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Gafoor SA, Uppunda AK. Role of the medial olivocochlear efferent auditory system in speech perception in noise: a systematic review and meta-analyses. Int J Audiol 2024; 63:561-569. [PMID: 37791429 DOI: 10.1080/14992027.2023.2260951] [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: 04/22/2023] [Revised: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The study investigated the relationship between the strength of the medial olivocochlear reflex (measured via contralateral inhibition of otoacoustic emissions) and speech perception in noise (obtained from behavioural identification task) through meta-analyses. DESIGN A systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis of studies investigating the relationship in neurotypical adults was performed. STUDY SAMPLE The systematic search (in PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct and Google Scholar databases) revealed 21 eligible studies, which were critically appraised using the NIH tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. Meta-analysis was performed on 17 studies (374 participants) with fair to good quality. RESULTS The results revealed that the medial olivocochlear reflex accounts for less than 1% of the variations in speech perception in noise in neurotypical individuals. Sub-group analyses conducted to address a few methodological differences also revealed no discernible association between the two variables. CONCLUSIONS The results reveal no modulatory effect of the medial olivocochlear reflex assessed using contralateral inhibition of otoacoustic emission on the ability to perceive speech in noise. However, more data utilising alternative measures of medial olivocochlear reflex strength is necessary before drawing any conclusions about the role of the medial olivocochlear bundle in speech perception in noise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shezeen Abdul Gafoor
- Department of Audiology, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysuru, India
| | - Ajith Kumar Uppunda
- Department of Audiology, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysuru, India
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Skoe E, Kraus N. Neural Delays in Processing Speech in Background Noise Minimized after Short-Term Auditory Training. BIOLOGY 2024; 13:509. [PMID: 39056702 PMCID: PMC11273880 DOI: 10.3390/biology13070509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2024] [Revised: 06/19/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024]
Abstract
Background noise disrupts the neural processing of sound, resulting in delayed and diminished far-field auditory-evoked responses. In young adults, we previously provided evidence that cognitively based short-term auditory training can ameliorate the impact of background noise on the frequency-following response (FFR), leading to greater neural synchrony to the speech fundamental frequency(F0) in noisy listening conditions. In this same dataset (55 healthy young adults), we now examine whether training-related changes extend to the latency of the FFR, with the prediction of faster neural timing after training. FFRs were measured on two days separated by ~8 weeks. FFRs were elicited by the syllable "da" presented at a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of +10 dB SPL relative to a background of multi-talker noise. Half of the participants participated in 20 sessions of computerized training (Listening and Communication Enhancement Program, LACE) between test sessions, while the other half served as Controls. In both groups, half of the participants were non-native speakers of English. In the Control Group, response latencies were unchanged at retest, but for the training group, response latencies were earlier. Findings suggest that auditory training can improve how the adult nervous system responds in noisy listening conditions, as demonstrated by decreased response latencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika Skoe
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Nina Kraus
- Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA;
- Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Linguistics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
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3
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Ying R, Stolzberg DJ, Caras ML. Neural correlates of flexible sound perception in the auditory midbrain and thalamus. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.12.589266. [PMID: 38645241 PMCID: PMC11030403 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.12.589266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Hearing is an active process in which listeners must detect and identify sounds, segregate and discriminate stimulus features, and extract their behavioral relevance. Adaptive changes in sound detection can emerge rapidly, during sudden shifts in acoustic or environmental context, or more slowly as a result of practice. Although we know that context- and learning-dependent changes in the spectral and temporal sensitivity of auditory cortical neurons support many aspects of flexible listening, the contribution of subcortical auditory regions to this process is less understood. Here, we recorded single- and multi-unit activity from the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC) and the ventral subdivision of the medial geniculate nucleus (MGV) of Mongolian gerbils under two different behavioral contexts: as animals performed an amplitude modulation (AM) detection task and as they were passively exposed to AM sounds. Using a signal detection framework to estimate neurometric sensitivity, we found that neural thresholds in both regions improved during task performance, and this improvement was driven by changes in firing rate rather than phase locking. We also found that ICC and MGV neurometric thresholds improved and correlated with behavioral performance as animals learn to detect small AM depths during a multi-day perceptual training paradigm. Finally, we reveal that in the MGV, but not the ICC, context-dependent enhancements in AM sensitivity grow stronger during perceptual training, mirroring prior observations in the auditory cortex. Together, our results suggest that the auditory midbrain and thalamus contribute to flexible sound processing and perception over rapid and slow timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rose Ying
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
- Center for Comparative and Evolutionary Biology of Hearing, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
| | - Daniel J. Stolzberg
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
| | - Melissa L. Caras
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
- Center for Comparative and Evolutionary Biology of Hearing, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
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Mishra SK, Moore DR. Auditory Deprivation during Development Alters Efferent Neural Feedback and Perception. J Neurosci 2023; 43:4642-4649. [PMID: 37221095 PMCID: PMC10286938 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2182-22.2023] [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: 11/25/2022] [Revised: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Auditory experience plays a critical role in hearing development. Developmental auditory deprivation because of otitis media, a common childhood disease, produces long-standing changes in the central auditory system, even after the middle ear pathology is resolved. The effects of sound deprivation because of otitis media have been mostly studied in the ascending auditory system but remain to be examined in the descending pathway that runs from the auditory cortex to the cochlea via the brainstem. Alterations in the efferent neural system could be important because the descending olivocochlear pathway influences the neural representation of transient sounds in noise in the afferent auditory system and is thought to be involved in auditory learning. Here, we show that the inhibitory strength of the medial olivocochlear efferents is weaker in children with a documented history of otitis media relative to controls; both boys and girls were included in the study. In addition, children with otitis media history required a higher signal-to-noise ratio on a sentence-in-noise recognition task than controls to achieve the same criterion performance level. Poorer speech-in-noise recognition, a hallmark of impaired central auditory processing, was related to efferent inhibition, and could not be attributed to the middle ear or cochlear mechanics.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Otitis media is the second most common reason children go to the doctor. Previously, degraded auditory experience because of otitis media has been associated with reorganized ascending neural pathways, even after middle ear pathology resolved. Here, we show that altered afferent auditory input because of otitis media during childhood is also associated with long-lasting reduced descending neural pathway function and poorer speech-in-noise recognition. These novel, efferent findings may be important for the detection and treatment of childhood otitis media.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srikanta K Mishra
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712
| | - David R Moore
- Communication Sciences Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229
- Department of Otolaryngology, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267
- Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom
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Ye Y, Mattingly MM, Sunthimer MJ, Gay JD, Rosen MJ. Early-Life Stress Impairs Perception and Neural Encoding of Rapid Signals in the Auditory Pathway. J Neurosci 2023; 43:3232-3244. [PMID: 36973014 PMCID: PMC10162457 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1787-22.2023] [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: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
During developmental critical periods (CPs), early-life stress (ELS) induces cognitive deficits and alters neural circuitry in regions underlying learning, memory, and attention. Mechanisms underlying critical period plasticity are shared by sensory cortices and these higher neural regions, suggesting that sensory processing may also be vulnerable to ELS. In particular, the perception and auditory cortical (ACx) encoding of temporally-varying sounds both mature gradually, even into adolescence, providing an extended postnatal window of susceptibility. To examine the effects of ELS on temporal processing, we developed a model of ELS in the Mongolian gerbil, a well-established model for auditory processing. In both male and female animals, ELS induction impaired the behavioral detection of short gaps in sound, which are critical for speech perception. This was accompanied by reduced neural responses to gaps in auditory cortex, the auditory periphery, and auditory brainstem. ELS thus degrades the fidelity of sensory representations available to higher regions, and could contribute to well-known ELS-induced problems with cognition.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In children and animal models, early-life stress (ELS) leads to deficits in cognition, including problems with learning, memory, and attention. Such problems could arise in part from a low-fidelity representation of sensory information available to higher-level neural regions. Here, we demonstrate that ELS degrades sensory responses to rapid variations in sound at multiple levels of the auditory pathway, and concurrently impairs perception of these rapidly-varying sounds. As these sound variations are intrinsic to speech, ELS may thus pose a challenge to communication and cognition through impaired sensory encoding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Ye
- Hearing Research Group, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio, 44272
- Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, 44242
| | - Michelle M Mattingly
- Hearing Research Group, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio, 44272
| | - Matthew J Sunthimer
- Hearing Research Group, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio, 44272
| | - Jennifer D Gay
- Hearing Research Group, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio, 44272
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901
| | - Merri J Rosen
- Hearing Research Group, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio, 44272
- Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, 44242
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Lewis JD, Goettl-Meyer M, Lee D. Medial Olivocochlear Reflex Strength in Ears With Low-to-Moderate Annual Noise Exposure. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2023; 66:1428-1443. [PMID: 36940474 DOI: 10.1044/2022_jslhr-22-00433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Studies in lower mammals demonstrate enhancement of the medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR) following noise exposure. A similar effect may occur in humans, and there is some evidence of an individual's acoustic history affecting the MOCR. The current work evaluates the relationship between an individual's annual noise exposure history and their MOCR strength. Given the potential role of the MOCR as a biological hearing protector, it is important to identify factors associated with MOCR strength. METHOD Data were collected from 98 normal-hearing young adults. Annual noise exposure history was estimated using the Noise Exposure Questionnaire. MOCR strength was assayed using click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs) measured with and without noise presented to the contralateral ear. MOCR metrics included the MOCR-induced otoacoustic emission (OAE) magnitude shift and phase shift. A CEOAE signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of at least 12 dB was required for estimation of the MOCR metrics. Linear regression was applied to evaluate the relationship between MOCR metrics and annual noise exposure. RESULTS Annual noise exposure was not a statistically significant predictor of the MOCR-induced CEOAE magnitude shift. However, annual noise exposure was a statistically significant predictor of the MOCR-induced CEOAE phase shift-the MOCR-induced phase shift decreased with increasing noise exposure. Additionally, annual noise exposure was a statistically significant predictor of OAE level. CONCLUSIONS Findings contrast with recent work that suggests MOCR strength increases with annual noise exposure. Compared with previous work, data for this study were collected using more stringent SNR criteria, which is expected to increase the precision of the MOCR metrics. Additionally, data were collected for a larger subject population with a wider range of noise exposures. Whether findings generalize to other exposure durations and levels is unknown and requires future study.
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Affiliation(s)
- James D Lewis
- Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Knoxville
| | - Morgaine Goettl-Meyer
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora
| | - Donguk Lee
- Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Knoxville
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M B, Swathi C, Shameer S. Estimation of efferent inhibition and speech in noise perception on vocal musicians and music sleepers: A comparative study. J Otol 2023; 18:91-96. [PMID: 37153705 PMCID: PMC10159755 DOI: 10.1016/j.joto.2023.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
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Comparing the Outcomes of a Personalized Versus Nonpersonalized Home-Based Auditory Training Program for Cochlear Implant Users. Ear Hear 2022; 44:477-493. [PMID: 36534665 DOI: 10.1097/aud.0000000000001295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Audiological rehabilitation includes sensory management, auditory training (AT), and counseling and can alleviate the negative consequences associated with (untreated) hearing impairment. AT aims at improving auditory skills through structured analytical (bottom-up) or synthetic (top-down) listening exercises. The evidence for AT to improve auditory outcomes of postlingually deafened adults with a cochlear implant (CI) remains a point of debate due to the relatively limited number of studies and methodological shortcomings. There is a general agreement that more rigorous scientific study designs are needed to determine the effectiveness, generalization, and consolidation of AT for CI users. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a personalized AT program compared to a nonpersonalized Active Control program with adult CI users in a stratified randomized controlled clinical trial. DESIGN Off-task outcomes were sentence understanding in noise, executive functioning, and health-related quality of life. Participants were tested before and after 16 weeks of training and after a further 8 months without training. Participant expectations of the training program were assessed before the start of training. RESULTS The personalized and nonpersonalized AT programs yielded similar results. Significant on-task improvements were observed. Moreover, AT generalized to improved speech understanding in noise for both programs. Half of the CI users reached a clinically relevant improvement in speech understanding in noise of at least 2 dB SNR post-training. These improvements were maintained 8 months after completion of the training. In addition, a significant improvement in quality of life was observed for participants in both treatment groups. Adherence to the training programs was high, and both programs were considered user-friendly. CONCLUSIONS Training in both treatments yielded similar results. For half of the CI users, AT transferred to better performance with generalization of learning for speech understanding in noise and quality of life. Our study supports the previous findings that AT can be beneficial for some CI users.
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Stiepan S, Goodman SS, Dhar S. Optimizing distortion product otoacoustic emission recordings in normal-hearing ears by adopting cochlear place-specific stimuli. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 152:776. [PMID: 36050172 PMCID: PMC9348896 DOI: 10.1121/10.0013218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) provide a window into active cochlear processes and have become a popular clinical and research tool. DPOAEs are commonly recorded using stimulus with fixed presentation levels and frequency ratio irrespective of the test frequency. However, this is inconsistent with the changing mechanical properties of the cochlear partition from the base to the apex that lend specific frequency-dependent spatial properties to the cochlear traveling wave. Therefore, the frequency and level characteristics between the stimulus tones should also need to be adjusted as a function of frequency to maintain optimal interaction between them. The goal of this investigation was to establish a frequency-specific measurement protocol guided by local cochlear mechanics. A broad stimulus parameter space extending up to 20 kHz was explored in a group of normal-hearing individuals. The stimulus frequency ratio yielding the largest 2f1-f2 DPOAE level changed as a function of frequency and stimulus level. Specifically, for a constant stimulus level, the frequency ratio producing the largest DPOAE level decreased with increasing frequency. Similarly, at a given f2 frequency, the stimulus frequency ratio producing the largest DPOAE level became wider as stimulus level increased. These results confirm and strengthen our current understanding of DPOAE generation in the normally functioning cochlea and expand our understanding to previously unexamined higher frequencies. These data support the use of frequency- and level-specific stimulus frequency ratios to maximize DPOAE generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Stiepan
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Science and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA
| | - Shawn S. Goodman
- Department of Communication Science and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA
| | - Sumitrajit Dhar
- Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Science and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA
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Bsharat-Maalouf D, Karawani H. Bilinguals' speech perception in noise: Perceptual and neural associations. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0264282. [PMID: 35196339 PMCID: PMC8865662 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The current study characterized subcortical speech sound processing among monolinguals and bilinguals in quiet and challenging listening conditions and examined the relation between subcortical neural processing and perceptual performance. A total of 59 normal-hearing adults, ages 19–35 years, participated in the study: 29 native Hebrew-speaking monolinguals and 30 Arabic-Hebrew-speaking bilinguals. Auditory brainstem responses to speech sounds were collected in a quiet condition and with background noise. The perception of words and sentences in quiet and background noise conditions was also examined to assess perceptual performance and to evaluate the perceptual-physiological relationship. Perceptual performance was tested among bilinguals in both languages (first language (L1-Arabic) and second language (L2-Hebrew)). The outcomes were similar between monolingual and bilingual groups in quiet. Noise, as expected, resulted in deterioration in perceptual and neural responses, which was reflected in lower accuracy in perceptual tasks compared to quiet, and in more prolonged latencies and diminished neural responses. However, a mixed picture was observed among bilinguals in perceptual and physiological outcomes in noise. In the perceptual measures, bilinguals were significantly less accurate than their monolingual counterparts. However, in neural responses, bilinguals demonstrated earlier peak latencies compared to monolinguals. Our results also showed that perceptual performance in noise was related to subcortical resilience to the disruption caused by background noise. Specifically, in noise, increased brainstem resistance (i.e., fewer changes in the fundamental frequency (F0) representations or fewer shifts in the neural timing) was related to better speech perception among bilinguals. Better perception in L1 in noise was correlated with fewer changes in F0 representations, and more accurate perception in L2 was related to minor shifts in auditory neural timing. This study delves into the importance of using neural brainstem responses to speech sounds to differentiate individuals with different language histories and to explain inter-subject variability in bilinguals’ perceptual abilities in daily life situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana Bsharat-Maalouf
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Hanin Karawani
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- * E-mail:
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Auerbach BD, Gritton HJ. Hearing in Complex Environments: Auditory Gain Control, Attention, and Hearing Loss. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:799787. [PMID: 35221899 PMCID: PMC8866963 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.799787] [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: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Listening in noisy or complex sound environments is difficult for individuals with normal hearing and can be a debilitating impairment for those with hearing loss. Extracting meaningful information from a complex acoustic environment requires the ability to accurately encode specific sound features under highly variable listening conditions and segregate distinct sound streams from multiple overlapping sources. The auditory system employs a variety of mechanisms to achieve this auditory scene analysis. First, neurons across levels of the auditory system exhibit compensatory adaptations to their gain and dynamic range in response to prevailing sound stimulus statistics in the environment. These adaptations allow for robust representations of sound features that are to a large degree invariant to the level of background noise. Second, listeners can selectively attend to a desired sound target in an environment with multiple sound sources. This selective auditory attention is another form of sensory gain control, enhancing the representation of an attended sound source while suppressing responses to unattended sounds. This review will examine both “bottom-up” gain alterations in response to changes in environmental sound statistics as well as “top-down” mechanisms that allow for selective extraction of specific sound features in a complex auditory scene. Finally, we will discuss how hearing loss interacts with these gain control mechanisms, and the adaptive and/or maladaptive perceptual consequences of this plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin D. Auerbach
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States
- *Correspondence: Benjamin D. Auerbach,
| | - Howard J. Gritton
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States
- Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States
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12
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Otsuka S, Nakagawa S, Furukawa S. Expectations of the timing and intensity of a stimulus propagate to the auditory periphery through the medial olivocochlear reflex. Cereb Cortex 2022; 32:5121-5131. [PMID: 35094068 PMCID: PMC9667176 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac002] [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: 05/28/2021] [Revised: 12/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Expectations concerning the timing of a stimulus enhance attention at the time at which the event occurs, which confers significant sensory and behavioral benefits. Herein, we show that temporal expectations modulate even the sensory transduction in the auditory periphery via the descending pathway. We measured the medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR), a sound-activated efferent feedback that controls outer hair cell motility and optimizes the dynamic range of the sensory system. MOCR was noninvasively assessed using otoacoustic emissions. We found that the MOCR was enhanced by a visual cue presented at a fixed interval before a sound but was unaffected if the interval was changing between trials. The MOCR was also observed to be stronger when the learned timing expectation matched with the timing of the sound but remained unvaried when these two factors did not match. This implies that the MOCR can be voluntarily controlled in a stimulus- and goal-directed manner. Moreover, we found that the MOCR was enhanced by the expectation of a strong but not a weak, sound intensity. This asymmetrical enhancement could facilitate antimasking and noise protective effects without disrupting the detection of faint signals. Therefore, the descending pathway conveys temporal and intensity expectations to modulate auditory processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sho Otsuka
- Address correspondence to Sho Otsuka, Center for Frontier Medical Engineering, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoicho, Inageku, Chiba 263-8522, Japan.
| | - Seiji Nakagawa
- Center for Frontier Medical Engineering, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
| | - Shigeto Furukawa
- NTT Communication Science Laboratoires, NTT Corporation, Kanagawa, Japan
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The Reliability of Contralateral Suppression of Otoacoustic Emissions Is Greater in Women than in Men. Audiol Res 2022; 12:79-86. [PMID: 35200258 PMCID: PMC8869615 DOI: 10.3390/audiolres12010008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare the reliability of the medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR) between men and women. The strength of the MOCR was measured in terms of the suppression of transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) by contralateral acoustic stimulation (CAS). The difference between TEOAEs with and without CAS (white noise) was calculated as raw decibel TEOAE suppression as well as normalized TEOAE suppression expressed in percent. In each subject, sets of measurements were performed twice. Reliability was evaluated by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient, the standard error of measurement, and the minimum detectable change (MDC). The study included 40 normally hearing subjects (20 men; 20 women). The estimates of MOCR for both genders were similar. Nevertheless, the reliability of the MOCR was poorer in men, with an MDC around twice that of women. This can be only partially attributed to slightly lower signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) in men, since we used strict procedures calling for high SNRs (around 20 dB on average). Furthermore, even when we compared subgroups with similar SNRs, there was still lower MOCR reliability in men.
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14
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Cheng FY, Xu C, Gold L, Smith S. Rapid Enhancement of Subcortical Neural Responses to Sine-Wave Speech. Front Neurosci 2022; 15:747303. [PMID: 34987356 PMCID: PMC8721138 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.747303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The efferent auditory nervous system may be a potent force in shaping how the brain responds to behaviorally significant sounds. Previous human experiments using the frequency following response (FFR) have shown efferent-induced modulation of subcortical auditory function online and over short- and long-term time scales; however, a contemporary understanding of FFR generation presents new questions about whether previous effects were constrained solely to the auditory subcortex. The present experiment used sine-wave speech (SWS), an acoustically-sparse stimulus in which dynamic pure tones represent speech formant contours, to evoke FFRSWS. Due to the higher stimulus frequencies used in SWS, this approach biased neural responses toward brainstem generators and allowed for three stimuli (/bɔ/, /bu/, and /bo/) to be used to evoke FFRSWSbefore and after listeners in a training group were made aware that they were hearing a degraded speech stimulus. All SWS stimuli were rapidly perceived as speech when presented with a SWS carrier phrase, and average token identification reached ceiling performance during a perceptual training phase. Compared to a control group which remained naïve throughout the experiment, training group FFRSWS amplitudes were enhanced post-training for each stimulus. Further, linear support vector machine classification of training group FFRSWS significantly improved post-training compared to the control group, indicating that training-induced neural enhancements were sufficient to bolster machine learning classification accuracy. These results suggest that the efferent auditory system may rapidly modulate auditory brainstem representation of sounds depending on their context and perception as non-speech or speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fan-Yin Cheng
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Can Xu
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Lisa Gold
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Spencer Smith
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
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Hernández-Pérez H, Mikiel-Hunter J, McAlpine D, Dhar S, Boothalingam S, Monaghan JJM, McMahon CM. Understanding degraded speech leads to perceptual gating of a brainstem reflex in human listeners. PLoS Biol 2021; 19:e3001439. [PMID: 34669696 PMCID: PMC8559948 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2021] [Revised: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to navigate "cocktail party" situations by focusing on sounds of interest over irrelevant, background sounds is often considered in terms of cortical mechanisms. However, subcortical circuits such as the pathway underlying the medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex modulate the activity of the inner ear itself, supporting the extraction of salient features from auditory scene prior to any cortical processing. To understand the contribution of auditory subcortical nuclei and the cochlea in complex listening tasks, we made physiological recordings along the auditory pathway while listeners engaged in detecting non(sense) words in lists of words. Both naturally spoken and intrinsically noisy, vocoded speech-filtering that mimics processing by a cochlear implant (CI)-significantly activated the MOC reflex, but this was not the case for speech in background noise, which more engaged midbrain and cortical resources. A model of the initial stages of auditory processing reproduced specific effects of each form of speech degradation, providing a rationale for goal-directed gating of the MOC reflex based on enhancing the representation of the energy envelope of the acoustic waveform. Our data reveal the coexistence of 2 strategies in the auditory system that may facilitate speech understanding in situations where the signal is either intrinsically degraded or masked by extrinsic acoustic energy. Whereas intrinsically degraded streams recruit the MOC reflex to improve representation of speech cues peripherally, extrinsically masked streams rely more on higher auditory centres to denoise signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heivet Hernández-Pérez
- Department of Linguistics, The Australian Hearing Hub, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Jason Mikiel-Hunter
- Department of Linguistics, The Australian Hearing Hub, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - David McAlpine
- Department of Linguistics, The Australian Hearing Hub, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Sumitrajit Dhar
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Sriram Boothalingam
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Jessica J. M. Monaghan
- Department of Linguistics, The Australian Hearing Hub, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
- National Acoustic Laboratories, Sydney, Australia
| | - Catherine M. McMahon
- Department of Linguistics, The Australian Hearing Hub, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
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16
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Shaikh MA, Connell K, Zhang D. Controlled (re)evaluation of the relationship between speech perception in noise and contralateral suppression of otoacoustic emissions. Hear Res 2021; 409:108332. [PMID: 34419743 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2021.108332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Revised: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
In people with normal hearing (NH), speech perception in noise (SPIN) improves when the speech signal is presented not gated with noise but after a delay. The medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR) was thought to be involved in the neural dynamic range adaptation (NDRA) responsible for this adaptive SPIN; however, some of the recent studies do not support this hypothesis and suggest that adaptive SPIN involves the NDRA to noise-level statistics, irrespective of MOCR activation. A plausible reason for this discrepancy could be the variations and limitations of the experimental designs used in different studies. Using a relatively controlled and comprehensive study design, this study attempts to verify whether a delay between the delivery of speech and the noise improves the SPIN and whether MOCR mediates such effects. The SPIN was estimated by measuring speech reception thresholds (SRT) in noise under simultaneous-onset and delayed-onset (noise precedes speech onset by 300 ms) conditions. The SPIN in both ears was independently examined for ipsilateral, contralateral, and bilateral noise in women with normal hearing (N = 18; age range, 18-25 years). Contralateral suppression of transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CSOAEs) was used to estimate the MOCR based cochlear gain reduction. Under all test conditions, SPIN was improved in delayed-onset than in simultaneous-onset conditions, and the mean improvement in the SRT ranged from 0.7±1.7 to 1.8±1.8 dB. No significant correlation was obtained between CSOAEs and the mean temporal improvement in SRT, suggesting that MOCR may not be a predominant mechanism for the temporal improvement in SPIN.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kylie Connell
- Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg, PA, USA
| | - Dong Zhang
- Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg, PA, USA
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Skoe E, Krizman J, Spitzer ER, Kraus N. Auditory Cortical Changes Precede Brainstem Changes During Rapid Implicit Learning: Evidence From Human EEG. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:718230. [PMID: 34483831 PMCID: PMC8415395 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.718230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The auditory system is sensitive to stimulus regularities such as frequently occurring sounds and sound combinations. Evidence of regularity detection can be seen in how neurons across the auditory network, from brainstem to cortex, respond to the statistical properties of the soundscape, and in the rapid learning of recurring patterns in their environment by children and adults. Although rapid auditory learning is presumed to involve functional changes to the auditory network, the chronology and directionality of changes are not well understood. To study the mechanisms by which this learning occurs, auditory brainstem and cortical activity was simultaneously recorded via electroencephalogram (EEG) while young adults listened to novel sound streams containing recurring patterns. Neurophysiological responses were compared between easier and harder learning conditions. Collectively, the behavioral and neurophysiological findings suggest that cortical and subcortical structures each provide distinct contributions to auditory pattern learning, but that cortical sensitivity to stimulus patterns likely precedes subcortical sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika Skoe
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Connecticut Institute for Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
| | - Jennifer Krizman
- Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Emily R Spitzer
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Nina Kraus
- Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States.,Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States.,Department of Otolaryngology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States.,Institute for Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
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Worschech F, Marie D, Jünemann K, Sinke C, Krüger THC, Großbach M, Scholz DS, Abdili L, Kliegel M, James CE, Altenmüller E. Improved Speech in Noise Perception in the Elderly After 6 Months of Musical Instruction. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:696240. [PMID: 34305522 PMCID: PMC8299120 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.696240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding speech in background noise poses a challenge in daily communication, which is a particular problem among the elderly. Although musical expertise has often been suggested to be a contributor to speech intelligibility, the associations are mostly correlative. In the present multisite study conducted in Germany and Switzerland, 156 healthy, normal-hearing elderly were randomly assigned to either piano playing or music listening/musical culture groups. The speech reception threshold was assessed using the International Matrix Test before and after a 6 month intervention. Bayesian multilevel modeling revealed an improvement of both groups over time under binaural conditions. Additionally, the speech reception threshold of the piano group decreased during stimuli presentation to the left ear. A right ear improvement only occurred in the German piano group. Furthermore, improvements were predominantly found in women. These findings are discussed in the light of current neuroscientific theories on hemispheric lateralization and biological sex differences. The study indicates a positive transfer from musical training to speech processing, probably supported by the enhancement of auditory processing and improvement of general cognitive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Worschech
- Institute for Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine, Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, Hanover, Germany
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hanover, Germany
| | - Damien Marie
- Geneva Musical Minds Lab, Geneva School of Health Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO), Geneva, Switzerland
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Kristin Jünemann
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hanover, Germany
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Sexual Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hanover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Christopher Sinke
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Sexual Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hanover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Tillmann H. C. Krüger
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hanover, Germany
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Sexual Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hanover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Michael Großbach
- Institute for Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine, Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, Hanover, Germany
| | - Daniel S. Scholz
- Institute for Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine, Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, Hanover, Germany
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hanover, Germany
| | - Laura Abdili
- Geneva Musical Minds Lab, Geneva School of Health Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO), Geneva, Switzerland
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Kliegel
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Clara E. James
- Geneva Musical Minds Lab, Geneva School of Health Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO), Geneva, Switzerland
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Eckart Altenmüller
- Institute for Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine, Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, Hanover, Germany
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hanover, Germany
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DeRoy Milvae K, Alexander JM, Strickland EA. The relationship between ipsilateral cochlear gain reduction and speech-in-noise recognition at positive and negative signal-to-noise ratios. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021; 149:3449. [PMID: 34241110 PMCID: PMC8411890 DOI: 10.1121/10.0003964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Active mechanisms that regulate cochlear gain are hypothesized to influence speech-in-noise perception. However, evidence of a relationship between the amount of cochlear gain reduction and speech-in-noise recognition is mixed. Findings may conflict across studies because different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) were used to evaluate speech-in-noise recognition. Also, there is evidence that ipsilateral elicitation of cochlear gain reduction may be stronger than contralateral elicitation, yet, most studies have investigated the contralateral descending pathway. The hypothesis that the relationship between ipsilateral cochlear gain reduction and speech-in-noise recognition depends on the SNR was tested. A forward masking technique was used to quantify the ipsilateral cochlear gain reduction in 24 young adult listeners with normal hearing. Speech-in-noise recognition was measured with the PRESTO-R sentence test using speech-shaped noise presented at -3, 0, and +3 dB SNR. Interestingly, greater cochlear gain reduction was associated with lower speech-in-noise recognition, and the strength of this correlation increased as the SNR became more adverse. These findings support the hypothesis that the SNR influences the relationship between ipsilateral cochlear gain reduction and speech-in-noise recognition. Future studies investigating the relationship between cochlear gain reduction and speech-in-noise recognition should consider the SNR and both descending pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina DeRoy Milvae
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
| | - Joshua M Alexander
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Strickland
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
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20
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Keppler H, Degeest S, Vinck B. Short-Term Test-Retest Reliability of Contralateral Suppression of Click-Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions in Normal-Hearing Subjects. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2021; 64:1062-1072. [PMID: 33719513 DOI: 10.1044/2020_jslhr-20-00393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Purpose The objective of the current study was to investigate the short-term test-retest reliability of contralateral suppression (CS) of click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs) using commercially available otoacoustic emission equipment. Method Twenty-three young normal-hearing subjects were tested. An otoscopic evaluation, admittance measures, pure-tone audiometry, measurements of CEOAEs without and with contralateral acoustic stimulation (CAS) to determine CS were performed at baseline (n = 23), an immediate retest without and with refitting of the probe (only CS of CEOAEs; n = 11), and a retest after 1 week (n = 23) were performed. Test-retest reliability parameters were determined on CEOAE response amplitudes without and with CAS, and on raw and normalized CS indices between baseline and the other test moments. Results Repeated-measures analysis of variance indicated no random or systematic changes in CEOAE response amplitudes without and with CAS, and in raw and normalized CS indices between the test moments. Moderate-to-high intraclass correlation coefficients with mostly high significant between-subjects variability between baseline and each consecutive test moment were found for CEOAE response amplitude without and with CAS, and for the raw and normalized CS indices. Other reliability parameters deteriorated between CEOAE response amplitudes with CAS as compared to without CAS, between baseline and retest with probe refitting, and after 1 week, as well as for frequency-specific raw and normalized CS indices as compared to global CS indices. Conclusions There was considerable variability in raw and normalized CS indices as measured using CEOAEs with CAS using commercially available otoacoustic emission equipment. More research is needed to optimize the measurement of CS of CEOAEs and to reduce influencing factors, as well as to make generalization of test-retest reliability data possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Keppler
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium
| | - Sofie Degeest
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Bart Vinck
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium
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21
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Asilador A, Llano DA. Top-Down Inference in the Auditory System: Potential Roles for Corticofugal Projections. Front Neural Circuits 2021; 14:615259. [PMID: 33551756 PMCID: PMC7862336 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2020.615259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
It has become widely accepted that humans use contextual information to infer the meaning of ambiguous acoustic signals. In speech, for example, high-level semantic, syntactic, or lexical information shape our understanding of a phoneme buried in noise. Most current theories to explain this phenomenon rely on hierarchical predictive coding models involving a set of Bayesian priors emanating from high-level brain regions (e.g., prefrontal cortex) that are used to influence processing at lower-levels of the cortical sensory hierarchy (e.g., auditory cortex). As such, virtually all proposed models to explain top-down facilitation are focused on intracortical connections, and consequently, subcortical nuclei have scarcely been discussed in this context. However, subcortical auditory nuclei receive massive, heterogeneous, and cascading descending projections at every level of the sensory hierarchy, and activation of these systems has been shown to improve speech recognition. It is not yet clear whether or how top-down modulation to resolve ambiguous sounds calls upon these corticofugal projections. Here, we review the literature on top-down modulation in the auditory system, primarily focused on humans and cortical imaging/recording methods, and attempt to relate these findings to a growing animal literature, which has primarily been focused on corticofugal projections. We argue that corticofugal pathways contain the requisite circuitry to implement predictive coding mechanisms to facilitate perception of complex sounds and that top-down modulation at early (i.e., subcortical) stages of processing complement modulation at later (i.e., cortical) stages of processing. Finally, we suggest experimental approaches for future studies on this topic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Asilador
- Neuroscience Program, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - Daniel A. Llano
- Neuroscience Program, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Urbana, IL, United States
- Molecular and Integrative Physiology, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE The medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex provides efferent feedback from the brainstem to cochlear outer hair cells. Physiologic studies have demonstrated that the MOC reflex is involved in "unmasking" of signals-in-noise at the level of the auditory nerve; however, its functional importance in human hearing remains unclear. DESIGN This study examined relationships between pre-neural measurements of MOC reflex strength (click-evoked otoacoustic emission inhibition; CEOAE) and neural measurements of speech-in-noise encoding (speech frequency following response; sFFR) in four conditions (Quiet, Contralateral Noise, Ipsilateral Noise, and Ipsilateral + Contralateral Noise). Three measures of CEOAE inhibition (amplitude reduction, effective attenuation, and input-output slope inhibition) were used to quantify pre-neural MOC reflex strength. Correlations between pre-neural MOC reflex strength and sFFR "unmasking" (i.e. response recovery from masking effects with activation of the MOC reflex in time and frequency domains) were assessed. STUDY SAMPLE 18 young adults with normal hearing. RESULTS sFFR unmasking effects were insignificant, and there were no correlations between pre-neural MOC reflex strength and sFFR unmasking in the time or frequency domain. CONCLUSION Our results do not support the hypothesis that the MOC reflex is involved in speech-in-noise neural encoding, at least for features that are represented in the sFFR at the SNR tested.
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Affiliation(s)
- S B Smith
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - B Cone
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
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23
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Liu Y, Xu R, Gong Q. Human Auditory-Frequency Tuning Is Sensitive to Tonal Language Experience. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2020; 63:4277-4288. [PMID: 33151817 DOI: 10.1044/2020_jslhr-20-00152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Purpose The aim of this study is to investigate whether human auditory frequency tuning can be influenced by tonal language experience. Method Perceptual tuning measured via psychophysical tuning curves and cochlear tuning derived via stimulus-frequency otoacoustic emission suppression tuning curves in 14 native speakers of a tonal language (Mandarin) were compared to those of 14 native speakers of a nontonal language (English) at 1 and 4 kHz. Results Group comparisons of both psychophysical tuning curves (p = .046) and stimulus-frequency otoacoustic emission suppression tuning curves (p = .007) in the 4-kHz region indicated sharper frequency tuning in the Mandarin-speaking group relative to the English-speaking group. The auditory tuning was better at the higher (4 kHz) than the lower (1 kHz) probe frequencies (p < .001). Conclusions The sharper auditory tuning in the 4-kHz cochlear region is associated with long-term tonal language (i.e., Mandarin) experience. Experience-dependent plasticity of tonal language may occur before the sound signal reaches central neural stages, as peripheral as the cochlea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yin Liu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Runyi Xu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Qin Gong
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- School of Medicine, Shanghai University, China
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Bowen M, Terreros G, Moreno-Gómez FN, Ipinza M, Vicencio S, Robles L, Delano PH. The olivocochlear reflex strength in awake chinchillas is relevant for behavioural performance during visual selective attention with auditory distractors. Sci Rep 2020; 10:14894. [PMID: 32913207 PMCID: PMC7483726 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-71399-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The auditory efferent system comprises descending projections from the cerebral cortex to subcortical nuclei, reaching the cochlear receptor through olivocochlear fibres. One of the functions attributed to this corticofugal system is to suppress irrelevant sounds during selective attention to visual stimuli. Medial olivocochlear neurons can also be activated by sounds through a brainstem reflex circuit. Whether the individual variability of this reflex is related to the cognitive capacity to suppress auditory stimuli is still controversial. Here we propose that the individual strength per animal of the olivocochlear reflex is correlated with the ability to suppress auditory distractors during visual attention in awake chinchillas. The olivocochlear reflex was elicited with a contralateral broad-band noise at ~ 60 dB and ipsilateral distortion product otoacoustic emissions were obtained at different frequencies (1-8 kHz). Fourteen chinchillas were evaluated in a behavioural protocol of visual attention with broad-band noise and chinchilla vocalizations as auditory distractors. Results show that the behavioural performance was affected by both distractors and that the magnitudes of the olivocochlear reflex evaluated at multiple frequencies were relevant for behavioural performance during visual discrimination with auditory distractors. These results stress the ecological relevance of the olivocochlear system for suppressing natural distractors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Macarena Bowen
- Departamento de Neurociencia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Fonoaudiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Gonzalo Terreros
- Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de O'Higgins, Rancagua, Chile
| | - Felipe N Moreno-Gómez
- Laboratorio de Bioacústica y Ecología del Comportamiento Animal, Departamento de Biología y Química, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
| | - Macarena Ipinza
- Departamento de Neurociencia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Sergio Vicencio
- Departamento de Neurociencia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Luis Robles
- Programa de Fisiología y Biofísica, ICBM, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Paul H Delano
- Departamento de Neurociencia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
- Departamento de Otorrinolaringología, Hospital Clínico de la Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
- Biomedical Neuroscience Institute, BNI. Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
- Centro Avanzado de Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica, AC3E, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Valparaíso, Chile.
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Rao A, Koerner TK, Madsen B, Zhang Y. Investigating Influences of Medial Olivocochlear Efferent System on Central Auditory Processing and Listening in Noise: A Behavioral and Event-Related Potential Study. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10070428. [PMID: 32635442 PMCID: PMC7408540 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10070428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 06/21/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
This electrophysiological study investigated the role of the medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferents in listening in noise. Both ears of eleven normal-hearing adult participants were tested. The physiological tests consisted of transient-evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) inhibition and the measurement of cortical event-related potentials (ERPs). The mismatch negativity (MMN) and P300 responses were obtained in passive and active listening tasks, respectively. Behavioral responses for the word recognition in noise test were also analyzed. Consistent with previous findings, the TEOAE data showed significant inhibition in the presence of contralateral acoustic stimulation. However, performance in the word recognition in noise test was comparable for the two conditions (i.e., without contralateral stimulation and with contralateral stimulation). Peak latencies and peak amplitudes of MMN and P300 did not show changes with contralateral stimulation. Behavioral performance was also maintained in the P300 task. Together, the results show that the peripheral auditory efferent effects captured via otoacoustic emission (OAE) inhibition might not necessarily be reflected in measures of central cortical processing and behavioral performance. As the MOC effects may not play a role in all listening situations in adults, the functional significance of the cochlear effects of the medial olivocochlear efferents and the optimal conditions conducive to corresponding effects in behavioral and cortical responses remain to be elucidated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aparna Rao
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
- Correspondence: (A.R.); (Y.Z.); Tel.: +1-480-727-2761 (A.R.); +1-612-624-7818 (Y.Z.)
| | - Tess K. Koerner
- VA RR & D National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research, Portland, OR 97239, USA; (T.K.K.); (B.M.)
| | - Brandon Madsen
- VA RR & D National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research, Portland, OR 97239, USA; (T.K.K.); (B.M.)
| | - Yang Zhang
- Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences & Center for Neurobehavioral Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
- Correspondence: (A.R.); (Y.Z.); Tel.: +1-480-727-2761 (A.R.); +1-612-624-7818 (Y.Z.)
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Cheng LH, Wang CH, Lu RH, Chen YF. Evaluating the Function of the Medial Olivocochlear Bundle in Patients With Bilateral Tinnitus. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2020; 63:1969-1978. [PMID: 32511051 DOI: 10.1044/2020_jslhr-19-00080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Purpose No study has investigated the effects of contralateral noise (CN) on speech-in-noise perception (SINP) in listeners with tinnitus. The mechanisms underlying the involvement of medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex with SINP remain to be elucidated. This study aimed to investigate the MOC function in patients with bilateral tinnitus by measuring distortion product otoacoustic emission and SINP. Method Eighteen patients with bilateral tinnitus (one male and 17 females; age: M ± SD = 45.61 ± 10.18 years) and 19 listeners without tinnitus (six males and 13 females; age: M ± SD = 34.11 ± 8.35 years) were recruited for the study. Each subject underwent distortion product otoacoustic emission measurement and the SINP test for both ears. The effects of CN on these two measurements were compared between tinnitus ears (TEs) and no-tinnitus ears (NTEs). Results The presence of CN significantly reduced distortion product (DP) amplitudes and improved SINP for TEs, and the amounts of DP suppression and SINP improvement were similar to those in NTEs. Improvement of SINP was positively correlated with DP suppression at 6185 Hz for NTEs and at 1640 Hz for TEs. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that the amounts of DP suppression and SINP improvement were similar between listeners with and without tinnitus. For both ear groups, the MOC reflex was involved with SINP at specific frequencies. Any clinical test outcomes with regard to the MOC bundle in patients with tinnitus should be interpreted with caution until further studies are conducted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin-Hua Cheng
- Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Hung Wang
- Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan
- Taichung Armed Forces General Hospital, Taiwan
| | - Rou-Huei Lu
- Taichung Armed Forces General Hospital, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Fu Chen
- Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taiwan
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Mishra SK. The role of efferents in human auditory development: efferent inhibition predicts frequency discrimination in noise for children. J Neurophysiol 2020; 123:2437-2448. [PMID: 32432503 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00136.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The descending corticofugal fibers originate from the auditory cortex and exert control on the periphery via the olivocochlear efferents. Medial efferents are thought to enhance the discriminability of transient sounds in background noise. In addition, the observation of deleterious long-term effects of efferent sectioning on the response properties of auditory nerve fibers in neonatal cats supports an efferent-mediated control of normal development. However, the role of the efferent system in human hearing remains unclear. The objective of the present study was to test the hypothesis that the medial efferents are involved in the development of frequency discrimination in noise. The hypothesis was examined with a combined behavioral and physiological approach. Frequency discrimination in noise and efferent inhibition were measured in 5- to 12-yr-old children (n = 127) and young adults (n = 37). Medial efferent strength was noninvasively assayed with a rigorous otoacoustic emission protocol. Results revealed an age-mediated relationship between efferent inhibition and frequency discrimination in noise. Efferent inhibition strongly predicted frequency discrimination in noise for younger children (5-9 yr). However, for older children (>9 yr) and adults, efferent inhibition was not related to frequency discrimination in noise. These findings support the role of efferents in the development of hearing-in-noise in humans; specifically, younger children compared with older children and adults are relatively more dependent on efferent inhibition for extracting relevant cues in noise. Additionally, the present findings caution against postulating an oversimplified relationship between efferent inhibition and measures of auditory perception in humans.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Despite several decades of research, the functional role of medial olivocochlear efferents in humans remains controversial and is thought to be insignificant. Here it is shown that medial efferent inhibition strongly predicts frequency discrimination in noise for younger children but not for older children and adults. Young children are relatively more dependent on the efferent system for listening-in-noise. This study highlights the role of the efferent system in hearing-in-noise during childhood development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srikanta K Mishra
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, Texas.,Department of Communication Disorders, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico
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Zaltz Y, Bugannim Y, Zechoval D, Kishon-Rabin L, Perez R. Listening in Noise Remains a Significant Challenge for Cochlear Implant Users: Evidence from Early Deafened and Those with Progressive Hearing Loss Compared to Peers with Normal Hearing. J Clin Med 2020; 9:jcm9051381. [PMID: 32397101 PMCID: PMC7290476 DOI: 10.3390/jcm9051381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2020] [Revised: 04/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Cochlear implants (CIs) are the state-of-the-art therapy for individuals with severe to profound hearing loss, providing them with good functional hearing. Nevertheless, speech understanding in background noise remains a significant challenge. The purposes of this study were to: (1) conduct a novel within-study comparison of speech-in-noise performance across ages in different populations of CI and normal hearing (NH) listeners using an adaptive sentence-in-noise test, and (2) examine the relative contribution of sensory information and cognitive–linguistic factors to performance. Forty CI users (mean age 20 years) were divided into “early-implanted” <4 years (n = 16) and “late-implanted” >6 years (n = 11), all prelingually deafened, and “progressively deafened” (n = 13). The control group comprised 136 NH subjects (80 children, 56 adults). Testing included the Hebrew Matrix test, word recognition in quiet, and linguistic and cognitive tests. Results show poorer performance in noise for CI users across populations and ages compared to NH peers, and age at implantation and word recognition in quiet were found to be contributing factors. For those recognizing 50% or more of the words in quiet (n = 27), non-verbal intelligence and receptive vocabulary explained 63% of the variance in noise. This information helps delineate the relative contribution of top-down and bottom-up skills for speech recognition in noise and can help set expectations in CI counseling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yael Zaltz
- The Department of Communication Disorders, Steyer School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6997801, Israel; (Y.B.); (D.Z.); (L.K.-R.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Yossi Bugannim
- The Department of Communication Disorders, Steyer School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6997801, Israel; (Y.B.); (D.Z.); (L.K.-R.)
| | - Doreen Zechoval
- The Department of Communication Disorders, Steyer School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6997801, Israel; (Y.B.); (D.Z.); (L.K.-R.)
| | - Liat Kishon-Rabin
- The Department of Communication Disorders, Steyer School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6997801, Israel; (Y.B.); (D.Z.); (L.K.-R.)
| | - Ronen Perez
- Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Shaare Zedek Medical Center Affiliated to The Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel;
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Joseph J, Suman A, Jayasree GK, Prabhu P. Evaluation of Contralateral Suppression of Otoacoustic Emissions in Bharatanatyam Dancers and Non-Dancers. J Int Adv Otol 2020; 15:118-120. [PMID: 30541728 DOI: 10.5152/iao.2018.5645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES There is limited literature regarding the objective estimation of auditory attention in healthy individuals who regularly practice dance. This study attempted to evaluate the contralateral suppression of otoacoustic emissions (OAE) in Bharatanatyam dancers and non-dancers. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study included40 adults (20 dancers and 20 non-dancers) with normal hearing. The differences in the contralateral suppression of distortion product OAE between the groups were compared. RESULTS The results of the present study revealed that there was an increased amount of suppression of OAE in dancers compared with non-dancers. It suggests that dance practice enhances sensory perception and improves auditory attention. The constant practice of dance could have led to plasticity of the efferent auditory system. CONCLUSION Thus, dance training may be used to strengthen efferent auditory system functioning. However, further studies witha larger sample size are essential for better generalization of the results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel Joseph
- Department of Audiology, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore, India
| | - Ankita Suman
- Department of Audiology, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore, India
| | - G K Jayasree
- Department of Audiology, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore, India
| | - Prashanth Prabhu
- Department of Audiology, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore, India
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Lotfi Y, Moossavi A, Javanbakht M, Faghih Zadeh S. Speech-ABR in contralateral noise: A potential tool to evaluate rostral part of the auditory efferent system. Med Hypotheses 2019; 132:109355. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2019.109355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Revised: 08/01/2019] [Accepted: 08/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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DU YIHANG, FANG WEINING, QIU HANZHAO. DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A METHOD TO ENHANCE AUDITORY ATTENTION DURING CONTINUOUS SPEECH-SHAPED NOISE ENVIRONMENT. J MECH MED BIOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1142/s0219519419500489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Auditory training (AT) may strengthen auditory skills that help human not only in on-task auditory perception performance but in continuous speech-shaped noise (SSN) environment. AT based on musical material has provided some evidence for an “auditory advantage” in understanding speech-in-noise (SIN), but with a long period training and complex procedure. Experimental research is essential to develop a simplified method named auditory target tracking training (ATT) which refined from musical material is necessary to determine the benefits of training. We developed two kinds of refined AT method: basic auditory target tracking (BAT) training and enhanced auditory target tracking (EAT) training to adult participants ([Formula: see text]) separately for 20 units, assessing performance to perceive speech in noise environment after training. The EAT group presented better speech perception performance than the other groups and no significant differences between BAT group and control group. The training effect of EAT is the most significant when uni-gender SSN and [Formula: see text] dB. Outcomes suggest that efficacy of trained EAT can improve speech perception performance and selective attention during SSN environment. These findings provide an important link between musical-based training and auditory selective attention in real-world, and extended to special vocational training.
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Affiliation(s)
- YIHANG DU
- School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, P. R. China
| | - WEINING FANG
- State Key Lab of Rail Traffic Control & Safety, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, P. R. China
| | - HANZHAO QIU
- School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, P. R. China
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Swamy SP, Yathiraj A. Short-Term Reliability of Different Methods of Contralateral Suppression of Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emission in Children and Adults. Am J Audiol 2019; 28:495-507. [PMID: 31461330 DOI: 10.1044/2018_aja-ind50-18-0093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose This study aimed to investigate the reliability of 3 methods to measure contralateral suppression of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) in children and adults. Method Contralateral suppression of TEOAEs was measured in 14 adults and 14 children using 3 methods with and without contralateral acoustic stimulus (CAS). Method-I having "2 s on-off" and Method-II having "10 s on-off" interleaved presentation of white noise. Method-III used "continuous presentation of white noise". Test-retest reliability was checked in adults without removing the probe (same-probe recording) and reinserting the probe (different-probe recording) and in children using a different-probe recording. Results The absolute suppression amplitude of TEOAEs was higher for "continuous noise," followed by "10 s on-off" and "2 s on-off" CAS. There was no significant effect of age across the 2 probe recordings, 3 methods of TEOAEs with and without CAS, and for the absolute suppression amplitude. Also, in adults, there was no significant difference between same-probe and different-probe recordings across the 3 methods. High internal consistency was observed on Cronbach's alpha (α > .9) for the 3 methods and 2 probe recordings. High agreement and correlation between the recordings for all 3 methods were seen using Bland-Altman plots and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. Conclusion The study demonstrated that highly reliable contralateral suppression of TEOAE can be measured using the 3 methods in adults and children. However, continuous presentation of CAS resulted in greater TEOAE suppression amplitude compared to interleaved presentation of CAS; hence, the former is recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shreyank P. Swamy
- Department of Audiology, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Manasagangothri, Mysuru, Karnataka, India
| | - Asha Yathiraj
- Department of Audiology, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Manasagangothri, Mysuru, Karnataka, India
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Yashaswini L, Maruthy S. The Influence of Efferent Inhibition on Speech Perception in Noise: A Revisit Through Its Level-Dependent Function. Am J Audiol 2019; 28:508-515. [PMID: 31461336 DOI: 10.1044/2019_aja-ind50-18-0098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose The study aimed to assess the relationship between the level-dependent function of efferent inhibition and speech perception in noise across different intensities of suppressor and across different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of speech. Method Twenty-six young normal-hearing adults participated in the study. Contralateral suppression of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) was measured for 3 levels of suppressor (40, 50, and 60 dB SPL). Speech identification score (SIS) was measured at 5 ipsilateral SNR conditions (quiet, 0, -5, -10, and -15 dB), with and without contralateral broadband noise at 3 levels (40, 50, and 60 dB SPL). Furthermore, SNR-50 was measured with and without the same 3 levels of contralateral broadband noise. Results The results showed that the suppression magnitude of TEOAE increased with an increase in suppressor level. However, neither SIS nor SNR-50 was influenced by the contralateral noise. In addition, SIS and SNR-50 did not show significant correlation with contralateral suppression of TEOAEs. This was true at all the SNRs and contralateral noise levels used in the study. Conclusions The findings suggest that the intensity of noise directly influences medial olivocochlear bundle-mediated efferent inhibition. However, the role of the medial olivocochlear bundle in regulating speech perception in noise needs to be revisited. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.9336353.
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Affiliation(s)
- L. Yashaswini
- Department of Audiology, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysuru, India
| | - Sandeep Maruthy
- Department of Audiology, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysuru, India
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Bidelman GM, Price CN, Shen D, Arnott SR, Alain C. Afferent-efferent connectivity between auditory brainstem and cortex accounts for poorer speech-in-noise comprehension in older adults. Hear Res 2019; 382:107795. [PMID: 31479953 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2019.107795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Revised: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 08/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Speech-in-noise (SIN) comprehension deficits in older adults have been linked to changes in both subcortical and cortical auditory evoked responses. However, older adults' difficulty understanding SIN may also be related to an imbalance in signal transmission (i.e., functional connectivity) between brainstem and auditory cortices. By modeling high-density scalp recordings of speech-evoked responses with sources in brainstem (BS) and bilateral primary auditory cortices (PAC), we show that beyond attenuating neural activity, hearing loss in older adults compromises the transmission of speech information between subcortical and early cortical hubs of the speech network. We found that the strength of afferent BS→PAC neural signaling (but not the reverse efferent flow; PAC→BS) varied with mild declines in hearing acuity and this "bottom-up" functional connectivity robustly predicted older adults' performance in a SIN identification task. Connectivity was also a better predictor of SIN processing than unitary subcortical or cortical responses alone. Our neuroimaging findings suggest that in older adults (i) mild hearing loss differentially reduces neural output at several stages of auditory processing (PAC > BS), (ii) subcortical-cortical connectivity is more sensitive to peripheral hearing loss than top-down (cortical-subcortical) control, and (iii) reduced functional connectivity in afferent auditory pathways plays a significant role in SIN comprehension problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavin M Bidelman
- School of Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA; Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA; University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Memphis, TN, USA.
| | - Caitlin N Price
- School of Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Dawei Shen
- Rotman Research Institute-Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Stephen R Arnott
- Rotman Research Institute-Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Claude Alain
- Rotman Research Institute-Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; University of Toronto, Department of Psychology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; University of Toronto, Institute of Medical Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Abstract
Cholinergic efferent neurons originating in the brainstem innervate the acoustico-lateralis organs (inner ear, lateral line) of vertebrates. These release acetylcholine (ACh) to inhibit hair cells through activation of calcium-dependent potassium channels. In the mammalian cochlea, ACh shunts and suppresses outer hair cell (OHC) electromotility, reducing the essential amplification of basilar membrane motion. Consequently, medial olivocochlear neurons that inhibit OHCs reduce the sensitivity and frequency selectivity of afferent neurons driven by cochlear vibration of inner hair cells (IHCs). The cholinergic synapse on hair cells involves an unusual ionotropic ACh receptor, and a near-membrane postsynaptic cistern. Lateral olivocochlear (LOC) neurons modulate type I afferents by still-to-be-defined synaptic mechanisms. Olivocochlear neurons can be activated by a reflex arc that includes the auditory nerve and projections from the cochlear nucleus. They are also subject to modulation by higher-order central auditory interneurons. Through its actions on cochlear hair cells, afferent neurons, and higher centers, the olivocochlear system protects against age-related and noise-induced hearing loss, improves signal coding in noise under certain conditions, modulates selective attention to sensory stimuli, and influences sound localization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Albert Fuchs
- The Center for Hearing and Balance, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205-2195
| | - Amanda M Lauer
- The Center for Hearing and Balance, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205-2195
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Mertes IB, Wilbanks EC, Leek MR. Olivocochlear Efferent Activity Is Associated With the Slope of the Psychometric Function of Speech Recognition in Noise. Ear Hear 2019; 39:583-593. [PMID: 29135685 PMCID: PMC5920700 DOI: 10.1097/aud.0000000000000514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferent system can modify cochlear function to improve sound detection in noise, but its role in speech perception in noise is unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between MOC efferent activity and performance on two speech-in-noise tasks at two signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). It was hypothesized that efferent activity would be more strongly correlated with performance at the more challenging SNR, relative to performance at the less challenging SNR. DESIGN Sixteen adults aged 35 to 73 years participated. Subjects had pure-tone averages ≤25 dB HL and normal middle ear function. High-frequency pure-tone averages were computed across 3000 to 8000 Hz and ranged from 6.3 to 48.8 dB HL. Efferent activity was assessed using contralateral suppression of transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) measured in right ears, and MOC activation was achieved by presenting broadband noise to left ears. Contralateral suppression was expressed as the decibel change in TEOAE magnitude obtained with versus without the presence of the broadband noise. TEOAE responses were also examined for middle ear muscle reflex activation and synchronous spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SSOAEs). Speech-in-noise perception was assessed using the closed-set coordinate response measure word recognition task and the open-set Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers sentence task. Speech and noise were presented to right ears at two SNRs. Performance on each task was scored as percent correct. Associations between contralateral suppression and speech-in-noise performance were quantified using partial rank correlational analyses, controlling for the variables age and high-frequency pure-tone average. RESULTS One subject was excluded due to probable middle ear muscle reflex activation. Subjects showed a wide range of contralateral suppression values, consistent with previous reports. Three subjects with SSOAEs had similar contralateral suppression results as subjects without SSOAEs. The magnitude of contralateral suppression was not significantly correlated with speech-in-noise performance on either task at a single SNR (p > 0.05), contrary to hypothesis. However, contralateral suppression was significantly correlated with the slope of the psychometric function, computed as the difference between performance levels at the two SNRs divided by 3 (decibel difference between the 2 SNRs) for the coordinate response measure task (partial rs = 0.59; p = 0.04) and for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers task (partial rs = 0.60; p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS In a group of primarily older adults with normal hearing or mild hearing loss, olivocochlear efferent activity assessed using contralateral suppression of TEOAEs was not associated with speech-in-noise performance at a single SNR. However, auditory efferent activity appears to be associated with the slope of the psychometric function for both a word and sentence recognition task in noise. Results suggest that individuals with stronger MOC efferent activity tend to be more responsive to changes in SNR, where small increases in SNR result in better speech-in-noise performance relative to individuals with weaker MOC efferent activity. Additionally, the results suggest that the slope of the psychometric function may be a more useful metric than performance at a single SNR when examining the relationship between speech recognition in noise and MOC efferent activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian B. Mertes
- Research Service 151, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System, Loma Linda, CA, USA
- Current affiliation: Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Erin C. Wilbanks
- Research Service 151, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System, Loma Linda, CA, USA
| | - Marjorie R. Leek
- Research Service 151, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System, Loma Linda, CA, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Loma Linda University Health, Loma Linda, CA, USA
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Mertes IB, Johnson KM, Dinger ZA. Olivocochlear efferent contributions to speech-in-noise recognition across signal-to-noise ratios. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2019; 145:1529. [PMID: 31067949 DOI: 10.1121/1.5094766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Accepted: 03/01/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferent system modifies cochlear output to aid signal detection in noise, but the precise role of efferents in speech-in-noise understanding remains unclear. The current study examined the contribution of the MOC reflex for speech recognition in noise in 30 normal-hearing young adults (27 females, mean age = 22.7 yr). The MOC reflex was assessed using contralateral inhibition of transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions. Speech-in-noise perception was evaluated using the coordinate response measure presented in ipsilateral speech-shaped noise at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) ranging from -12 to 0 dB. Performance was assessed without and with the presence of contralateral noise to activate the MOC reflex. Performance was significantly better with contralateral noise only at the lowest SNR. There was a trend of better performance with increasing contralateral inhibition at the lowest SNR. Threshold of the psychometric function was significantly correlated with contralateral inhibition. Response time on the speech task was not significantly correlated with contralateral inhibition. Results suggest that the MOC reflex contributes to listening in low SNRs and the relationship between the MOC reflex and perception is highly dependent upon the task characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian B Mertes
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 901 South Sixth Street, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA
| | - Kristin M Johnson
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 901 South Sixth Street, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA
| | - Zoë A Dinger
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 901 South Sixth Street, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA
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Abstract
Atypical responses to sound are common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and growing evidence suggests an underlying auditory brainstem pathology. This review of the literature provides a comprehensive account of the structural and functional evidence for auditory brainstem abnormalities in ASD. The studies reviewed were published between 1975 and 2016 and were sourced from multiple online databases. Indices of both the quantity and quality of the studies reviewed are considered. Findings show converging evidence for auditory brainstem pathology in ASD, although the specific functions and anatomical structures involved remain equivocal. Two main trends emerge from the literature: (1) abnormalities occur mainly at higher levels of the auditory brainstem, according to structural imaging and electrophysiology studies; and (2) brainstem abnormalities appear to be more common in younger than older children with ASD. These findings suggest delayed maturation of neural transmission pathways between lower and higher levels of the brainstem and are consistent with the auditory disorders commonly observed in ASD, including atypical sound sensitivity, poor sound localization, and difficulty listening in background noise. Limitations of existing studies are discussed, and recommendations for future research are offered.
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Smart JL, Kuruvilla-Mathew A, Kelly AS, Purdy SC. Assessment of the efferent auditory system in children with suspected auditory processing disorder: the Middle ear muscle reflex and contralateral inhibition of OAEs. Int J Audiol 2019; 58:37-44. [DOI: 10.1080/14992027.2018.1523578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L. Smart
- Speech Science, School of Psychology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- Audiology, Speech-Language Pathology and Deaf Studies, Towson University, Towson, MD, USA
| | - Abin Kuruvilla-Mathew
- Speech Science, School of Psychology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Andrea S. Kelly
- Speech Science, School of Psychology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- Audiology, Auckland District Health Board, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Suzanne C. Purdy
- Speech Science, School of Psychology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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Jacobi I, Sheikh Rashid M, de Laat JAPM, Dreschler WA. Age Dependence of Thresholds for Speech in Noise in Normal-Hearing Adolescents. Trends Hear 2019; 21:2331216517743641. [PMID: 29212433 PMCID: PMC5724638 DOI: 10.1177/2331216517743641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Previously found effects of age on thresholds for speech reception thresholds in noise in adolescents as measured by an online screening survey require further study in a well-controlled teenage sample. Speech reception thresholds (SRT) of 72 normal-hearing adolescent students were analyzed by means of the online speech-in-noise screening tool Earcheck (In Dutch: Oorcheck). Screening was performed at school and included pure-tone audiometry to ensure normal-hearing thresholds. The students’ ages ranged from 12 to 17 years. A group of young adults was included as a control group. Data were controlled for effects of gender and level of education. SRT scores within the controlled teenage sample revealed an effect of age on the order of an improvement of −0.2 dB per year. Effects of level of education and gender were not significant. Hearing screening tools that are based on SRT for speech in noise should control for an effect of age when assessing adolescents. Based on the present data, a correction factor of −0.2 dB per year between the ages of 12 and 17 is proposed. The proposed age-corrected SRT cut-off scores need to be evaluated in a larger sample including hearing-impaired adolescents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Jacobi
- 1 Department of Clinical and Experimental Audiology, 26066 Academic Medical Centre , Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marya Sheikh Rashid
- 1 Department of Clinical and Experimental Audiology, 26066 Academic Medical Centre , Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jan A P M de Laat
- 2 Department of Audiology, 4501 Leiden University Medical Centre , Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter A Dreschler
- 1 Department of Clinical and Experimental Audiology, 26066 Academic Medical Centre , Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Ravanshenas E, Jalilvand H, Akbarzade Baghban A. Top-Down Auditory Plasticity: Acceptable Noise Level Predicts and Reflects the Effect of Perceptual Learning in Experience-Induced Plasticity. IRANIAN JOURNAL OF CHILD NEUROLOGY 2019; 13:103-111. [PMID: 31037083 PMCID: PMC6451851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2017] [Revised: 01/10/2018] [Accepted: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In the auditory system, tinnitus and superior speech perception in noise are examples of negative and positive plasticity that can result from sensory neural hearing loss and life experiences dealing with more complex stimuli and learning, respectively. The main objective of this study was to determine the relationship between acceptable noise level (ANL) values and perceptual learning in individuals exposed to unavoidable occupational noise. MATERIALS & METHODS Here we document a form of plasticity in top-down auditory pathways through the measurement of the acceptable noise level in 60 adults, 27 females and 33 males, with normal hearing (Amiraalam state Hospital, Tehran, Iran 2016). Individuals were assigned to one of two groups: those with and without the occupational experience of speech perception in noise. RESULTS The test group had statistically significant lower acceptable noise level and significantly higher background noise level scores compared with the control group. CONCLUSION Using acceptable noise level, we attributed differences in individuals' abilities to tolerate varying amounts of background noise and speech perception in noise function to the auditory efferent system. Working in crowded locations due to job nature can influence differences in speech perception in noise function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elahe Ravanshenas
- 1.Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hamid Jalilvand
- 1.Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Stuart A, Kerls AN. Does Contralateral Inhibition of Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions Suggest Sex or Ear Laterality Effects? Am J Audiol 2018; 27:272-282. [PMID: 29946686 DOI: 10.1044/2018_aja-17-0106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2017] [Accepted: 03/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine contralateral inhibition of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) in young adults with normal hearing as a function of ear and sex. METHOD Young female (n = 50) and male (n = 50) adults with normal hearing participated. TEOAEs were measured bilaterally with 80 dB peSPL nonlinear clicks and 60 dB peSPL linear clicks with and without a contralateral broadband noise elicitor at 65 dB SPL. Absolute TEOAE inhibition and normalized TEOAE inhibition (i.e., percentage of inhibition) were examined. RESULTS With both 80 and 60 dB peSPL evoking stimuli, there were significant main effects of ear and sex (p < .05). TEOAE levels were larger in women and in the right ear. There were no statistically significant main effects of ear and sex on absolute TEOAE inhibition (p > .05). Significant main effects of ear and sex were, however, found with normalized TEOAE inhibition (p < .05; greater in men and in the left ear). Statistically significant negative correlations and significant linear predictive relations were found between TEOAE levels and normalized TEOAE inhibitions in both ears (p < .001). There is no evidence of the same with absolute inhibition of TEOAEs (p > .05). CONCLUSIONS If one considers that efferent inhibition of TEOAEs is an absolute quantity, the significant effect of ear and sex on normalized inhibition and the negative association and linear predictive relationship between TEOAE level and inhibition can be viewed as spurious effects. As such, contralateral inhibition of TEOAEs does not suggest sex or ear laterality effects.
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Patients With Normal Hearing Thresholds but Difficulty Hearing in Noisy Environments: A Study on the Willingness to Try Auditory Training. Otol Neurotol 2018; 39:950-956. [DOI: 10.1097/mao.0000000000001903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Kalaiah MK, Lasrado A, Pinto N, Shastri U. Short Term Test-Retest Reliability of Contralateral Inhibition of Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions. J Audiol Otol 2018; 22:189-196. [PMID: 30126264 PMCID: PMC6233937 DOI: 10.7874/jao.2018.00038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2018] [Accepted: 05/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Strength of medial olivocochlear reflex can be measured reliably using contralateral inhibition of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) when its fine structure is considered. However, measurement of fine structure of DPOAE is difficult with clinical equipment. Thus, this study investigated the clinically relevant test-retest reliability of contralateral inhibition of DPOAEs. Subjects and. METHODS Twenty-six young adults with normal hearing sensitivity participated. DPOAEs were recorded at 27 discrete f2 frequencies between 800 Hz and 8,000 Hz at frequency resolution of 8 points per octave with and without contralateral white noise presented at 50 dB SPL. To check for short term inter-session reliability, contralateral inhibition of DPOAEs were recorded in three sessions, two recording sessions on first day separated by 30 minutes and third time after one week of the first session. Within each session, DPOAEs were recorded twice in single probe-fit condition to test for intra-session reliability. RESULTS Cronbach's alpha was calculated having poor reliability (α≤ 0.7) of contralateral inhibition of DPOAEs in both intra-session and inter-session conditions for most of the tested frequencies. 95% confidence intervals of contralateral inhibition magnitude also showed large variability. CONCLUSIONS The current results showed that though DPOAE amplitudes were highly reliable across sessions, amount of inhibition of DPOAEs was not reliable when DPOAEs were measured at discrete frequencies. These findings are concurrent with the literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohan Kumar Kalaiah
- Department of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India
| | - Alina Lasrado
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Nikita Pinto
- Early Learning Center (ELC), Bejai Kapikad, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Usha Shastri
- Department of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India
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Iliadou VV, Weihing J, Chermak GD, Bamiou DE. Otoacoustic emission suppression in children diagnosed with central auditory processing disorder and speech in noise perception deficits. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2018; 111:39-46. [PMID: 29958612 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2018.05.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2018] [Revised: 05/21/2018] [Accepted: 05/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that medial olivocochlear system functionality is associated with speech recognition in babble performance in children diagnosed with central auditory processing disorder. METHOD Children diagnosed with central auditory processing disorder who specifically demonstrated speech in noise deficits were compared to children diagnosed with central auditory processing disorder without these deficits. Suppression effects were examined across 15 time intervals to examine variability. Analysis of right and left ear suppression was performed separately to evaluate laterality. STUDY SAMPLE 52 children diagnosed with central auditory processing disorder, aged 6-14 years were divided into normal or abnormal groups based on SinB performance in each ear. Cut-off value was set at SNR = 1.33 dB. Transient otoacoustic emissions suppression was measured. RESULTS The abnormal Speech in Babble Right Ear group showed significant negative correlations with suppression levels for 7 of the 15 time intervals measured. No significant correlations with SinBR performance were observed for the remaining time intervals, as was the case for the typically evaluated R8-18 time interval and the Speech in Babble Left Ear. CONCLUSIONS Results indicate that suppression is influenced by the time window analysed, and ear tested, and is associated with speech recognition in babble performance in children with central auditory processing disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jeffrey Weihing
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery - and Communicative Disorders, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Gail D Chermak
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University Health Sciences, Spokane, WA, United States
| | - Doris Eva Bamiou
- Neuro-Otology Department, University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom; University College London Ear Institute, United Kingdom
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Lopez-Poveda EA. Olivocochlear Efferents in Animals and Humans: From Anatomy to Clinical Relevance. Front Neurol 2018; 9:197. [PMID: 29632514 PMCID: PMC5879449 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2018.00197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Olivocochlear efferents allow the central auditory system to adjust the functioning of the inner ear during active and passive listening. While many aspects of efferent anatomy, physiology and function are well established, others remain controversial. This article reviews the current knowledge on olivocochlear efferents, with emphasis on human medial efferents. The review covers (1) the anatomy and physiology of olivocochlear efferents in animals; (2) the methods used for investigating this auditory feedback system in humans, their limitations and best practices; (3) the characteristics of medial-olivocochlear efferents in humans, with a critical analysis of some discrepancies across human studies and between animal and human studies; (4) the possible roles of olivocochlear efferents in hearing, discussing the evidence in favor and against their role in facilitating the detection of signals in noise and in protecting the auditory system from excessive acoustic stimulation; and (5) the emerging association between abnormal olivocochlear efferent function and several health conditions. Finally, we summarize some open issues and introduce promising approaches for investigating the roles of efferents in human hearing using cochlear implants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrique A Lopez-Poveda
- Instituto de Neurociencias de Castilla y León, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.,Departamento de Cirugía, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
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Irvine DRF. Auditory perceptual learning and changes in the conceptualization of auditory cortex. Hear Res 2018; 366:3-16. [PMID: 29551308 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2018.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2017] [Revised: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 03/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Perceptual learning, improvement in discriminative ability as a consequence of training, is one of the forms of sensory system plasticity that has driven profound changes in our conceptualization of sensory cortical function. Psychophysical and neurophysiological studies of auditory perceptual learning have indicated that the characteristics of the learning, and by implication the nature of the underlying neural changes, are highly task specific. Some studies in animals have indicated that recruitment of neurons to the population responding to the training stimuli, and hence an increase in the so-called cortical "area of representation" of those stimuli, is the substrate of improved performance, but such changes have not been observed in other studies. A possible reconciliation of these conflicting results is provided by evidence that changes in area of representation constitute a transient stage in the processes underlying perceptual learning. This expansion - renormalization hypothesis is supported by evidence from studies of the learning of motor skills, another form of procedural learning, but leaves open the nature of the permanent neural substrate of improved performance. Other studies have suggested that the substrate might be reduced response variability - a decrease in internal noise. Neuroimaging studies in humans have also provided compelling evidence that training results in long-term changes in auditory cortical function and in the auditory brainstem frequency-following response. Musical training provides a valuable model, but the evidence it provides is qualified by the fact that most such training is multimodal and sensorimotor, and that few of the studies are experimental and allow control over confounding variables. More generally, the overwhelming majority of experimental studies of the various forms of auditory perceptual learning have established the co-occurrence of neural and perceptual changes, but have not established that the former are causally related to the latter. Important forms of perceptual learning in humans are those involved in language acquisition and in the improvement in speech perception performance of post-lingually deaf cochlear implantees over the months following implantation. The development of a range of auditory training programs has focused interest on the factors determining the extent to which perceptual learning is specific or generalises to tasks other than those used in training. The context specificity demonstrated in a number of studies of perceptual learning suggests a multiplexing model, in which learning relating to a particular stimulus attribute depends on a subset of the diverse inputs to a given cortical neuron being strengthened, and different subsets being gated by top-down influences. This hypothesis avoids the difficulty of balancing system stability with plasticity, which is a problem for recruitment hypotheses. The characteristics of auditory perceptual learning reflect the fact that auditory cortex forms part of distributed networks that integrate the representation of auditory stimuli with attention, decision, and reward processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dexter R F Irvine
- Bionics Institute, East Melbourne, Victoria 3002, Australia; School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia.
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Smith SB, Ichiba K, Velenovsky DS, Cone B. Efferent modulation of pre-neural and neural distortion products. Hear Res 2017; 356:25-34. [PMID: 29122423 PMCID: PMC5705265 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2017.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2017] [Revised: 10/17/2017] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and distortion product frequency following responses (DPFFRs) are respectively pre-neural and neural measurements associated with cochlear nonlinearity. Because cochlear nonlinearity is putatively linked to outer hair cell electromotility, DPOAEs and DPFFRs may provide complementary measurements of the human medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex, which directly modulates outer hair cell function. In this study, we first quantified MOC reflex-induced DPOAE inhibition at spectral fine structure peaks in 22 young human adults with normal hearing. The f1 and f2 tone pairs producing the largest DPOAE fine structure peak for each subject were then used to evoke DPFFRs with and without MOC reflex activation to provide a related neural measure of efferent inhibition. We observed significant positive relationships between DPOAE fine structure peak inhibition and inhibition of DPFFR components representing neural phase locking to f2 and 2f1-f2, but not f1. These findings may support previous observations that the MOC reflex inhibits DPOAE sources differentially. That these effects are maintained and represented in the auditory brainstem suggests that the MOC reflex may exert a potent influence on subsequent subcortical neural representation of sound.
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Affiliation(s)
- S B Smith
- University of Arizona, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Tucson, AZ, USA.
| | - K Ichiba
- University of Arizona, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - D S Velenovsky
- University of Arizona, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - B Cone
- University of Arizona, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Tucson, AZ, USA
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Lauer AM. Minimal Effects of Age and Exposure to a Noisy Environment on Hearing in Alpha9 Nicotinic Receptor Knockout Mice. Front Neurosci 2017. [PMID: 28626386 PMCID: PMC5454393 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2017.00304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies have suggested a role of weakened medial olivocochlear (OC) efferent feedback in accelerated hearing loss and increased susceptibility to noise. The present study investigated the progression of hearing loss with age and exposure to a noisy environment in medial OC-deficient mice. Alpha9 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor knockout (α9KO) and wild types were screened for hearing loss using auditory brainstem responses. α9KO mice housed in a quiet environment did not show increased hearing loss compared to wild types in young adulthood and middle age. Challenging the medial OC system by housing in a noisy environment did not increase hearing loss in α9KO mice compared to wild types. ABR wave 1 amplitudes also did not show differences between α9KO mice and wild types. These data suggest that deficient medial OC feedback does not result in early onset of hearing loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda M Lauer
- Department of Otolaryngology-HNS, Center for Hearing and Balance, Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimore, MD, United States
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