scholarly journals Virtually spatialized sounds enhance auditory processing in healthy participants and patients with a disorder of consciousness

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizette Heine ◽  
Alexandra Corneyllie ◽  
Florent Gobert ◽  
Jacques Luauté ◽  
Mathieu Lavandier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Auditory Perception ◽  
Speech Discrimination ◽  
Disorder Of Consciousness ◽  
Functional Assessments ◽  
Discriminative Response ◽  
Spatial Attributes ◽  
Sound Discrimination ◽  
Healthy Participants

AbstractNeuroscientific and clinical studies on auditory perception often use headphones to limit sound interference. In these conditions, sounds are perceived as internalized because they lack the sound-attributes that normally occur with a sound produced from a point in space around the listener. Without the spatial attention mechanisms that occur with localized sounds, auditory functional assessments could thus be underestimated. We hypothesize that adding virtually externalization and localization cues to sounds through headphones enhance sound discrimination in both healthy participants and patients with a disorder of consciousness (DOC). Hd-EEG was analyzed in 14 healthy participants and 18 patients while they listened to self-relevant and irrelevant stimuli in two forms: diotic (classic sound presentation with an “internalized” feeling) and convolved with a binaural room impulse response (to create an “externalized” feeling). Convolution enhanced the brains’ discriminative response as well as the processing of irrelevant sounds itself, in both healthy participants and DOC patients. For the healthy participants, these effects could be associated with enhanced activation of both the dorsal (where/how) and ventral (what) auditory streams, suggesting that spatial attributes support speech discrimination. Thus, virtually spatialized sounds might “call attention to the outside world” and improve the sensitivity of assessment of brain function in DOC patients.

Central Auditory Processing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josef P. Rauschecker
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Auditory Perception ◽  
Auditory Brainstem ◽  
Central Auditory Processing ◽  
Visible Part ◽  
Auditory Object ◽  
Mother’S Voice ◽  
The Brain

When one talks about hearing, some may first imagine the auricle (or external ear), which is the only visible part of the auditory system in humans and other mammals. Its shape and size vary among people, but it does not tell us much about a person’s abilities to hear (except perhaps their ability to localize sounds in space, where the shape of the auricle plays a certain role). Most of what is used for hearing is inside the head, particularly in the brain. The inner ear transforms mechanical vibrations into electrical signals; then the auditory nerve sends these signals into the brainstem, where intricate preprocessing occurs. Although auditory brainstem mechanisms are an important part of central auditory processing, it is the processing taking place in the cerebral cortex (with the thalamus as the mediator), which enables auditory perception and cognition. Human speech and the appreciation of music can hardly be imagined without a complex cortical network of specialized regions, each contributing different aspects of auditory cognitive abilities. During the evolution of these abilities in higher vertebrates, especially birds and mammals, the cortex played a crucial role, so a great deal of what is referred to as central auditory processing happens there. Whether it is the recognition of one’s mother’s voice, listening to Pavarotti singing or Yo-Yo Ma playing the cello, hearing or reading Shakespeare’s sonnets, it will evoke electrical vibrations in the auditory cortex, but it does not end there. Large parts of frontal and parietal cortex receive auditory signals originating in auditory cortex, forming processing streams for auditory object recognition and auditory-motor control, before being channeled into other parts of the brain for comprehension and enjoyment.

scholarly journals Assessing Variations in Areal Organization for the Intrinsic Brain: From Fingerprints to Reliability

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting Xu ◽  
Alexander Opitz ◽  
R. Cameron Craddock ◽  
Margaret Wright ◽  
Xi-Nian Zuo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Variation ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Intraclass Correlation ◽  
Resting State Fmri ◽  
Single Individual ◽  
Initial Application ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Gradient Based ◽  
Healthy Participants

AbstractResting state fMRI (R-fMRI) is a powerful in-vivo tool for examining the functional architecture of the human brain. Recent studies have demonstrated the ability to characterize transitions between functionally distinct cortical areas through the mapping of gradients in intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) profiles. To date, this novel approach has primarily been applied to iFC profiles averaged across groups of individuals, or in one case, a single individual scanned multiple times. Here, we used a publically available R-fMRI dataset, in which 30 healthy participants were scanned 10 times (10 minutes per session), to investigate differences in full-brain transition profiles (i.e., gradient maps, edge maps) across individuals, and their reliability. 10-minute R-fMRI scans were sufficient to achieve high accuracies in efforts to “fingerprint” individuals based upon full-brain transition profiles. Regarding testretest reliability, the image-wise intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was moderate, and vertex-level ICC varied depending on region; larger durations of data yielded higher reliability scores universally. Initial application of gradient-based methodologies to a recently published dataset obtained from twins suggested inter-individual variation in areal profiles might have genetic and familial origins. Overall, these results illustrate the utility of gradient-based iFC approaches for studying inter-individual variation in brain function.

scholarly journals Devising a development test of auditory perception: Problems and prospects

1971 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold Abramovitz
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Emotionally Disturbed ◽  
Auditory Perception ◽  
Speech Sound ◽  
Pattern Discrimination ◽  
Auditory Training ◽  
Environmental Sounds ◽  
Threshold Phenomena ◽  
Sound Discrimination ◽  
Hearing Children

It is certain that many children whose auditory perception is queried by audiologists, speech therapists, educationists and psychologists elude the diagnostic screens presently available in each of these disciplines. The need for a qualitative and quantitative psychological assessment of the child's auditory abilities and disabilities led to the development of a test which was intended to evaluate the following functions:(a) Recognition of environmental sounds, (b) Auditory figure-ground discrimination, (c) Speech-sound discrimination (phonemic and intonational) and (d) Tonal pattern discrimination (pitch, loudness, duration and interval). It was not intended to investigate threshold phenomena as such but rather to supplement and complement pure-tone and speech audiometry. The test was applied to 205 children, aged five to ten years, drawn from a normal school population, and 232 children with difficulties and handicaps varying both in degree and kind. Only the first two sub-tests were found to be clinically and experimentally viable, and data for the curtailed test are presented. The following results are noteworthy: (1) The test measures functions which are positively related to both age and intelligence. (2) Brain-injured, retarded and emotionally disturbed children generally test low on auditory figure-ground discrimination; this vulnerability is most likely due to perseveration. (3) Previously unsuspected peripheral hearing losses may sometimes be detected by the use of the test. On the other hand, some children said to have high degrees of hearing loss test at or above their age-level. (4) Many deaf and hard-of-hearing children test higher without their hearing-aids; this is probably due to amplification being achieved at the cost of distortion. (5) Children of average intelligence with reading and/or spelling difficulties often test low on auditory figure-ground discrimination. (6) Blind children who have received auditory training are equal to sighted children in recognition of environmental sounds, but superior in auditory figure-ground discrimination. This does not, however, necessarily signify superior auditory perception as such on the part of the blind. In general it is concluded that the development of tests of auditory perception could add significantly to the psycho-educational assessment of both "normal" and handicapped children.

scholarly journals P3 Cognitive Potential in Cochlear Implant Users

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (04) ◽  
pp. 408-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Signe Grasel ◽  
Mario Greters ◽  
Maria Goffi-Gomez ◽  
Roseli Bittar ◽  
Raimar Weber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Speech Recognition ◽  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Evoked Potential ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Central Auditory Processing ◽  
Speech Discrimination ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Cortical Responses ◽  
Peripheral Auditory System

Introduction The P3 cognitive evoked potential is recorded when a subject correctly identifies, evaluates and processes two different auditory stimuli. Objective to evaluate the latency and amplitude of the P3 evoked potential in 26 cochlear implant users with post-lingual deafness with good or poor speech recognition scores as compared with normal hearing subjects matched for age and educational level. Methods In this prospective cohort study, auditory cortical responses were recorded from 26 post-lingual deaf adult cochlear implant users (19 with good and 7 with poor speech recognition scores) and 26 control subjects. Results There was a significant difference in the P3 latency between cochlear implant users with poor speech recognition scores (G-) and their control group (CG) (p = 0.04), and between G- and cochlear implant users with good speech discrimination (G+) (p = 0.01). We found no significant difference in the P3 latency between the CG and G+. In this study, all G- patients had deafness due to meningitis, which suggests that higher auditory function was impaired too. Conclusion Post-lingual deaf adult cochlear implant users in the G- group had prolonged P3 latencies as compared with the CG and the cochlear implant users in the G+ group. The amplitudes were similar between patients and controls. All G- subjects were deaf due to meningitis. These findings suggest that meningitis may have deleterious effects not only on the peripheral auditory system but on the central auditory processing as well.

Children’s Perception of Time-Compressed Speech on Two Measures of Speech Discrimination

1976 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel S. Beasley ◽  
Jean E. Maki ◽  
Daniel J. Orchik
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Central Auditory Processing ◽  
Speech Discrimination ◽  
Sensation Level ◽  
Time Compression ◽  
Compressed Speech ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
Perception Of Time ◽  
Open Versus

Time-compressed versions of the WIPI and PB-K 50 speech discrimination measures were presented at two sensation levels to 60 children divided into three age-groups of 20 each. Results showed that average intelligibility scores increased as a function of increasing age and sensation level and decreased with increasing amounts of time compression. The PB-K 50 measure was found to be more difficult than the WIPI for each age-group under each condition of time compression and sensation level. The several factors under study were found to interact. The results are discussed relative to open- versus closed-message set response tasks and the implications for audiological diagnoses of children with central auditory processing problems.

Perceptual Properties of Current Speech Recognition Technology

2013 ◽  
Vol PP (99) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Feature Extraction ◽  
Speech Recognition ◽  
Auditory System ◽  
Automatic Speech Recognition ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Auditory Perception ◽  
Automatic Recognition ◽  
Extraction Procedures ◽  
Human Auditory System ◽  
Speech Recognition Technology

In recent years, a number of feature extraction procedures for automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems have been based on models of human auditory processing, and one often hears arguments in favor of implementing knowledge of human auditory perception and cognition into machines for ASR. This paper takes a reverse route, and argues that the engineering techniques for automatic recognition of speech that are already in widespread use are often consistent with some well-known properties of the human auditory system.

scholarly journals Changes of Temporal Processing and Hearing in Noise after Use of a Monoaural Hearing Aid in Patients with Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Preliminary Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 146-151
Author(s):  
Yehree Kim ◽  
Chan Joo Yang ◽  
Myung Hoon Yoo ◽  
Chan Il Song ◽  
Jong Woo Chung
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Resolution ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Central Auditory Processing ◽  
Speech Discrimination ◽  
Hearing In Noise ◽  
One Year ◽  
A Prospective Study ◽  
The Relationship

Background and Objectives: The relationship between hearing aid (HA) use and improvement in cognitive function is not fully known. This study aimed to determine whether HAs could recover temporal resolution or hearing in noise functions.Materials and Methods: We designed a prospective study with two groups: HA users and controls. Patients older than 45 years, with a pure tone average threshold of worse than 40 dB and a speech discrimination score better than 60% in both ears were eligible. Central auditory processing tests and hearing in noise tests (HINTs) were evaluated at the beginning of the study and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the use of a monaural HA in the HA group compared to the control group. The changes in the evaluation parameters were statistically analyzed using the linear mixed model.Results: A total of 26 participants (13 in the HA and 13 in the control group) were included in this study. The frequency (<i>p</i><0.01) and duration test (<i>p</i>=0.02) scores showed significant improvements in the HA group after 1 year, while the HINT scores showed no significant change.Conclusions: After using an HA for one year, patients performed better on temporal resolution tests. No improvement was documented with regard to hearing in noise.

scholarly journals Clinical and diagnostic characteristics of cochleovestibular function in patients of active working age after exposure to stress

2021 ◽  
pp. 4-15
Author(s):  
Dmitry I. Zabolotny ◽  
Irina A. Belyakova ◽  
Viktor I. Lutsenko ◽  
Tetiana Yu. Kholodenko ◽  
Tetyana P. Loza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Central Auditory Processing ◽  
Speech Discrimination ◽  
Severe Stress ◽  
Speech Discrimination Tests ◽  
Stress Assessment ◽  
Central Auditory Processing Disorders ◽  
Working Age ◽  
Filtered Speech

Topicality: Long-term and pronounced psychoemotional tension leads to negative changes in the human body. Many aspects of cochleovestibular changes caused by psychoemotional stress are not studied enough to date. Aim: to increase the diagnostic efficiency of auditory and vestibular disorders in patients of active working age after exposure to stress. Materials and methods: 95 patients of active working age with dizziness, which manifested under stress, and 10 persons of control group were studied. The following tests were performed to all patients: survey with the questionnaire "Comprehensive stress assessment", pure tone and speech audiometry, measurement with filtered speech discrimination tests, assessment of the auditory adaptation level, impedancemetry, registration of auditory brainstem responses (ABR), computed static posturography, vestibular testing. Results and discussion: All subjects were divided into three groups according to the results of the survey with the questionnaire "Comprehensive stress assessment": Group 1 included 21 patients with moderate stress, Group 2 included 35 persons with severe stress that could not be compensated and Group 3 included 39 persons under severe stress, moreover 10 of them were on the verge of exhaustion of adaptive capacities. 60 (63.2 %) patients had normal hearing. 24 (25.2 %) subjects had statistically significant (P <0.05) hearing impairment in the high frequency zone compared with the control group, a statistically significant difference in hearing impairment was detected in the entire frequency range in 11 (11.6 %) persons. Central auditory processing disorders were detected in more than half of patients (according to various tests – from 29 (30.5 %) to 49 (51.6 %) persons). Central vestibular syndrome of varying severity was diagnosed in all 95 patients. The most pronounced disorders of balance according to posturography have been reported in patients with severe stress with vision deprivation in the position with closed eyes. Conclusions: An integrated approach allowed to identify and select, besides traditional research methods, supplementary diagnostic measures for optimal assessment of cochleovestibular changes in patients of active working age after exposure to stress, to detect cochleovestibular disorders and differential topical diagnostics of disorders of the central or peripheral portions of the auditory and vestibular analyzers. These included psychological testing, a test battery to determine central auditory processing disorders – hearing adaptation with load, filtered speech discrimination tests, registration of ABR, registration of postural balance using the Wii Balance Board platform, vestibular testing.

scholarly journals The Use of the Gaps-In-Noise Test as an Index of the Enhanced Left Temporal Cortical Thinning Associated with the Transition between Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (05) ◽  
pp. 463-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasiliki Vivian Iliadou ◽  
Doris-Eva Bamiou ◽  
Christos Sidiras ◽  
Nikolaos P. Moschopoulos ◽  
Magda Tsolaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Temporal Resolution ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Auditory Perception ◽  
Central Auditory Processing ◽  
Hearing Sensitivity ◽  
Cortical Thinning

Background: The known link between auditory perception and cognition is often overlooked when testing for cognition. Purpose: To evaluate auditory perception in a group of older adults diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Research Design: A cross-sectional study of auditory perception. Study Sample: Adults with MCI and adults with no documented cognitive issues and matched hearing sensitivity and age. Data collection: Auditory perception was evaluated in both groups, assessing for hearing sensitivity, speech in babble (SinB), and temporal resolution. Results: Mann–Whitney test revealed significantly poorer scores for SinB and temporal resolution abilities of MCIs versus normal controls for both ears. The right-ear gap detection thresholds on the Gaps-In-Noise (GIN) Test clearly differentiated between the two groups (p < 0.001), with no overlap of values. The left ear results also differentiated the two groups (p < 0.01); however, there was a small degree of overlap #x02DC;8-msec threshold values. With the exception of the left-ear inattentiveness index, which showed a similar distribution between groups, both impulsivity and inattentiveness indexes were higher for the MCIs compared to the control group. Conclusions: The results support central auditory processing evaluation in the elderly population as a promising tool to achieve earlier diagnosis of dementia, while identifying central auditory processing deficits that can contribute to communication deficits in the MCI patient population. A measure of temporal resolution (GIN) may offer an early, albeit indirect, measure reflecting left temporal cortical thinning associated with the transition between MCI and Alzheimer’s disease.

scholarly journals Development of ukrainian speech discrimination tests for children (phase of formation of tables with words)

2020 ◽  
pp. 50-54
Author(s):  
Dmitry I. Zabolotny ◽  
Viktor I. Lutsenko ◽  
Irina A. Belyakova ◽  
Yeugenia I. Svitlychna ◽  
Alla A. Berestova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Preschool Age ◽  
Speech Audiometry ◽  
Central Auditory Processing ◽  
Speech Discrimination ◽  
Impaired Hearing ◽  
Discrimination Test ◽  
Speech Discrimination Tests ◽  
Speech Discrimination Test

Topicality: The speech audiometry is an essential diagnostic method which allows to fully assess the effectiveness of the cochlear implantation and hearing aids, to identify the central auditory processing disorders among the patients. Ukrainian audiologists have all necessary tools to perform classical speech audiometry and determine speech discrimination in the difficult acoustic conditions in adults. But it should be said that Ukrainian speech tests for children haven’t been developed yet. Aim: to develop and implement the Ukrainian speech discrimination tests for children. To solve the problem of speech audiometry in Ukraine it was decided to develop several speech discrimination tests for children of different ages and needs. At the first stage the authors have formed the groups with Ukrainian words for speech audiometry in children (starting from preschool age) and made a studio recording of the test that should be tested and validated futher. The formed word groups meet with all the requirements for phonetically balanced speech discrimination tests taking into consideration the peculiarities of children’s audiometry. The following principles were adhered in each group: the presence of all Ukrainian vowel phonemes in the stressed syllable and consonants with different frequency; the presence of words with different numbers of syllables; taking into consideration the rhythmic structure of the word (stress place); keeping a constant ratio of vowels and consonants. The article presents the primary (not yet valid) version of the Ukrainian speech discrimination test for children’s audiometry. Studio recording of this test will be tested in children with normal and impaired hearing as well as in users of hearing aids and cochlear implants. Conclusions: For the first time in Ukraine the tables with words have been formed in the native language for the audiometry in children (starting from the preschool age). The studio recording of the speech discrimination test was done with the female voice. Hence the next phase of development of the Ukrainian speech tests for children is planned the sence of which will be to approbate and validate.

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