1
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Kasten FH, Busson Q, Zoefel B. Opposing neural processing modes alternate rhythmically during sustained auditory attention. Commun Biol 2024; 7:1125. [PMID: 39266696 PMCID: PMC11393317 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06834-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/03/2024] [Indexed: 09/14/2024] Open
Abstract
During continuous tasks, humans show spontaneous fluctuations in performance, putatively caused by varying attentional resources allocated to process external information. If neural resources are used to process other, presumably "internal" information, sensory input can be missed and explain an apparent dichotomy of "internal" versus "external" attention. In the current study, we extract presumed neural signatures of these attentional modes in human electroencephalography (EEG): neural entrainment and α-oscillations (~10-Hz), linked to the processing and suppression of sensory information, respectively. We test whether they exhibit structured fluctuations over time, while listeners attend to an ecologically relevant stimulus, like speech, and complete a task that requires full and continuous attention. Results show an antagonistic relation between neural entrainment to speech and spontaneous α-oscillations in two distinct brain networks-one specialized in the processing of external information, the other reminiscent of the dorsal attention network. These opposing neural modes undergo slow, periodic fluctuations around ~0.07 Hz and are related to the detection of auditory targets. Our study might have tapped into a general attentional mechanism that is conserved across species and has important implications for situations in which sustained attention to sensory information is critical.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian H Kasten
- Department for Cognitive, Affective, Behavioral Neuroscience with Focus Neurostimulation, Institute of Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany.
- Centre de Recherche Cerveau & Cognition, CNRS, Toulouse, France.
- Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
| | | | - Benedikt Zoefel
- Centre de Recherche Cerveau & Cognition, CNRS, Toulouse, France.
- Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
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2
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Iverson P, Song J. Neural Tracking of Speech Acoustics in Noise Is Coupled with Lexical Predictability as Estimated by Large Language Models. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0507-23.2024. [PMID: 39095091 PMCID: PMC11335968 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0507-23.2024] [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: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 07/15/2024] [Accepted: 07/15/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Adults heard recordings of two spatially separated speakers reading newspaper and magazine articles. They were asked to listen to one of them and ignore the other, and EEG was recorded to assess their neural processing. Machine learning extracted neural sources that tracked the target and distractor speakers at three levels: the acoustic envelope of speech (delta- and theta-band modulations), lexical frequency for individual words, and the contextual predictability of individual words estimated by GPT-4 and earlier lexical models. To provide a broader view of speech perception, half of the subjects completed a simultaneous visual task, and the listeners included both native and non-native English speakers. Distinct neural components were extracted for these levels of auditory and lexical processing, demonstrating that native English speakers had greater target-distractor separation compared with non-native English speakers on most measures, and that lexical processing was reduced by the visual task. Moreover, there was a novel interaction of lexical predictability and frequency with auditory processing; acoustic tracking was stronger for lexically harder words, suggesting that people listened harder to the acoustics when needed for lexical selection. This demonstrates that speech perception is not simply a feedforward process from acoustic processing to the lexicon. Rather, the adaptable context-sensitive processing long known to occur at a lexical level has broader consequences for perception, coupling with the acoustic tracking of individual speakers in noise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Iverson
- Department of Speech, Hearing and Phonetic Sciences, University College London, London WC1N 1PF, United Kingdom
| | - Jieun Song
- School of Digital Humanities and Computational Social Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
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3
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Pérez-Navarro J, Klimovich-Gray A, Lizarazu M, Piazza G, Molinaro N, Lallier M. Early language experience modulates the tradeoff between acoustic-temporal and lexico-semantic cortical tracking of speech. iScience 2024; 27:110247. [PMID: 39006483 PMCID: PMC11246002 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110247] [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: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Cortical tracking of speech is relevant for the development of speech perception skills. However, no study to date has explored whether and how cortical tracking of speech is shaped by accumulated language experience, the central question of this study. In 35 bilingual children (6-year-old) with considerably bigger experience in one language, we collected electroencephalography data while they listened to continuous speech in their two languages. Cortical tracking of speech was assessed at acoustic-temporal and lexico-semantic levels. Children showed more robust acoustic-temporal tracking in the least experienced language, and more sensitive cortical tracking of semantic information in the most experienced language. Additionally, and only for the most experienced language, acoustic-temporal tracking was specifically linked to phonological abilities, and lexico-semantic tracking to vocabulary knowledge. Our results indicate that accumulated linguistic experience is a relevant maturational factor for the cortical tracking of speech at different levels during early language acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose Pérez-Navarro
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), 20009 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
| | | | - Mikel Lizarazu
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), 20009 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
| | - Giorgio Piazza
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), 20009 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
| | - Nicola Molinaro
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), 20009 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
| | - Marie Lallier
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), 20009 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
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4
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MacIntyre AD, Carlyon RP, Goehring T. Neural Decoding of the Speech Envelope: Effects of Intelligibility and Spectral Degradation. Trends Hear 2024; 28:23312165241266316. [PMID: 39183533 PMCID: PMC11345737 DOI: 10.1177/23312165241266316] [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: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 05/23/2024] [Accepted: 06/16/2024] [Indexed: 08/27/2024] Open
Abstract
During continuous speech perception, endogenous neural activity becomes time-locked to acoustic stimulus features, such as the speech amplitude envelope. This speech-brain coupling can be decoded using non-invasive brain imaging techniques, including electroencephalography (EEG). Neural decoding may provide clinical use as an objective measure of stimulus encoding by the brain-for example during cochlear implant listening, wherein the speech signal is severely spectrally degraded. Yet, interplay between acoustic and linguistic factors may lead to top-down modulation of perception, thereby complicating audiological applications. To address this ambiguity, we assess neural decoding of the speech envelope under spectral degradation with EEG in acoustically hearing listeners (n = 38; 18-35 years old) using vocoded speech. We dissociate sensory encoding from higher-order processing by employing intelligible (English) and non-intelligible (Dutch) stimuli, with auditory attention sustained using a repeated-phrase detection task. Subject-specific and group decoders were trained to reconstruct the speech envelope from held-out EEG data, with decoder significance determined via random permutation testing. Whereas speech envelope reconstruction did not vary by spectral resolution, intelligible speech was associated with better decoding accuracy in general. Results were similar across subject-specific and group analyses, with less consistent effects of spectral degradation in group decoding. Permutation tests revealed possible differences in decoder statistical significance by experimental condition. In general, while robust neural decoding was observed at the individual and group level, variability within participants would most likely prevent the clinical use of such a measure to differentiate levels of spectral degradation and intelligibility on an individual basis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Robert P. Carlyon
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Tobias Goehring
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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5
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Schmidt F, Chen Y, Keitel A, Rösch S, Hannemann R, Serman M, Hauswald A, Weisz N. Neural speech tracking shifts from the syllabic to the modulation rate of speech as intelligibility decreases. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14362. [PMID: 37350379 PMCID: PMC10909526 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14362] [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: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023]
Abstract
The most prominent acoustic features in speech are intensity modulations, represented by the amplitude envelope of speech. Synchronization of neural activity with these modulations supports speech comprehension. As the acoustic modulation of speech is related to the production of syllables, investigations of neural speech tracking commonly do not distinguish between lower-level acoustic (envelope modulation) and higher-level linguistic (syllable rate) information. Here we manipulated speech intelligibility using noise-vocoded speech and investigated the spectral dynamics of neural speech processing, across two studies at cortical and subcortical levels of the auditory hierarchy, using magnetoencephalography. Overall, cortical regions mostly track the syllable rate, whereas subcortical regions track the acoustic envelope. Furthermore, with less intelligible speech, tracking of the modulation rate becomes more dominant. Our study highlights the importance of distinguishing between envelope modulation and syllable rate and provides novel possibilities to better understand differences between auditory processing and speech/language processing disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Schmidt
- Center for Cognitive NeuroscienceUniversity of SalzburgSalzburgAustria
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of SalzburgSalzburgAustria
| | - Ya‐Ping Chen
- Center for Cognitive NeuroscienceUniversity of SalzburgSalzburgAustria
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of SalzburgSalzburgAustria
| | - Anne Keitel
- Psychology, School of Social SciencesUniversity of DundeeDundeeUK
| | - Sebastian Rösch
- Department of OtorhinolaryngologyParacelsus Medical UniversitySalzburgAustria
| | | | - Maja Serman
- Audiological Research UnitSivantos GmbHErlangenGermany
| | - Anne Hauswald
- Center for Cognitive NeuroscienceUniversity of SalzburgSalzburgAustria
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of SalzburgSalzburgAustria
| | - Nathan Weisz
- Center for Cognitive NeuroscienceUniversity of SalzburgSalzburgAustria
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of SalzburgSalzburgAustria
- Neuroscience Institute, Christian Doppler University Hospital, Paracelsus Medical UniversitySalzburgAustria
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6
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Mentzelopoulos G, Driscoll N, Shankar S, Kim B, Rich R, Fernandez-Nunez G, Stoll H, Erickson B, Medaglia JD, Vitale F. Alerting attention is sufficient to induce a phase-dependent behavior that can be predicted by frontal EEG. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1176865. [PMID: 37292166 PMCID: PMC10246752 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1176865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent studies suggest that attention is rhythmic. Whether that rhythmicity can be explained by the phase of ongoing neural oscillations, however, is still debated. We contemplate that a step toward untangling the relationship between attention and phase stems from employing simple behavioral tasks that isolate attention from other cognitive functions (perception/decision-making) and by localized monitoring of neural activity with high spatiotemporal resolution over the brain regions associated with the attentional network. In this study, we investigated whether the phase of electroencephalography (EEG) oscillations predicts alerting attention. We isolated the alerting mechanism of attention using the Psychomotor Vigilance Task, which does not involve a perceptual component, and collected high resolution EEG using novel high-density dry EEG arrays at the frontal region of the scalp. We identified that alerting attention alone is sufficient to induce a phase-dependent modulation of behavior at EEG frequencies of 3, 6, and 8 Hz throughout the frontal region, and we quantified the phase that predicts the high and low attention states in our cohort. Our findings disambiguate the relationship between EEG phase and alerting attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgios Mentzelopoulos
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Center for Neuroengineering and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Center for Neurotrauma, Neurodegeneration, and Restoration, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Nicolette Driscoll
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Center for Neuroengineering and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Center for Neurotrauma, Neurodegeneration, and Restoration, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Sneha Shankar
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Center for Neuroengineering and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Center for Neurotrauma, Neurodegeneration, and Restoration, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Brian Kim
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Ryan Rich
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | | | - Harrison Stoll
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Brian Erickson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - John Dominic Medaglia
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Neurology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Flavia Vitale
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Center for Neuroengineering and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Center for Neurotrauma, Neurodegeneration, and Restoration, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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7
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Zioga I, Weissbart H, Lewis AG, Haegens S, Martin AE. Naturalistic Spoken Language Comprehension Is Supported by Alpha and Beta Oscillations. J Neurosci 2023; 43:3718-3732. [PMID: 37059462 PMCID: PMC10198453 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1500-22.2023] [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: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Brain oscillations are prevalent in all species and are involved in numerous perceptual operations. α oscillations are thought to facilitate processing through the inhibition of task-irrelevant networks, while β oscillations are linked to the putative reactivation of content representations. Can the proposed functional role of α and β oscillations be generalized from low-level operations to higher-level cognitive processes? Here we address this question focusing on naturalistic spoken language comprehension. Twenty-two (18 female) Dutch native speakers listened to stories in Dutch and French while MEG was recorded. We used dependency parsing to identify three dependency states at each word: the number of (1) newly opened dependencies, (2) dependencies that remained open, and (3) resolved dependencies. We then constructed forward models to predict α and β power from the dependency features. Results showed that dependency features predict α and β power in language-related regions beyond low-level linguistic features. Left temporal, fundamental language regions are involved in language comprehension in α, while frontal and parietal, higher-order language regions, and motor regions are involved in β. Critically, α- and β-band dynamics seem to subserve language comprehension tapping into syntactic structure building and semantic composition by providing low-level mechanistic operations for inhibition and reactivation processes. Because of the temporal similarity of the α-β responses, their potential functional dissociation remains to be elucidated. Overall, this study sheds light on the role of α and β oscillations during naturalistic spoken language comprehension, providing evidence for the generalizability of these dynamics from perceptual to complex linguistic processes.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT It remains unclear whether the proposed functional role of α and β oscillations in perceptual and motor function is generalizable to higher-level cognitive processes, such as spoken language comprehension. We found that syntactic features predict α and β power in language-related regions beyond low-level linguistic features when listening to naturalistic speech in a known language. We offer experimental findings that integrate a neuroscientific framework on the role of brain oscillations as "building blocks" with spoken language comprehension. This supports the view of a domain-general role of oscillations across the hierarchy of cognitive functions, from low-level sensory operations to abstract linguistic processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioanna Zioga
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, 6525 EN, The Netherlands
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, 6525 XD, The Netherlands
| | - Hugo Weissbart
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, 6525 EN, The Netherlands
| | - Ashley G Lewis
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, 6525 EN, The Netherlands
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, 6525 XD, The Netherlands
| | - Saskia Haegens
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, 6525 EN, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032
- Division of Systems Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York 10032
| | - Andrea E Martin
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, 6525 EN, The Netherlands
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, 6525 XD, The Netherlands
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8
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Xu N, Zhao B, Luo L, Zhang K, Shao X, Luan G, Wang Q, Hu W, Wang Q. Two stages of speech envelope tracking in human auditory cortex modulated by speech intelligibility. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:2215-2228. [PMID: 35695785 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The envelope is essential for speech perception. Recent studies have shown that cortical activity can track the acoustic envelope. However, whether the tracking strength reflects the extent of speech intelligibility processing remains controversial. Here, using stereo-electroencephalogram technology, we directly recorded the activity in human auditory cortex while subjects listened to either natural or noise-vocoded speech. These 2 stimuli have approximately identical envelopes, but the noise-vocoded speech does not have speech intelligibility. According to the tracking lags, we revealed 2 stages of envelope tracking: an early high-γ (60-140 Hz) power stage that preferred the noise-vocoded speech and a late θ (4-8 Hz) phase stage that preferred the natural speech. Furthermore, the decoding performance of high-γ power was better in primary auditory cortex than in nonprimary auditory cortex, consistent with its short tracking delay, while θ phase showed better decoding performance in right auditory cortex. In addition, high-γ responses with sustained temporal profiles in nonprimary auditory cortex were dominant in both envelope tracking and decoding. In sum, we suggested a functional dissociation between high-γ power and θ phase: the former reflects fast and automatic processing of brief acoustic features, while the latter correlates to slow build-up processing facilitated by speech intelligibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Na Xu
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing 100070, China.,National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, No. 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing 100070, China
| | - Baotian Zhao
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing 100070, China
| | - Lu Luo
- School of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, No. 48 Xinxi Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Kai Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing 100070, China
| | - Xiaoqiu Shao
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing 100070, China
| | - Guoming Luan
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Epilepsy, Epilepsy Center, Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 50 Yikesong Xiangshan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100093, China.,Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, No.10 Xitoutiao, You An Men, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Qian Wang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Epilepsy, Epilepsy Center, Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 50 Yikesong Xiangshan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100093, China.,School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, No.5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100871, China.,IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, No.5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Wenhan Hu
- Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing 100070, China
| | - Qun Wang
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing 100070, China.,National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, No. 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing 100070, China.,Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, No.10 Xitoutiao, You An Men, Beijing 100069, China
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9
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Xiu B, Paul BT, Chen JM, Le TN, Lin VY, Dimitrijevic A. Neural responses to naturalistic audiovisual speech are related to listening demand in cochlear implant users. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:1043499. [DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.1043499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
There is a weak relationship between clinical and self-reported speech perception outcomes in cochlear implant (CI) listeners. Such poor correspondence may be due to differences in clinical and “real-world” listening environments and stimuli. Speech in the real world is often accompanied by visual cues, background environmental noise, and is generally in a conversational context, all factors that could affect listening demand. Thus, our objectives were to determine if brain responses to naturalistic speech could index speech perception and listening demand in CI users. Accordingly, we recorded high-density electroencephalogram (EEG) while CI users listened/watched a naturalistic stimulus (i.e., the television show, “The Office”). We used continuous EEG to quantify “speech neural tracking” (i.e., TRFs, temporal response functions) to the show’s soundtrack and 8–12 Hz (alpha) brain rhythms commonly related to listening effort. Background noise at three different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), +5, +10, and +15 dB were presented to vary the difficulty of following the television show, mimicking a natural noisy environment. The task also included an audio-only (no video) condition. After each condition, participants subjectively rated listening demand and the degree of words and conversations they felt they understood. Fifteen CI users reported progressively higher degrees of listening demand and less words and conversation with increasing background noise. Listening demand and conversation understanding in the audio-only condition was comparable to that of the highest noise condition (+5 dB). Increasing background noise affected speech neural tracking at a group level, in addition to eliciting strong individual differences. Mixed effect modeling showed that listening demand and conversation understanding were correlated to early cortical speech tracking, such that high demand and low conversation understanding occurred with lower amplitude TRFs. In the high noise condition, greater listening demand was negatively correlated to parietal alpha power, where higher demand was related to lower alpha power. No significant correlations were observed between TRF/alpha and clinical speech perception scores. These results are similar to previous findings showing little relationship between clinical speech perception and quality-of-life in CI users. However, physiological responses to complex natural speech may provide an objective measure of aspects of quality-of-life measures like self-perceived listening demand.
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10
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Keitel C, Ruzzoli M, Dugué L, Busch NA, Benwell CSY. Rhythms in cognition: The evidence revisited. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 55:2991-3009. [PMID: 35696729 PMCID: PMC9544967 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2022] [Revised: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Manuela Ruzzoli
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), Donostia/San Sebastian, Spain.,Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Laura Dugué
- Université Paris Cité, INCC UMR 8002, CNRS, Paris, France.,Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
| | - Niko A Busch
- Institute for Psychology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
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11
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Decoding Object-Based Auditory Attention from Source-Reconstructed MEG Alpha Oscillations. J Neurosci 2021; 41:8603-8617. [PMID: 34429378 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0583-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Revised: 08/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
How do we attend to relevant auditory information in complex naturalistic scenes? Much research has focused on detecting which information is attended, without regarding underlying top-down control mechanisms. Studies investigating attentional control generally manipulate and cue specific features in simple stimuli. However, in naturalistic scenes it is impossible to dissociate relevant from irrelevant information based on low-level features. Instead, the brain has to parse and select auditory objects of interest. The neural underpinnings of object-based auditory attention remain not well understood. Here we recorded MEG while 15 healthy human subjects (9 female) prepared for the repetition of an auditory object presented in one of two overlapping naturalistic auditory streams. The stream containing the repetition was prospectively cued with 70% validity. Crucially, this task could not be solved by attending low-level features, but only by processing the objects fully. We trained a linear classifier on the cortical distribution of source-reconstructed oscillatory activity to distinguish which auditory stream was attended. We could successfully classify the attended stream from alpha (8-14 Hz) activity in anticipation of repetition onset. Importantly, attention could only be classified from trials in which subjects subsequently detected the repetition, but not from miss trials. Behavioral relevance was further supported by a correlation between classification accuracy and detection performance. Decodability was not sustained throughout stimulus presentation, but peaked shortly before repetition onset, suggesting that attention acted transiently according to temporal expectations. We thus demonstrate anticipatory alpha oscillations to underlie top-down control of object-based auditory attention in complex naturalistic scenes.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In everyday life, we often find ourselves bombarded with auditory information, from which we need to select what is relevant to our current goals. Previous research has highlighted how we attend to specific highly controlled aspects of the auditory input. Although invaluable, it is still unclear how this relates to attentional control in naturalistic auditory scenes. Here we used the high precision of magnetoencephalography in space and time to investigate the brain mechanisms underlying top-down control of object-based attention in ecologically valid sound scenes. We show that rhythmic activity in auditory association cortex at a frequency of ∼10 Hz (alpha waves) controls attention to currently relevant segments within the auditory scene and predicts whether these segments are subsequently detected.
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12
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Tune S, Alavash M, Fiedler L, Obleser J. Neural attentional-filter mechanisms of listening success in middle-aged and older individuals. Nat Commun 2021; 12:4533. [PMID: 34312388 PMCID: PMC8313676 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24771-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Successful listening crucially depends on intact attentional filters that separate relevant from irrelevant information. Research into their neurobiological implementation has focused on two potential auditory filter strategies: the lateralization of alpha power and selective neural speech tracking. However, the functional interplay of the two neural filter strategies and their potency to index listening success in an ageing population remains unclear. Using electroencephalography and a dual-talker task in a representative sample of listeners (N = 155; age=39-80 years), we here demonstrate an often-missed link from single-trial behavioural outcomes back to trial-by-trial changes in neural attentional filtering. First, we observe preserved attentional-cue-driven modulation of both neural filters across chronological age and hearing levels. Second, neural filter states vary independently of one another, demonstrating complementary neurobiological solutions of spatial selective attention. Stronger neural speech tracking but not alpha lateralization boosts trial-to-trial behavioural performance. Our results highlight the translational potential of neural speech tracking as an individualized neural marker of adaptive listening behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Tune
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
- Center for Brain, Behavior, and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
| | - Mohsen Alavash
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Center for Brain, Behavior, and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Lorenz Fiedler
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Center for Brain, Behavior, and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Eriksholm Research Centre, Snekkersten, Denmark
| | - Jonas Obleser
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
- Center for Brain, Behavior, and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
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Wisniewski MG, Zakrzewski AC, Bell DR, Wheeler M. EEG power spectral dynamics associated with listening in adverse conditions. Psychophysiology 2021; 58:e13877. [PMID: 34161612 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Revised: 05/15/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Adverse listening conditions increase the demand on cognitive resources needed for speech comprehension. In an exploratory study, we aimed to identify independent power spectral features in the EEG useful for studying the cognitive processes involved in this effortful listening. Listeners performed the coordinate response measure task with a single-talker masker at a 0-dB signal-to-noise ratio. Sounds were left unfiltered or degraded with low-pass filtering. Independent component analysis (ICA) was used to identify independent components (ICs) in the EEG data, the power spectral dynamics of which were then analyzed. Frontal midline theta, left frontal, right frontal, left mu, right mu, left temporal, parietal, left occipital, central occipital, and right occipital clusters of ICs were identified. All IC clusters showed some significant listening-related changes in their power spectrum. This included sustained theta enhancements, gamma enhancements, alpha enhancements, alpha suppression, beta enhancements, and mu rhythm suppression. Several of these effects were absent or negligible using traditional channel analyses. Comparison of filtered to unfiltered speech revealed a stronger alpha suppression in the parietal and central occipital clusters of ICs for the filtered speech condition. This not only replicates recent findings showing greater alpha suppression as listening difficulty increases but also suggests that such alpha-band effects can stem from multiple cortical sources. We lay out the advantages of the ICA approach over the restrictive analyses that have been used as of late in the study of listening effort. We also make suggestions for moving into hypothesis-driven studies regarding the power spectral features that were revealed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew G Wisniewski
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
| | | | - Destiny R Bell
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
| | - Michelle Wheeler
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
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Hartmann T, Weisz N. An Introduction to the Objective Psychophysics Toolbox. Front Psychol 2020; 11:585437. [PMID: 33224075 PMCID: PMC7667244 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.585437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 09/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The Psychophysics Toolbox (PTB) is one of the most popular toolboxes for the development of experimental paradigms. It is a very powerful library, providing low-level, platform independent access to the devices used in an experiment such as the graphics and the sound card. While this low-level design results in a high degree of flexibility and power, writing paradigms that interface the PTB directly might lead to code that is hard to read, maintain, reuse, and debug. Running an experiment in different facilities or organizations further requires it to work with various setups that differ in the availability of specialized hardware for response collection, triggering, and presentation of auditory stimuli. The Objective Psychophysics Toolbox (o_ptb) provides an intuitive, unified, and clear interface, built on top of the PTB that enables researchers to write readable, clean, and concise code. In addition to presenting the architecture of the o_ptb, the results of a timing accuracy test are presented. Exactly the same MATLAB code was run on two different systems, one of those using the VPixx system. Both systems showed sub-millisecond accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Hartmann
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, Paris-Lodron Universität Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
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