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Araújo J, Simons BD, Peter V, Mandke K, Kalashnikova M, Macfarlane A, Gabrielczyk F, Wilson A, Di Liberto GM, Burnham D, Goswami U. Atypical low-frequency cortical encoding of speech identifies children with developmental dyslexia. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 18:1403677. [PMID: 38911229 PMCID: PMC11190370 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1403677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Slow cortical oscillations play a crucial role in processing the speech amplitude envelope, which is perceived atypically by children with developmental dyslexia. Here we use electroencephalography (EEG) recorded during natural speech listening to identify neural processing patterns involving slow oscillations that may characterize children with dyslexia. In a story listening paradigm, we find that atypical power dynamics and phase-amplitude coupling between delta and theta oscillations characterize dyslexic versus other child control groups (typically-developing controls, other language disorder controls). We further isolate EEG common spatial patterns (CSP) during speech listening across delta and theta oscillations that identify dyslexic children. A linear classifier using four delta-band CSP variables predicted dyslexia status (0.77 AUC). Crucially, these spatial patterns also identified children with dyslexia when applied to EEG measured during a rhythmic syllable processing task. This transfer effect (i.e., the ability to use neural features derived from a story listening task as input features to a classifier based on a rhythmic syllable task) is consistent with a core developmental deficit in neural processing of speech rhythm. The findings are suggestive of distinct atypical neurocognitive speech encoding mechanisms underlying dyslexia, which could be targeted by novel interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Araújo
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Benjamin D. Simons
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- The Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Varghese Peter
- School of Health, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, QLD, Australia
| | - Kanad Mandke
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Marina Kalashnikova
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain, and Language, San Sebastian, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Annabel Macfarlane
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Fiona Gabrielczyk
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Angela Wilson
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Giovanni M. Di Liberto
- ADAPT Centre, School of Computer Science and Statistics, Trinity College, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Denis Burnham
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour, and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Usha Goswami
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Răutu IS, De Tiège X, Jousmäki V, Bourguignon M, Bertels J. Speech-derived haptic stimulation enhances speech recognition in a multi-talker background. Sci Rep 2023; 13:16621. [PMID: 37789043 PMCID: PMC10547762 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43644-3] [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: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Speech understanding, while effortless in quiet conditions, is challenging in noisy environments. Previous studies have revealed that a feasible approach to supplement speech-in-noise (SiN) perception consists in presenting speech-derived signals as haptic input. In the current study, we investigated whether the presentation of a vibrotactile signal derived from the speech temporal envelope can improve SiN intelligibility in a multi-talker background for untrained, normal-hearing listeners. We also determined if vibrotactile sensitivity, evaluated using vibrotactile detection thresholds, modulates the extent of audio-tactile SiN improvement. In practice, we measured participants' speech recognition in a multi-talker noise without (audio-only) and with (audio-tactile) concurrent vibrotactile stimulation delivered in three schemes: to the left or right palm, or to both. Averaged across the three stimulation delivery schemes, the vibrotactile stimulation led to a significant improvement of 0.41 dB in SiN recognition when compared to the audio-only condition. Notably, there were no significant differences observed between the improvements in these delivery schemes. In addition, audio-tactile SiN benefit was significantly predicted by participants' vibrotactile threshold levels and unimodal (audio-only) SiN performance. The extent of the improvement afforded by speech-envelope-derived vibrotactile stimulation was in line with previously uncovered vibrotactile enhancements of SiN perception in untrained listeners with no known hearing impairment. Overall, these results highlight the potential of concurrent vibrotactile stimulation to improve SiN recognition, especially in individuals with poor SiN perception abilities, and tentatively more so with increasing tactile sensitivity. Moreover, they lend support to the multimodal accounts of speech perception and research on tactile speech aid devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Sabina Răutu
- Laboratoire de Neuroanatomie et de Neuroimagerie Translationnelles (LN2T), UNI - ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Xavier De Tiège
- Laboratoire de Neuroanatomie et de Neuroimagerie Translationnelles (LN2T), UNI - ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
- Service de Neuroimagerie Translationnelle, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (H.U.B.), CUB Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | | | - Mathieu Bourguignon
- Laboratoire de Neuroanatomie et de Neuroimagerie Translationnelles (LN2T), UNI - ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
- BCBL, Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, 20009, San Sebastián, Spain
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Movement Biomechanics, UNI - ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Julie Bertels
- Laboratoire de Neuroanatomie et de Neuroimagerie Translationnelles (LN2T), UNI - ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.
- ULBabylab, Center for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences (CRCN), UNI - ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.
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Mandke K, Flanagan S, Macfarlane A, Feltham G, Gabrielczyk F, Wilson AM, Gross J, Goswami U. Neural responses to natural and enhanced speech edges in children with and without dyslexia. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:1200950. [PMID: 37841072 PMCID: PMC10571917 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1200950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Sensory-neural studies indicate that children with developmental dyslexia show impairments in processing acoustic speech envelope information. Prior studies suggest that this arises in part from reduced sensory sensitivity to amplitude rise times (ARTs or speech "edges") in the envelope, accompanied by less accurate neural encoding of low-frequency envelope information. Accordingly, enhancing these characteristics of the speech envelope may enhance neural speech processing in children with dyslexia. Here we applied an envelope modulation enhancement (EME) algorithm to a 10-min story read in child-directed speech (CDS), enhancing ARTs and also enhancing low-frequency envelope information. We compared neural speech processing (as measured using MEG) for the EME story with the same story read in natural CDS for 9-year-old children with and without dyslexia. The EME story affected neural processing in the power domain for children with dyslexia, particularly in the delta band (0.5-4 Hz) in the superior temporal gyrus. This may suggest that prolonged experience with EME speech could ameliorate some of the impairments shown in natural speech processing by children with dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanad Mandke
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Sheila Flanagan
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Annabel Macfarlane
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Georgia Feltham
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Fiona Gabrielczyk
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Angela M. Wilson
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Joachim Gross
- Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Usha Goswami
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Ní Choisdealbha Á, Attaheri A, Rocha S, Mead N, Olawole-Scott H, Brusini P, Gibbon S, Boutris P, Grey C, Hines D, Williams I, Flanagan SA, Goswami U. Neural phase angle from two months when tracking speech and non-speech rhythm linked to language performance from 12 to 24 months. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2023; 243:105301. [PMID: 37399686 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2023.105301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Revised: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023]
Abstract
Atypical phase alignment of low-frequency neural oscillations to speech rhythm has been implicated in phonological deficits in developmental dyslexia. Atypical phase alignment to rhythm could thus also characterize infants at risk for later language difficulties. Here, we investigate phase-language mechanisms in a neurotypical infant sample. 122 two-, six- and nine-month-old infants were played speech and non-speech rhythms while EEG was recorded in a longitudinal design. The phase of infants' neural oscillations aligned consistently to the stimuli, with group-level convergence towards a common phase. Individual low-frequency phase alignment related to subsequent measures of language acquisition up to 24 months of age. Accordingly, individual differences in language acquisition are related to the phase alignment of cortical tracking of auditory and audiovisual rhythms in infancy, an automatic neural mechanism. Automatic rhythmic phase-language mechanisms could eventually serve as biomarkers, identifying at-risk infants and enabling intervention at the earliest stages of development.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Adam Attaheri
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Sinead Rocha
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Natasha Mead
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Helen Olawole-Scott
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Perrine Brusini
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Samuel Gibbon
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Panagiotis Boutris
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Christina Grey
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Declan Hines
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Isabel Williams
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Sheila A Flanagan
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Usha Goswami
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
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Van Hirtum T, Somers B, Verschueren E, Dieudonné B, Francart T. Delta-band neural envelope tracking predicts speech intelligibility in noise in preschoolers. Hear Res 2023; 434:108785. [PMID: 37172414 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2023.108785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Behavioral tests are currently the gold standard in measuring speech intelligibility. However, these tests can be difficult to administer in young children due to factors such as motivation, linguistic knowledge and cognitive skills. It has been shown that measures of neural envelope tracking can be used to predict speech intelligibility and overcome these issues. However, its potential as an objective measure for speech intelligibility in noise remains to be investigated in preschool children. Here, we evaluated neural envelope tracking as a function of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in 14 5-year-old children. We examined EEG responses to natural, continuous speech presented at different SNRs ranging from -8 (very difficult) to 8 dB SNR (very easy). As expected delta band (0.5-4 Hz) tracking increased with increasing stimulus SNR. However, this increase was not strictly monotonic as neural tracking reached a plateau between 0 and 4 dB SNR, similarly to the behavioral speech intelligibility outcomes. These findings indicate that neural tracking in the delta band remains stable, as long as the acoustical degradation of the speech signal does not reflect significant changes in speech intelligibility. Theta band tracking (4-8 Hz), on the other hand, was found to be drastically reduced and more easily affected by noise in children, making it less reliable as a measure of speech intelligibility. By contrast, neural envelope tracking in the delta band was directly associated with behavioral measures of speech intelligibility. This suggests that neural envelope tracking in the delta band is a valuable tool for evaluating speech-in-noise intelligibility in preschoolers, highlighting its potential as an objective measure of speech in difficult-to-test populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tilde Van Hirtum
- KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Oto-rhino-laryngology, Herestraat 49 bus 721, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
| | - Ben Somers
- KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Oto-rhino-laryngology, Herestraat 49 bus 721, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Eline Verschueren
- KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Oto-rhino-laryngology, Herestraat 49 bus 721, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Benjamin Dieudonné
- KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Oto-rhino-laryngology, Herestraat 49 bus 721, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Tom Francart
- KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Oto-rhino-laryngology, Herestraat 49 bus 721, Leuven 3000, Belgium
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Neurodevelopmental oscillatory basis of speech processing in noise. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 59:101181. [PMID: 36549148 PMCID: PMC9792357 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans' extraordinary ability to understand speech in noise relies on multiple processes that develop with age. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we characterize the underlying neuromaturational basis by quantifying how cortical oscillations in 144 participants (aged 5-27 years) track phrasal and syllabic structures in connected speech mixed with different types of noise. While the extraction of prosodic cues from clear speech was stable during development, its maintenance in a multi-talker background matured rapidly up to age 9 and was associated with speech comprehension. Furthermore, while the extraction of subtler information provided by syllables matured at age 9, its maintenance in noisy backgrounds progressively matured until adulthood. Altogether, these results highlight distinct behaviorally relevant maturational trajectories for the neuronal signatures of speech perception. In accordance with grain-size proposals, neuromaturational milestones are reached increasingly late for linguistic units of decreasing size, with further delays incurred by noise.
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Vanden Bempt F, Van Herck S, Economou M, Vanderauwera J, Vandermosten M, Wouters J, Ghesquière P. Speech perception deficits and the effect of envelope-enhanced story listening combined with phonics intervention in pre-readers at risk for dyslexia. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1021767. [PMID: 36389538 PMCID: PMC9650384 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1021767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Developmental dyslexia is considered to be most effectively addressed with preventive phonics-based interventions, including grapheme-phoneme coupling and blending exercises. These intervention types require intact speech perception abilities, given their large focus on exercises with auditorily presented phonemes. Yet some children with (a risk for) dyslexia experience problems in this domain due to a poorer sensitivity to rise times, i.e., rhythmic acoustic cues present in the speech envelope. As a result, the often subtle speech perception problems could potentially constrain an optimal response to phonics-based interventions in at-risk children. The current study therefore aimed (1) to extend existing research by examining the presence of potential speech perception deficits in pre-readers at cognitive risk for dyslexia when compared to typically developing peers and (2) to explore the added value of a preventive auditory intervention for at-risk pre-readers, targeting rise time sensitivity, on speech perception and other reading-related skills. To obtain the first research objective, we longitudinally compared speech-in-noise perception between 28 5-year-old pre-readers with and 30 peers without a cognitive risk for dyslexia during the second half of the third year of kindergarten. The second research objective was addressed by exploring growth in speech perception and other reading-related skills in an independent sample of 62 at-risk 5-year-old pre-readers who all combined a 12-week preventive phonics-based intervention (GraphoGame-Flemish) with an auditory story listening intervention. In half of the sample, story recordings contained artificially enhanced rise times (GG-FL_EE group, n = 31), while in the other half, stories remained unprocessed (GG-FL_NE group, n = 31; Clinical Trial Number S60962—https://www.uzleuven.be/nl/clinical-trial-center). Results revealed a slower speech-in-noise perception growth in the at-risk compared to the non-at-risk group, due to an emerged deficit at the end of kindergarten. Concerning the auditory intervention effects, both intervention groups showed equal growth in speech-in-noise perception and other reading-related skills, suggesting no boost of envelope-enhanced story listening on top of the effect of combining GraphoGame-Flemish with listening to unprocessed stories. These findings thus provide evidence for a link between speech perception problems and dyslexia, yet do not support the potential of the auditory intervention in its current form.
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Affiliation(s)
- Femke Vanden Bempt
- Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- *Correspondence: Femke Vanden Bempt,
| | - Shauni Van Herck
- Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Maria Economou
- Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jolijn Vanderauwera
- Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Maaike Vandermosten
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jan Wouters
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Pol Ghesquière
- Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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