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Background. Brown bowel syndrome (BBS) is a rare gastrointestinal condition, and vitamin E deficiency has been considered to be a main contributor. However, vitamin E deficiency has been found in only a few patients throughout the published literature studies and its cutoff lab value for diagnosis is not entirely clarified. Case Presentation. A 56-year-old female patient with a history of congenital bowel obstruction (repaired at birth) presented with bloating, abdominal pain, and chronic diarrhea. Endoscopy identified unremarkable gastrointestinal mucosa except a few small polyps in the colon. A partial obstruction was detected by a small bowel follow-through series and then confirmed by CT scan. The resected small bowel was significantly dilated with a thickened brown wall and extensive serosal adhesion. Microscopic examination revealed unremarkable mucosa, but dense granular brown pigments were identified in the cytoplasm of the smooth muscle cells in the muscularis propria. These deposits resulted to be lipofuscin, and BBS was diagnosed. The patient was asymptomatic at 9-month follow-up after surgery without vitamin E supplement. Conclusion. Mitochondrial damage with lipofuscin deposition is at the root of BBS pathogenesis. Any etiology associated with mitochondrial damage can cause this disease, and vitamin E deficiency is just one of them. Dysmotility from extensive serosal adhesion could be a possible etiology for this patient. Due to overlapping symptoms, lipofuscin deposition primarily in the muscularis propria, and unclear serum value of vitamin E, this syndrome is often missed in routine clinical practice from the superficial biopsy. A transmural biopsy is necessary for a definite diagnosis.

Audacity is a multi-platform free, open-source audio recorder and editor software. The advantage of Audacity software is as follows: easy installation and simple visual interface, no registrations or hardware requirements, and availability at no cost might make it a preferred software to carry out class demonstrations and lab activities for an undergraduate course in the Communication Sciences and Disorders discipline. The tutorial aims to illustrate how Audacity software can be used to demonstrate various psychoacoustic phenomena commonly taught in undergraduate Hearing Science courses. This tutorial is divided into fundamental and advanced concepts from the pedagogy and student learning standpoint. The fundamental concepts involve using sine waves to demonstrate frequency, amplitude, and phase related to auditory perception. The advanced concepts include the generation of complex periodic non-speech signals, wave superposition, beats, missing fundamental frequency, demonstration of different filters, and amplitude and frequency modulation. Future research is needed to evaluate the benefits of using Audacity software for psychoacoustical demonstrations in an undergraduate Hearing Science course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to determine (a) the influence of noise exposure background (NEB) on the peripheral and central auditory system functioning and (b) the influence of NEB on speech recognition in noise abilities in student musicians. Twenty non-musician students with self-reported low NEB and 18 student musicians with self-reported high NEB completed a battery of tests that consisted of physiological measures, including auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) at three different stimulus rates (11.3 Hz, 51.3 Hz, and 81.3 Hz), and P300, and behavioral measures including conventional and extended high-frequency audiometry, consonant–vowel nucleus–consonant (CNC) word test and AzBio sentence test for assessing speech perception in noise abilities at −9, −6, −3, 0, and +3 dB signal to noise ratios (SNRs). The NEB was negatively associated with performance on the CNC test at all five SNRs. A negative association was found between NEB and performance on the AzBio test at 0 dB SNR. No effect of NEB was found on the amplitude and latency of P300 and the ABR wave I amplitude. More investigations of larger datasets with different NEB and longitudinal measurements are needed to investigate the influence of NEB on word recognition in noise and to understand the specific cognitive processes contributing to the impact of NEB on word recognition in noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed at understanding the psychoacoustic characteristics of tinnitus in individuals with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD). It attempts to assess the pitch and intensity of loudness of tinnitus matched by individuals with ANSD. Fifty individuals who were diagnosed as having auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder were included in the study. Tinnitus evaluation was carried out where the individuals matched the frequency and intensity of loudness of the tinnitus. The results of the study shows that pitch matched by majority of patients with ANSD is predominantly low pitched (

Objective: Human studies enrolling individuals at high risk for cochlear synaptopathy (CS) have reported difficulties in speech perception in adverse listening conditions. The aim of this study is to determine if these individuals show a degradation in the neural encoding of speech in quiet and in the presence of background noise as reflected in neural phase-locking to both envelope periodicity and temporal fine structure (TFS). To our knowledge, there are no published reports that have specifically examined the neural encoding of both envelope periodicity and TFS of speech stimuli (in quiet and in adverse listening conditions) among a sample with loud-sound exposure history who are at risk for CS. Method: Using scalp-recorded frequency-following response (FFR), the authors evaluated the neural encoding of envelope periodicity (FFRENV) and TFS (FFRTFS) for a steady-state vowel (English back vowel /u/) in quiet and in the presence of speech-shaped noise presented at +5- and 0 dB SNR. Participants were young individuals with normal hearing who participated in the marching band for at least 5 years (high-risk group) and non--marching band group with low-noise exposure history (low-risk group). Results: The results showed no group differences in the neural encoding of either the FFRENV or the first formant (F1) in the FFRTFS in quiet and in noise. Paradoxically, the high-risk group demonstrated enhanced representation of F2 harmonics across all stimulus conditions. Conclusions: These results appear to be in line with a music experience--dependent enhancement of F2 harmonics. However, due to sound overexposure in the high-risk group, the role of homeostatic central compensation cannot be ruled out. A larger scale data set with different noise exposure background, longitudinal measurements with an array of behavioral and electrophysiological tests is needed to disentangle the nature of the complex interaction between the effects of central compensatory gain and experiencedependent enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term language and music experience enhances neural representation of temporal attributes of pitch in the brainstem and auditory cortex in favorable listening conditions. Herein we examine whether brainstem and cortical pitch mechanisms—shaped by long-term language experience—maintain this advantage in the presence of reverberation-induced degradation in pitch representation. Brainstem frequency following responses (FFR) and cortical pitch responses (CPR) were recorded concurrently from Chinese and English-speaking natives, using a Mandarin word exhibiting a high rising pitch (/ yi 2 /). Stimuli were presented diotically in quiet (Dry), and in the presence of Slight, Mild, and Moderate reverberation conditions. Regardless of language group, the amplitude of both brainstem FFR (F0) and cortical CPR (Na Pb) responses decreased with increases in reverberation. Response amplitude for Chinese, however, was larger than English in all reverberant conditions. The Chinese group also exhibited a robust rightward asymmetry at temporal electrode sites (T8 > T7) across stimulus conditions. Regardless of language group, direct comparison of brainstem and cortical responses revealed similar magnitude of change in response amplitude with increasing reverberation. These findings suggest that experience-dependent brainstem and cortical pitch mechanisms provide an enhanced and stable neural representation of pitch-relevant information that is maintained even in the presence of reverberation. Relatively greater degradative effects of reverberation on brainstem (FFR) compared to cortical (Na Pb) responses suggest relatively stronger top-down influences on CPRs. • Experience-dependent FFR and CPR responses are maintained under reverberation. • Rightward asymmetry of CPR is maintained in adverse listening conditions. • Degradation in pitch representation at both levels of brain is language independent. • Differential effects of FFR and CPR reflect stronger top-down pitch processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Language experience shapes encoding of pitch-relevant information at both brainstem and cortical levels of processing. Pitch height is a salient dimension that orders pitch from low to high. Herein we investigate the effects of language experience (Chinese, English) in the brainstem and cortex on (i) neural responses to variations in pitch height, (ii) presence of asymmetry in cortical pitch representation, and (iii) patterns of relative changes in magnitude of pitch height between these two levels of brain structure. Stimuli were three nonspeech homologs of Mandarin Tone 2 varying in pitch height only. The frequency-following response (FFR) and the cortical pitch-specific response (CPR) were recorded concurrently. At the Fz-linked T7/T8 site, peak latency of Na, Pb, and Nb decreased with increasing pitch height for both groups. Peak-to-peak amplitude of Na–Pb and Pb–Nb increased with increasing pitch height across groups. A language-dependent effect was restricted to Na–Pb; the Chinese had larger amplitude than the English group. At temporal sites (T7/T8), the Chinese group had larger amplitude, as compared to English, across stimuli, but also limited to the Na–Pb component and right temporal site. In the brainstem, F0 magnitude decreased with increasing pitch height; Chinese had larger magnitude across stimuli. A comparison of CPR and FFR responses revealed distinct patterns of relative changes in magnitude common to both groups. CPR amplitude increased and FFR amplitude decreased with increasing pitch height. Experience-dependent effects on CPR components vary as a function of neural sensitivity to pitch height within a particular temporal window (Na–Pb). Differences between the auditory brainstem and cortex imply distinct neural mechanisms for pitch extraction at both levels of brain structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neural representation of pitch-relevant information at the brainstem and cortical levels of processing is influenced by language experience. A well-known attribute of pitch is its salience . Brainstem frequency following responses and cortical pitch specific responses, recorded concurrently, were elicited by a pitch salience continuum spanning weak to strong pitch of a dynamic, iterated rippled noise pitch contour—homolog of a Mandarin tone. Our aims were to assess how language experience (Chinese, English) affects i) enhancement of neural activity associated with pitch salience at brainstem and cortical levels, ii) the presence of asymmetry in cortical pitch representation, and iii) patterns of relative changes in magnitude along the pitch salience continuum. Peak latency (Fz: Na, Pb, and Nb) was shorter in the Chinese than the English group across the continuum. Peak-to-peak amplitude (Fz: Na–Pb, Pb–Nb) of the Chinese group grew larger with increasing pitch salience, but an experience-dependent advantage was limited to the Na–Pb component. At temporal sites (T7/T8), the larger amplitude of the Chinese group across the continuum was both limited to the Na–Pb component and the right temporal site. At the brainstem level, F0 magnitude gets larger as you increase pitch salience, and it too reveals Chinese superiority. A direct comparison of cortical and brainstem responses for the Chinese group reveals different patterns of relative changes in magnitude along the pitch salience continuum. Such differences may point to a transformation in pitch processing at the cortical level presumably mediated by local sensory and/or extrasensory influence overlaid on the brainstem output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Children diagnosed with hearing loss typically demonstrate increased rates of vestibular loss as compared with their peers, with hearing within normal limits. Decreased vestibular function is linked with delays in gross motor development, acquisition of gross motor skills, and academic challenges. Timely development of sitting and walking gross motor skills aids in the progress of environmental exploratory activities, which have been tied to cognitive, language, and vocabulary development. Considering the time-sensitive development of gross motor skills and cognitive, language, and vocabulary development, identifying vestibular loss in infancy can support early intervention. This scoping review analyzes stimulus, recording, and participant factors relevant to assessing cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs) in the infant population., Design: The scoping literature review was conducted on literature published between 2000 and 2023, focusing on articles assessing cVEMPs in infants. Two authors independently followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic and Meta-Analysis guidelines for title and abstract screening, full-text review, data extraction, and quality assessments. Sixteen articles meeting the inclusion criteria were included in the analysis., Results: The existing literature lacks consensus regarding stimulus and recording parameters for measuring infant cVEMPs. In addition, the review reveals a decrease in cVEMP response occurrence rates with the severity of hearing loss, especially in cases of severe to profound hearing loss, compared with mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss in infants., Conclusions: This scoping review demonstrates the increasing use of cVEMP as a reliable tool for objectively assessing infant vestibular function. The lack of consensus in stimulus and recording parameters emphasizes the need for systematic research to establish an evidence-based protocol for cVEMP measurements in infants. Such a protocol will ensure the reliable measurement of cVEMPs in infants and enhance the effectiveness of cVEMP as part of the infant vestibular test battery. In addition, there is a necessity for a comprehensive large-scale study to evaluate the practicality and feasibility of implementing vestibular screening protocols for infants diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss in the United States., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)