tübingen, German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Tübingen, Germany; Department of Internal Medicine IV, University Hospital of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Interfaculty Centre for Pharmacogenomics and Pharma Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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12
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Depoorter A, Herrmann K, Früh J, Schulzke S, Wellmann S, Weber P. Mismatch response in preterm and asphyxic neonates: a functional electrophysiological investigation of attention and habituation. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2021; 35:5864-5871. [PMID: 33730983 DOI: 10.1080/14767058.2021.1900101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIM There is a lack of diagnostic tools for early risk stratification of cognitive outcome in infants born preterm and infants with asphyxia. Using auditory event-related potentials and mismatch response, we aimed to assess possible differences in early attention and learning, as a marker for brain maturation to subsequently improve the allocation of early neurodevelopmental support. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS This cross-sectional study included 22 very preterm infants (gestational age (GA) < 32 weeks), eight term infants with asphyxia and 35 healthy term infants. An auditory oddball-paradigm with three consecutive stimulation blocks, separated by a two-minute break, was used as a cognitive discrimination task to assess attention and habituation. RESULTS The peak-to-peak analysis in the group comparisons showed no significant differences for the first stimulation block. In term healthy infants and term infants after asphyxia, no significant differences were found in amplitudes between block one and three. Preterm infants showed significantly (p = .007) lower amplitudes in the third block for F7 congruent to a positive habituation. The amplitude of the grouped electrodes correlated positively with GA for frontal (R = .271, p= .029) and parietal electrodes (R =.275, p = .027). CONCLUSION We found no differences in the auditory attention paradigm between preterm or term asphyxic and control infants when they were evaluated at term corrected age. Most infants did not show any electrophysiologically measurable learning effect indicating habituation or dishabituation. The small sample size of this study is a clear limitation. Therefore, the results must be evaluated with caution, especially regarding their potential predictive value for future cognitive development of infants with a developmental risk. However, our study underlines the possibility of an electrophysiological evaluation as a feasible tool to assess very early cognition in infants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoinette Depoorter
- Department of Neuropediatrics and Developmental Medicine, University Children's Hospital Basel UKBB, University of Basel, Switzerland
| | - Katharina Herrmann
- Department of Neuropediatrics and Developmental Medicine, University Children's Hospital Basel UKBB, University of Basel, Switzerland
| | - Julia Früh
- Department of Neuropediatrics and Developmental Medicine, University Children's Hospital Basel UKBB, University of Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sven Schulzke
- Department of Neonatology, University Children's Hospital Basel UKBB, University of Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sven Wellmann
- Department of Neonatology, University Children's Hospital Basel UKBB, University of Basel, Switzerland
| | - Peter Weber
- Department of Neuropediatrics and Developmental Medicine, University Children's Hospital Basel UKBB, University of Basel, Switzerland
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Magnetoencephalographic signatures of hierarchical rule learning in newborns. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2020; 46:100871. [PMID: 33122158 PMCID: PMC7585041 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2020] [Revised: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Estimating the extent to which newborn humans process input from their environment, especially regarding the depth of processing, is a challenging question. To approach this problem, we measured brain responses in 20 newborns with magnetoencephalography (MEG) in a "local-global" auditory oddball paradigm in which two-levels of hierarchical regularities are presented. Results suggest that infants in the first weeks of life are able to learn hierarchical rules, yet a certain level of vigilance seems to be necessary. Newborns detected violations of the first-order regularity and displayed a mismatch response between 200-400 ms. Violations of the second-order regularity only evoked a late response in newborns in an active state, which was expressed by a high heart rate variability. These findings are in line with those obtained in human adults and older infants suggesting a continuity in the functional architecture from term-birth on, despite the immaturity of the human brain at this age.
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François C, Rodriguez‐Fornells A, Teixidó M, Agut T, Bosch L. Attenuated brain responses to speech sounds in moderate preterm infants at term age. Dev Sci 2020; 24:e12990. [DOI: 10.1111/desc.12990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2019] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Clément François
- Laboratoire Parole et Langage Aix‐Marseille UniversityCNRS Aix‐en‐Provence France
| | - Antoni Rodriguez‐Fornells
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity Group Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute‐] IDIBELL, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat Barcelona Spain
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology University of Barcelona Barcelona Spain
- Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies ICREA Barcelona Spain
| | - Maria Teixidó
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology University of Barcelona Barcelona Spain
| | - Thaïs Agut
- Department of Neonatology Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Spain
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Spain
| | - Laura Bosch
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology University of Barcelona Barcelona Spain
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences (UBNeuro) University of Barcelona Barcelona Spain
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Jutras B, Lagacé J, Koravand A. The development of auditory functions. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2020; 173:143-155. [PMID: 32958169 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-64150-2.00014-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Typical development and maturation of the auditory system, at both the peripheral and central levels, is essential for the acquisition of speech, language, and auditory skills. The peripheral system generally encodes three basic parameters associated with auditory stimuli-time, frequency, and intensity. These acoustic cues are subsequently processed by the central auditory structures to reach and be perceived by the cerebral cortex. Observations of the human fetal and neonatal ear indicate that the peripheral auditory system is structurally and functionally adult-like at birth. In contrast, the central auditory system exhibits progressive anatomical and physiologic changes until early adulthood. Enriched experience with sound is fundamental and critical to auditory development. The absence of early and prolonged acoustic stimulation delays neuronal maturation, affecting the central auditory nervous system, in particular, and leading to atypical development. The present chapter reviews the various stages of development of the auditory system structures, especially the embryology of the human ear, before briefly presenting the trajectories of typical development of auditory abilities from infants to school-aged children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benoît Jutras
- School of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Université de Montréal, Research Centre, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montréal, QC, Canada.
| | - Josée Lagacé
- Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Program, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Amineh Koravand
- Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Program, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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An extensive pattern of atypical neural speech-sound discrimination in newborns at risk of dyslexia. Clin Neurophysiol 2019; 130:634-646. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2019.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Revised: 01/11/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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