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Yang L, Wang S, Chen Y, Liang Y, Chen T, Wang Y, Fu X, Wang S. Effects of Age on the Auditory Cortex During Speech Perception in Noise: Evidence From Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy. Ear Hear 2024; 45:742-752. [PMID: 38268081 PMCID: PMC11008455 DOI: 10.1097/aud.0000000000001460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Age-related speech perception difficulties may be related to a decline in central auditory processing abilities, particularly in noisy or challenging environments. However, how the activation patterns related to speech stimulation in different noise situations change with normal aging has yet to be elucidated. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of noisy environments and aging on patterns of auditory cortical activation. DESIGN We analyzed the functional near-infrared spectroscopy signals of 20 young adults, 21 middle-aged adults, and 21 elderly adults, and evaluated their cortical response patterns to speech stimuli under five different signal to noise ratios (SNRs). In addition, we analyzed the behavior score, activation intensity, oxyhemoglobin variability, and dominant hemisphere, to investigate the effects of aging and noisy environments on auditory cortical activation. RESULTS Activation intensity and oxyhemoglobin variability both showed a decreasing trend with aging at an SNR of 0 dB; we also identified a strong correlation between activation intensity and age under this condition. However, we observed an inconsistent activation pattern when the SNR was 5 dB. Furthermore, our analysis revealed that the left hemisphere may be more susceptible to aging than the right hemisphere. Activation in the right hemisphere was more evident in older adults than in the left hemisphere; in contrast, younger adults showed leftward lateralization. CONCLUSIONS Our analysis showed that with aging, auditory cortical regions gradually become inflexible in noisy environments. Furthermore, changes in cortical activation patterns with aging may be related to SNR conditions, and that understandable speech with a low SNR ratio but still understandable may induce the highest level of activation. We also found that the left hemisphere was more affected by aging than the right hemisphere in speech perception tasks; the left-sided dominance observed in younger individuals gradually shifted to the right hemisphere with aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liu Yang
- Beijing Institute of Otolaryngology, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (Capital Medical University), Ministry of Education, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Songjian Wang
- Beijing Institute of Otolaryngology, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (Capital Medical University), Ministry of Education, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Younuo Chen
- Beijing Institute of Otolaryngology, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (Capital Medical University), Ministry of Education, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Liang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Fundamental Research on Biomechanics in Clinical Application, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Ting Chen
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Fundamental Research on Biomechanics in Clinical Application, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan Wang
- Beijing Institute of Otolaryngology, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (Capital Medical University), Ministry of Education, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Xinxing Fu
- Beijing Institute of Otolaryngology, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (Capital Medical University), Ministry of Education, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Shuo Wang
- Beijing Institute of Otolaryngology, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (Capital Medical University), Ministry of Education, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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Gallagher A, Wallois F, Obrig H. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy in pediatric clinical research: Different pathophysiologies and promising clinical applications. NEUROPHOTONICS 2023; 10:023517. [PMID: 36873247 PMCID: PMC9982436 DOI: 10.1117/1.nph.10.2.023517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Over its 30 years of existence, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has matured into a highly versatile tool to study brain function in infants and young children. Its advantages, amongst others, include its ease of application and portability, the option to combine it with electrophysiology, and its relatively good tolerance to movement. As shown by the impressive body of fNIRS literature in the field of cognitive developmental neuroscience, the method's strengths become even more relevant for (very) young individuals who suffer from neurological, behavioral, and/or cognitive impairment. Although a number of studies have been conducted with a clinical perspective, fNIRS cannot yet be considered as a truly clinical tool. The first step has been taken in this direction by studies exploring options in populations with well-defined clinical profiles. To foster further progress, here, we review several of these clinical approaches to identify the challenges and perspectives of fNIRS in the field of developmental disorders. We first outline the contributions of fNIRS in selected areas of pediatric clinical research: epilepsy, communicative and language disorders, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. We provide a scoping review as a framework to allow the highlighting of specific and general challenges of using fNIRS in pediatric research. We also discuss potential solutions and perspectives on the broader use of fNIRS in the clinical setting. This may be of use to future research, targeting clinical applications of fNIRS in children and adolescents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Gallagher
- CHU Sainte-Justine University Hospital, Université de Montréal, LIONLab, Cerebrum, Department of Psychology, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Fabrice Wallois
- Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Inserm U1105, GRAMFC, Amiens, France
| | - Hellmuth Obrig
- University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine Leipzig/Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neurology, Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, Leipzig, Germany
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Moncrieff D, Auld R, Johnston D, Wirt T. Dichotic listening deficits in children with hearing loss. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2023; 168:111521. [PMID: 37031658 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2023.111521] [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: 10/29/2022] [Revised: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This correlational study compared dichotic listening among children with significant hearing loss to typically developing children and children clinically assessed for auditory processing disorder. METHOD Recorded versions of two dichotic tests were delivered under earphones or in the sound field for children using amplification. Individual ear scores and interaural asymmetry were compared to normative data. Matched deficit patterns from both tests were identified, ranked for severity of deficit, and compared across groups. Relationships between dichotic scores and factors related to amplification were investigated in the children with hearing loss. RESULTS Dichotic scores were significantly poorer among children with hearing loss without the large interaural asymmetries seen in children assessed clinically for auditory processing problems. Device type and age of implantation had no effect on scores; non-dominant ear scores on the digits test were significantly correlated to age of device use in the left ear and duration of device use in the right ear. Non-dominant ear scores with digits were also significantly correlated with bilateral word recognition. CONCLUSIONS Poor dichotic perception in children with significant hearing losses may be related to the use of recorded test materials, immature skills in attention and working memory, or other factors that contribute to development of vocabulary and language. These weaknesses may interfere with successful mainstream educational placement in these children. Assessment of dichotic performance in this population could lead to deficit-specific interventions that may improve outcomes and enhance educational opportunities for children with hearing loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah Moncrieff
- School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.
| | - Ruth Auld
- DePaul School for Hearing and Speech, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Tessa Wirt
- DePaul School for Hearing and Speech, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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Chen Y, Luo Q, Liang M, Gao L, Yang J, Feng R, Liu J, Qiu G, Li Y, Zheng Y, Lu S. Children's Neural Sensitivity to Prosodic Features of Natural Speech and Its Significance to Speech Development in Cochlear Implanted Children. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:892894. [PMID: 35903806 PMCID: PMC9315047 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.892894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Catchy utterances, such as proverbs, verses, and nursery rhymes (i.e., "No pain, no gain" in English), contain strong-prosodic (SP) features and are child-friendly in repeating and memorizing; yet the way those prosodic features encoded by neural activity and their influence on speech development in children are still largely unknown. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), this study investigated the cortical responses to the perception of natural speech sentences with strong/weak-prosodic (SP/WP) features and evaluated the speech communication ability in 21 pre-lingually deaf children with cochlear implantation (CI) and 25 normal hearing (NH) children. A comprehensive evaluation of speech communication ability was conducted on all the participants to explore the potential correlations between neural activities and children's speech development. The SP information evoked right-lateralized cortical responses across a broad brain network in NH children and facilitated the early integration of linguistic information, highlighting children's neural sensitivity to natural SP sentences. In contrast, children with CI showed significantly weaker cortical activation and characteristic deficits in speech perception with SP features, suggesting hearing loss at the early age of life, causing significantly impaired sensitivity to prosodic features of sentences. Importantly, the level of neural sensitivity to SP sentences was significantly related to the speech behaviors of all children participants. These findings demonstrate the significance of speech prosodic features in children's speech development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuebo Chen
- Department of Otolaryngology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qinqin Luo
- Department of Chinese Language and Literature, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- School of Foreign Languages, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Maojin Liang
- Department of Otolaryngology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Leyan Gao
- Neurolinguistics Teaching Laboratory, Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jingwen Yang
- Department of Neurology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Department of Clinical Neurolinguistics Research, Mental and Neurological Diseases Research Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ruiyan Feng
- Neurolinguistics Teaching Laboratory, Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiahao Liu
- Department of Otolaryngology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Hearing and Speech Science Department, Guangzhou Xinhua University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Guoxin Qiu
- Department of Clinical Neurolinguistics Research, Mental and Neurological Diseases Research Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yi Li
- School of Foreign Languages, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yiqing Zheng
- Department of Otolaryngology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Hearing and Speech Science Department, Guangzhou Xinhua University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shuo Lu
- School of Foreign Languages, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
- Department of Clinical Neurolinguistics Research, Mental and Neurological Diseases Research Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
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