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Nagy P, Tóth B, Winkler I, Boncz Á. The effects of spatial leakage correction on the reliability of EEG-based functional connectivity networks. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26747. [PMID: 38825981 PMCID: PMC11144954 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26747] [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: 07/04/2023] [Revised: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Electroencephalography (EEG) functional connectivity (FC) estimates are confounded by the volume conduction problem. This effect can be greatly reduced by applying FC measures insensitive to instantaneous, zero-lag dependencies (corrected measures). However, numerous studies showed that FC measures sensitive to volume conduction (uncorrected measures) exhibit higher reliability and higher subject-level identifiability. We tested how source reconstruction contributed to the reliability difference of EEG FC measures on a large (n = 201) resting-state data set testing eight FC measures (including corrected and uncorrected measures). We showed that the high reliability of uncorrected FC measures in resting state partly stems from source reconstruction: idiosyncratic noise patterns define a baseline resting-state functional network that explains a significant portion of the reliability of uncorrected FC measures. This effect remained valid for template head model-based, as well as individual head model-based source reconstruction. Based on our findings we made suggestions how to best use spatial leakage corrected and uncorrected FC measures depending on the main goals of the study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Péter Nagy
- HUN‐REN Research Centre for Natural SciencesBudapestHungary
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Department of Measurement and Information SystemsBudapest University of Technology and EconomicsBudapestHungary
| | - Brigitta Tóth
- HUN‐REN Research Centre for Natural SciencesBudapestHungary
| | - István Winkler
- HUN‐REN Research Centre for Natural SciencesBudapestHungary
| | - Ádám Boncz
- HUN‐REN Research Centre for Natural SciencesBudapestHungary
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2
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Li J, Yao C, Li Y, Liu X, Zhao Z, Shang Y, Yang J, Yao Z, Sheng Y, Hu B. Effects of second language acquisition on brain functional networks at different developmental stages. Brain Imaging Behav 2024:10.1007/s11682-024-00865-y. [PMID: 38492128 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-024-00865-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024]
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that language acquisition influences both the structure and function of the brain. However, whether the acquisition of a second language at different periods of life alters functional network organization in different ways remains unclear. Here, functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 27 English-speaking monolingual controls and 52 Spanish-English bilingual individuals, including 22 early bilinguals who began learning a second language before the age of ten and 30 late bilinguals who started learning a second language at age fourteen or later, were collected from the OpenNeuro database. Topological metrics of resting-state functional networks, including small-world attributes, network efficiency, and rich- and diverse-club regions, that characterize functional integration and segregation of the networks were computed via a graph theoretical approach. The results showed obvious increases in network efficiency in early bilinguals and late bilinguals relative to the monolingual controls; for example, the global efficiency of late bilinguals and early bilinguals was improved relative to that of monolingual controls, and the local efficiency of early bilinguals occupied an intermediate position between that of late bilinguals and monolingual controls. Obvious increases in rich-club and diverse-club functional connectivity were observed in the bilinguals relative to the monolingual controls. Three network metrics were positively correlated with Spanish proficiency test scores. These findings demonstrated that early and late acquisition of a second language had different impacts on the functional networks of the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajia Li
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu Province, China
| | - Chaofan Yao
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu Province, China
| | - Yongchao Li
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu Province, China
| | - Xia Liu
- School of Computer Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
| | - Ziyang Zhao
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu Province, China
| | - Yingying Shang
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu Province, China
| | - Jing Yang
- Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
| | - Zhijun Yao
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu Province, China.
| | - Yucen Sheng
- School of Foreign Languages, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou, China.
| | - Bin Hu
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu Province, China.
- School of Medical Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China.
- CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
- Joint Research Center for Cognitive Neurosensor Technology of Lanzhou University &, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China.
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3
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Ruiz Callejo D, Boets B. A systematic review on speech-in-noise perception in autism. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 154:105406. [PMID: 37797728 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit atypical speech-in-noise (SiN) perception, but the scope of these impairments has not been clearly defined. We conducted a systematic review of the behavioural research on SiN perception in ASD, using a comprehensive search strategy across databases (Embase, Pubmed, Web of Science, APA PsycArticles, LLBA, clinicaltrials.gov and PsyArXiv). We withheld 20 studies that generally revealed intact speech perception in stationary noise, while impairments in speech discrimination were found in temporally modulated noise, concurrent speech, and audiovisual speech perception. An association with auditory temporal processing deficits, exacerbated by suboptimal language skills, is shown. Speech-in-speech perception might be further impaired due to deficient top-down processing of speech. Further research is needed to address remaining challenges and gaps in our understanding of these impairments, including the developmental aspects of SiN processing in ASD, and the impact of gender and social attentional orienting on this ability. Our findings have important implications for improving communication in ASD, both in daily interactions and in clinical and educational settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Ruiz Callejo
- University Psychiatric Center KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Bart Boets
- University Psychiatric Center KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Autism Research (LauRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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4
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Chen F, Guo Q, Deng Y, Zhu J, Zhang H. Development of Mandarin Lexical Tone Identification in Noise and Its Relation With Working Memory. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2023; 66:4100-4116. [PMID: 37678219 DOI: 10.1044/2023_jslhr-22-00457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study aimed to examine the developmental trajectory of Mandarin tone identification in quiet and two noisy conditions: speech-shaped noise (SSN) and multitalker babble noise. In addition, we evaluated the relationship between tonal identification development and working memory capacity. METHOD Ninety-three typically developing children aged 5-8 years and 23 young adults completed categorical identification of two tonal continua (Tone 1-4 and Tone 2-3) in quiet, SSN, and babble noise. Their working memory was additionally measured using auditory digit span tests. Correlation analyses between digit span scores and boundary widths were performed. RESULTS Six-year-old children have achieved the adultlike ability of categorical identification of Tone 1-4 continuum under both types of noise. Moreover, 6-year-old children could identify Tone 2-3 continuum as well as adults in SSN. Nonetheless, the child participants, even 8-year-olds, performed worse when tokens from Tone 2-3 continuum were masked by babble noise. Greater working memory capacity was associated with better tone identification in noise for preschoolers aged 5-6 years; however, for school-age children aged 7-8 years, such correlation only existed in Tone 2-3 continuum in SSN. CONCLUSIONS Lexical tone perception might take a prolonged time to achieve adultlike competence in babble noise relative to SSN. Moreover, a significant interaction between masking type and stimulus difficulty was found, as indicated by Tone 2-3 being more susceptible to interference from babble noise than Tone 1-4. Furthermore, correlations between working memory capacity and tone perception in noise varied with developmental stage, stimulus difficulty, and masking type.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Chen
- School of Foreign Languages, Hunan University, Changsha, China
| | - Qingqing Guo
- School of Foreign Languages, Hunan University, Changsha, China
| | - Yunhua Deng
- Foreign Studies College, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Jiaqiang Zhu
- Research Centre for Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience, Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Hao Zhang
- Center for Clinical Neurolinguistics, School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Shandong University, Jinan, China
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5
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Kovács P, Szalárdy O, Winkler I, Tóth B. Two effects of perceived speaker similarity in resolving the cocktail party situation - ERPs and functional connectivity. Biol Psychol 2023; 182:108651. [PMID: 37517603 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 07/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
Following a speaker in multi-talker environments requires the listener to separate the speakers' voices and continuously focus attention on one speech stream. While the dissimilarity of voices may make speaker separation easier, it may also affect maintaining the focus of attention. To assess these effects, electrophysiological (EEG) and behavioral data were collected from healthy young adults while they listened to two concurrent speech streams performing an online lexical detection task and an offline recognition memory task. Perceptual speaker similarity was manipulated on four levels: identical, similar, dissimilar, and opposite-gender speakers. Behavioral and electrophysiological data suggested that, while speaker similarity hinders auditory stream segregation, dissimilarity hinders maintaining the focus of attention by making the to-be-ignored speech stream more distracting. Thus, resolving the cocktail party situation poses different problems at different levels of perceived speaker similarity, resulting in different listening strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Kovács
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary; Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Orsolya Szalárdy
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary; Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - István Winkler
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Brigitta Tóth
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary.
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Villard S, Perrachione TK, Lim SJ, Alam A, Kidd G. Energetic and informational masking place dissociable demands on listening effort: Evidence from simultaneous electroencephalography and pupillometrya). THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 154:1152-1167. [PMID: 37610284 PMCID: PMC10449482 DOI: 10.1121/10.0020539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 07/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
The task of processing speech masked by concurrent speech/noise can pose a substantial challenge to listeners. However, performance on such tasks may not directly reflect the amount of listening effort they elicit. Changes in pupil size and neural oscillatory power in the alpha range (8-12 Hz) are prominent neurophysiological signals known to reflect listening effort; however, measurements obtained through these two approaches are rarely correlated, suggesting that they may respond differently depending on the specific cognitive demands (and, by extension, the specific type of effort) elicited by specific tasks. This study aimed to compare changes in pupil size and alpha power elicited by different types of auditory maskers (highly confusable intelligible speech maskers, speech-envelope-modulated speech-shaped noise, and unmodulated speech-shaped noise maskers) in young, normal-hearing listeners. Within each condition, the target-to-masker ratio was set at the participant's individually estimated 75% correct point on the psychometric function. The speech masking condition elicited a significantly greater increase in pupil size than either of the noise masking conditions, whereas the unmodulated noise masking condition elicited a significantly greater increase in alpha oscillatory power than the speech masking condition, suggesting that the effort needed to solve these respective tasks may have different neural origins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Villard
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
| | - Tyler K Perrachione
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
| | - Sung-Joo Lim
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
| | - Ayesha Alam
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
| | - Gerald Kidd
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
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7
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Lanzilotti C, Andéol G, Micheyl C, Scannella S. Cocktail party training induces increased speech intelligibility and decreased cortical activity in bilateral inferior frontal gyri. A functional near-infrared study. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0277801. [PMID: 36454948 PMCID: PMC9714910 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The human brain networks responsible for selectively listening to a voice amid other talkers remain to be clarified. The present study aimed to investigate relationships between cortical activity and performance in a speech-in-speech task, before (Experiment I) and after training-induced improvements (Experiment II). In Experiment I, 74 participants performed a speech-in-speech task while their cortical activity was measured using a functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) device. One target talker and one masker talker were simultaneously presented at three different target-to-masker ratios (TMRs): adverse, intermediate and favorable. Behavioral results show that performance may increase monotonically with TMR in some participants and failed to decrease, or even improved, in the adverse-TMR condition for others. On the neural level, an extensive brain network including the frontal (left prefrontal cortex, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and bilateral inferior frontal gyri) and temporal (bilateral auditory cortex) regions was more solicited by the intermediate condition than the two others. Additionally, bilateral frontal gyri and left auditory cortex activities were found to be positively correlated with behavioral performance in the adverse-TMR condition. In Experiment II, 27 participants, whose performance was the poorest in the adverse-TMR condition of Experiment I, were trained to improve performance in that condition. Results show significant performance improvements along with decreased activity in bilateral inferior frontal gyri, the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the left inferior parietal cortex and the right auditory cortex in the adverse-TMR condition after training. Arguably, lower neural activity reflects higher efficiency in processing masker inhibition after speech-in-speech training. As speech-in-noise tasks also imply frontal and temporal regions, we suggest that regardless of the type of masking (speech or noise) the complexity of the task will prompt the implication of a similar brain network. Furthermore, the initial significant cognitive recruitment will be reduced following a training leading to an economy of cognitive resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cosima Lanzilotti
- Département Neuroscience et Sciences Cognitives, Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Brétigny sur Orge, France
- ISAE-SUPAERO, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
- Thales SIX GTS France, Gennevilliers, France
| | - Guillaume Andéol
- Département Neuroscience et Sciences Cognitives, Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Brétigny sur Orge, France
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Szalárdy O, Tóth B, Farkas D, Orosz G, Winkler I. Do we parse the background into separate streams in the cocktail party? Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:952557. [DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.952557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In the cocktail party situation, people with normal hearing usually follow a single speaker among multiple concurrent ones. However, there is no agreement in the literature as to whether the background is segregated into multiple streams/speakers. The current study varied the number of concurrent speech streams and investigated target detection and memory for the contents of a target stream as well as the processing of distractors. A male-voiced target stream was either presented alone (single-speech), together with one male-voiced distractor (one-distractor), or a male- and a female-voiced distractor (two-distractor). Behavioral measures of target detection and content tracking performance as well as target- and distractor detection related event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were assessed. We found that the N2 amplitude decreased whereas the P3 amplitude increased from the single-speech to the concurrent speech streams conditions. Importantly, the behavioral effect of distractors differed between the conditions with one vs. two distractor speech streams and the non-zero voltages in the N2 time window for distractor numerals and in the P3 time window for syntactic violations appearing in the non-target speech stream significantly differed between the one- and two-distractor conditions for the same (male) speaker. These results support the notion that the two background speech streams are segregated, as they show that distractors and syntactic violations appearing in the non-target streams are processed even when two speech non-target speech streams are delivered together with the target stream.
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Schneider BA, Rabaglia C, Avivi-Reich M, Krieger D, Arnott SR, Alain C. Age-Related Differences in Early Cortical Representations of Target Speech Masked by Either Steady-State Noise or Competing Speech. Front Psychol 2022; 13:935475. [PMID: 35992450 PMCID: PMC9389464 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.935475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Word in noise identification is facilitated by acoustic differences between target and competing sounds and temporal separation between the onset of the masker and that of the target. Younger and older adults are able to take advantage of onset delay when the masker is dissimilar (Noise) to the target word, but only younger adults are able to do so when the masker is similar (Babble). We examined the neural underpinning of this age difference using cortical evoked responses to words masked by either Babble or Noise when the masker preceded the target word by 100 or 600 ms in younger and older adults, after adjusting the signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) to equate behavioural performance across age groups and conditions. For the 100 ms onset delay, the word in noise elicited an acoustic change complex (ACC) response that was comparable in younger and older adults. For the 600 ms onset delay, the ACC was modulated by both masker type and age. In older adults, the ACC to a word in babble was not affected by the increase in onset delay whereas younger adults showed a benefit from longer delays. Hence, the age difference in sensitivity to temporal delay is indexed by early activity in the auditory cortex. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that an increase in onset delay improves stream segregation in younger adults in both noise and babble, but only in noise for older adults and that this change in stream segregation is evident in early cortical processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruce A. Schneider
- Department of Psychology, Human Communication Laboratory, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
- *Correspondence: Bruce A. Schneider,
| | - Cristina Rabaglia
- Department of Psychology, Human Communication Laboratory, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
| | - Meital Avivi-Reich
- Department of Psychology, Human Communication Laboratory, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
- Department of Communication Arts, Sciences, and Disorders, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY, United States
| | - Dena Krieger
- Department of Psychology, Human Communication Laboratory, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
| | | | - Claude Alain
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychology, St. George Campus, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Li J, Maffei L, Pascale A, Masullo M. Effects of spatialized water-sound sequences for traffic noise masking on brain activities. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 152:172. [PMID: 35931502 DOI: 10.1121/10.0012222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Informational masking of water sounds has been proven effective in mitigating traffic noise perception with different sound levels and signal-to-noise ratios, but less is known about the effects of the spatial distribution of water sounds on the perception of the surrounding environment and corresponding psychophysical responses. Three different spatial settings of water-sound sequences with a traffic noise condition were used to investigate the role of spatialization of water-sound sequences on traffic noise perception. The neural responses of 20 participants were recorded by a portable electroencephalogram (EEG) device during the spatial sound playback time. The mental effects and attention process related to informational masking were assessed by the analysis of the EEG spectral power distribution and sensor-level functional connectivity along with subjective assessments. The results showed higher relative power of the alpha band and greater alpha-beta ratio among water-sound sequence conditions compared to traffic noise conditions, which confirmed the increased relaxation on the mental state induced by the introduction of water sounds. Moreover, different spatial settings of water-sound sequences evoked different cognitive network responses. The setting of two-position switching water brought more attentional network activations than other water sequences related to the information masking process along with more positive subjective feelings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Li
- Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli," Aversa CE 81031, Italy
| | - Luigi Maffei
- Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli," Aversa CE 81031, Italy
| | - Aniello Pascale
- Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli," Aversa CE 81031, Italy
| | - Massimiliano Masullo
- Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli," Aversa CE 81031, Italy
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11
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Avivi-Reich M, Sran RK, Schneider BA. Do Age and Linguistic Status Alter the Effect of Sound Source Diffuseness on Speech Recognition in Noise? Front Psychol 2022; 13:838576. [PMID: 35369266 PMCID: PMC8965325 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.838576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
One aspect of auditory scenes that has received very little attention is the level of diffuseness of sound sources. This aspect has increasing importance due to growing use of amplification systems. When an auditory stimulus is amplified and presented over multiple, spatially-separated loudspeakers, the signal's timbre is altered due to comb filtering. In a previous study we examined how increasing the diffuseness of the sound sources might affect listeners' ability to recognize speech presented in different types of background noise. Listeners performed similarly when both the target and the masker were presented via a similar number of loudspeakers. However, performance improved when the target was presented using a single speaker (compact) and the masker from three spatially separate speakers (diffuse) but worsened when the target was diffuse, and the masker was compact. In the current study, we extended our research to examine whether the effects of timbre changes with age and linguistic experience. Twenty-four older adults whose first language was English (Old-EFLs) and 24 younger adults whose second language was English (Young-ESLs) were asked to repeat non-sense sentences masked by either Noise, Babble, or Speech and their results were compared with those of the Young-EFLs previously tested. Participants were divided into two experimental groups: (1) A Compact-Target group where the target sentences were presented over a single loudspeaker, while the masker was either presented over three loudspeakers or over a single loudspeaker; (2) A Diffuse-Target group, where the target sentences were diffuse while the masker was either compact or diffuse. The results indicate that the Target Timbre has a negligible effect on thresholds when the timbre of the target matches the timbre of the masker in all three groups. When there is a timbre contrast between target and masker, thresholds are significantly lower when the target is compact than when it is diffuse for all three listening groups in a Noise background. However, while this difference is maintained for the Young and Old-EFLs when the masker is Babble or Speech, speech reception thresholds in the Young-ESL group tend to be equivalent for all four combinations of target and masker timbre.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meital Avivi-Reich
- Department of Communication Arts, Sciences and Disorders, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY, United States
| | - Rupinder Kaur Sran
- Human Communication Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Bruce A. Schneider
- Human Communication Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Toronto, ON, Canada
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12
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Bader M, Schröger E, Grimm S. Auditory Pattern Representations Under Conditions of Uncertainty-An ERP Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:682820. [PMID: 34305553 PMCID: PMC8299531 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.682820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The auditory system is able to recognize auditory objects and is thought to form predictive models of them even though the acoustic information arriving at our ears is often imperfect, intermixed, or distorted. We investigated implicit regularity extraction for acoustically intact versus disrupted six-tone sound patterns via event-related potentials (ERPs). In an exact-repetition condition, identical patterns were repeated; in two distorted-repetition conditions, one randomly chosen segment in each sound pattern was replaced either by white noise or by a wrong pitch. In a roving-standard paradigm, sound patterns were repeated 1-12 times (standards) in a row before a new pattern (deviant) occurred. The participants were not informed about the roving rule and had to detect rarely occurring loudness changes. Behavioral detectability of pattern changes was assessed in a subsequent behavioral task. Pattern changes (standard vs. deviant) elicited mismatch negativity (MMN) and P3a, and were behaviorally detected above the chance level in all conditions, suggesting that the auditory system extracts regularities despite distortions in the acoustic input. However, MMN and P3a amplitude were decreased by distortions. At the level of MMN, both types of distortions caused similar impairments, suggesting that auditory regularity extraction is largely determined by the stimulus statistics of matching information. At the level of P3a, wrong-pitch distortions caused larger decreases than white-noise distortions. Wrong-pitch distortions likely prevented the engagement of restoration mechanisms and the segregation of disrupted from true pattern segments, causing stronger informational interference with the relevant pattern information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Bader
- Cognitive and Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology-Wilhelm Wundt, Faculty of Life Sciences, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Erich Schröger
- Cognitive and Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology-Wilhelm Wundt, Faculty of Life Sciences, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sabine Grimm
- Cognitive and Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology-Wilhelm Wundt, Faculty of Life Sciences, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
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Pinkl J, Cash EK, Evans TC, Neijman T, Hamilton JW, Ferguson SD, Martinez JL, Rumley J, Hunter LL, Moore DR, Stewart HJ. Short-Term Pediatric Acclimatization to Adaptive Hearing Aid Technology. Am J Audiol 2021; 30:76-92. [PMID: 33351648 DOI: 10.1044/2020_aja-20-00073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose This exploratory study assessed the perceptual, cognitive, and academic learning effects of an adaptive, integrated, directionality, and noise reduction hearing aid program in pediatric users. Method Fifteen pediatric hearing aid users (6-12 years old) received new bilateral, individually fitted Oticon Opn hearing aids programmed with OpenSound Navigator (OSN) processing. Word recognition in noise, sentence repetition in quiet, nonword repetition, vocabulary learning, selective attention, executive function, memory, and reading and mathematical abilities were measured within 1 week of the initial hearing aid fitting and 2 months post fit. Caregivers completed questionnaires assessing their child's listening and communication abilities prior to study enrollment and after 2 months of using the study hearing aids. Results Caregiver reporting indicated significant improvements in speech and sound perception, spatial sound awareness, and the ability to participate in conversations. However, there was no positive change in performance in any of the measured skills. Mathematical scores significantly declined after 2 months. Conclusions OSN provided a perceived improvement in functional benefit, compared to their previous hearing aids, as reported by caregivers. However, there was no positive change in listening skills, cognition, and academic success after 2 months of using OSN. Findings may have been impacted by reporter bias, limited sample size, and a relatively short trial period. This study took place during the summer when participants were out of school, which may have influenced the decline in mathematical scores. The results support further exploration with age- and audiogram-matched controls, larger sample sizes, and longer test-retest intervals that correspond to the academic school year.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Pinkl
- Communication Sciences Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cincinnati, OH
| | - Erin K. Cash
- Communication Sciences Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Cincinnati, OH
| | - Tommy C. Evans
- Division of Audiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH
| | - Timothy Neijman
- Division of Audiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH
| | - Jean W. Hamilton
- Division of Audiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH
| | - Sarah D. Ferguson
- Communication Sciences Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cincinnati, OH
| | - Jasmin L. Martinez
- Communication Sciences Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cincinnati, OH
| | - Johanne Rumley
- Oticon A/S, Kongebakken, Denmark
- Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Lisa L. Hunter
- Communication Sciences Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cincinnati, OH
| | - David R. Moore
- Communication Sciences Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH
- Department of Otolaryngology, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, OH
- Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness, The University of Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah J. Stewart
- Communication Sciences Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, United Kingdom
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Szalárdy O, Tóth B, Farkas D, Hajdu B, Orosz G, Winkler I. Who said what? The effects of speech tempo on target detection and information extraction in a multi-talker situation: An ERP and functional connectivity study. Psychophysiology 2020; 58:e13747. [PMID: 33314262 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 10/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
People with normal hearing can usually follow one of the several concurrent speakers. Speech tempo affects both the separation of concurrent speech streams and information extraction from them. The current study varied the tempo of two concurrent speech streams to investigate these processes in a multi-talker situation. Listeners performed a target-detection and a content-tracking task, while target-related ERPs and functional brain networks sensitive to speech tempo were extracted from the EEG signal. At slower than normal speech tempo, building the two streams required longer processing times, and possibly the utilization of higher-order, for example, syntactic and semantic cues. The observed longer reaction times and higher connectivity strength in a theta band network associated with frontal control over auditory/speech processing are compatible with this notion. With increasing tempo, target detection performance decreased and the N2b and the P3b amplitudes increased. These data suggest an increased need for strictly allocating target-detection-related resources at higher tempo. This was also reflected by the observed increase in the strength of gamma-band networks within and between frontal, temporal, and cingular areas. At the fastest tested speech tempo, there was a sharp drop in recognition memory performance, while target detection performance increased compared to the normal speech tempo. This was accompanied by a significant increase in the strength of a low alpha network associated with the suppression of task-irrelevant speech. These results suggest that participants prioritized the immediate target detection task over the continuous content tracking, likely due to some capacity limit reached the fastest speech tempo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orsolya Szalárdy
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Brigitta Tóth
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Dávid Farkas
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Botond Hajdu
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gábor Orosz
- Unité de Recherche Pluridisciplinaire Sport Santé Société, Universite Artois, Universite Lille, Universite Littoral Côte d'Opale, Liévin, France
| | - István Winkler
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
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15
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Tóth B, Honbolygó F, Szalárdy O, Orosz G, Farkas D, Winkler I. The effects of speech processing units on auditory stream segregation and selective attention in a multi-talker (cocktail party) situation. Cortex 2020; 130:387-400. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2019] [Revised: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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