Search

Objective: To investigate how tinnitus affects the processing of speech and non-speech stimuli at the subcortical level., Study Design: Cross-sectional analytical study., Setting: Academic, tertiary referral center., Patients: Eighteen individuals with tinnitus and 20 controls without tinnitus matched based on their age and sex. All subjects had normal hearing sensitivity., Intervention: Diagnostic., Main Outcome Measures: The effect of tinnitus on the parameters of auditory brainstem responses (ABR) to non-speech (click-ABR), and speech (sABR) stimuli was investigated., Results: Latencies of click ABR in waves III, V, and Vn, as well as inter-peak latency (IPL) of I to V were significantly longer in individuals with tinnitus compared with the controls. Individuals with tinnitus demonstrated significantly longer latencies of all sABR waves than the control group. The tinnitus patients also exhibited a significant decrease in the slope of the V-A complex and reduced encoding of the first and higher formants. A significant difference was observed between the two groups in the spectral magnitudes, the first formant frequency range (F1) and a higher frequency region (HF)., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that maladaptive neural plasticity resulting from tinnitus can be subcortically measured and affects timing processing of both speech and non-speech stimuli. The findings have been discussed based on models of maladaptive plasticity and the interference of tinnitus as an internal noise in synthesizing speech auditory stimuli.

Objective: The aging effects on auditory change detection have been studied using the Mismatch Negativity (MMN) potential. However, recent studies have found earlier correlates of deviance detection at the level of the middle-latency response (MLR) and the effects of aging on this deviant-related response have not yet been clarified. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of aging on both levels of the auditory deviance detection system., Methods: MMN and MLR responses were recorded in 33 young and 29 older adults from 32 scalp electrodes during frequency oddball and swapped-oddball conditions., Results: In the young group, modulation of MLR and a clear MMN response were observed, whereas in the aged group, no evidence of deviance detection was found at the level of MLR and the MMN amplitude was significantly diminished., Conclusions: Based on the obtained results, aging affects both levels of the auditory deviance detection system which seems to be a result of deficits in regularity encoding along the auditory hierarchy., Significance: The current findings suggest that age-related physiological changes result in deficits in regularity encoding, starting from early stages of processing. This might eventually affect stream segregation and induce difficulties in understanding speech in complex environments., (Copyright © 2018 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To explore the possible effects of recurrent otitis media (ROM) in early childhood on binaural processing and verbal memory in school-aged children., Methods: Two hundred eleven children, including 31 children with and 180 children without a history of ROM, were examined. A dichotic digit test (DDT) and a forward and backward digit memory span test (DMST) were administered., Results: A significant difference was observed between age groups among ROM-free children. The ROM-positive group earned significantly poorer results than the ROM-free group in all measurements, except for the right DDT (rDDT) score. Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between the DDT and EA scores with both DMST scores in the ROM-free group. The correlation between the rDDT and forward DMST scores was not significant in the ROM-positive group, and no significant correlation was observed between the EA score and either DMST score., Conclusions: Our findings support that a history of OM in early childhood based on a parental survey of children is associated with differences in DDT and DMST outcomes., (© The Author(s) 2016.)

Objective: Biological, structural, and acoustical constraints faced by cochlear implant (CI) users can alter the perception of music. Bimodal fitting not only provides bilateral hearing but can also improve auditory skills. This study was conducted to assess the impact of this amplification style on the emotional perception of music among children with hearing loss (HL)., Methods: Twenty-five children with congenital severe to profound HL and unilateral CIs, 20 children with bimodal fitting, and 30 children with normal hearing participated in this study. Their emotional perceptions of music were measured using a method where children indicated happy or sad feelings induced by music by pointing to pictures of faces showing these emotions., Results: Children with bimodal fitting obtained significantly higher mean scores than children with unilateral CIs for both happy and sad music items and in overall test scores (P < .001). Both groups with HL obtained significantly lower scores than children with normal hearing (P < .001)., Conclusions: Bimodal fitting results in a better emotional perception of music compared to unilateral CI. Given the influence of music in neurological and linguistic development and social interactions, it is important to evaluate the possible benefits of bimodal fitting prescriptions for individuals with unilateral CIs., (© The Author(s) 2015.)

Background: There have been a few reports about the effects of chronic stroke on auditory temporal processing abilities and no reports regarding the effects of brain damage lateralization on these abilities. Our study was performed on 2 groups of chronic stroke patients to compare the effects of hemispheric lateralization of brain damage and of age on auditory temporal processing., Methods: Seventy persons with normal hearing, including 25 normal controls, 25 stroke patients with damage to the right brain, and 20 stroke patients with damage to the left brain, without aphasia and with an age range of 31-71 years were studied. A gap-in-noise (GIN) test and a duration pattern test (DPT) were conducted for each participant., Results: Significant differences were found between the 3 groups for GIN threshold, overall GIN percent score, and DPT percent score in both ears (P ≤ .001). For all stroke patients, performance in both GIN and DPT was poorer in the ear contralateral to the damaged hemisphere, which was significant in DPT and in 2 measures of GIN (P ≤ .046). Advanced age had a negative relationship with temporal processing abilities for all 3 groups., Conclusions: In cases of confirmed left- or right-side stroke involving auditory cerebrum damage, poorer auditory temporal processing is associated with the ear contralateral to the damaged cerebral hemisphere. Replication of our results and the use of GIN and DPT tests for the early diagnosis of auditory processing deficits and for monitoring the effects of aural rehabilitation interventions are recommended., (Copyright © 2016 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Whereas growing evidence supports the advantages of bilingualism for brain structure and function, no study has shown multilingual-related neuroplasticity in response to speech stimuli at the subcortical level. To investigate the impact of multilingualism on subcortical auditory processing, the speech auditory evoked response (speech-ABR) was recorded on 35 young adults. The multilingual group completed the language experience and proficiency questionnaire (LEAP-Q). The results were that multilingual participants demonstrated evidence of enhanced neural timing processing, including a shorter wave D latency and the V-A duration, and a sharper V-A slope compared to the monolinguals in silence. In the noise condition, the speech-ABR measures degraded in most components, and no significant difference was observed between the two groups. The association between the total proficiency score and several subcortical responses was significant. This shows subcortical evidence of stronger neural synchronization in multilinguals relative to monolinguals, correlated with the self-report of multilingual experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chess is a game that involves many aspects of high level cognition such as memory, attention, focus and problem solving. Long term practice of chess can improve cognition performances and behavioral skills. Auditory memory, as a kind of memory, can be influenced by strengthening processes following long term chess playing like other behavioral skills because of common processing pathways in the brain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the auditory memory function of expert chess players using the Persian version of dichotic auditory-verbal memory test. Methods: The Persian version of dichotic auditory-verbal memory test was performed for 30 expert chess players aged 20-35 years and 30 non chess players who were matched by different conditions; the participants in both groups were randomly selected. The performance of the two groups was compared by independent samples t-test using SPSS version 21. Results: The mean score of dichotic auditory-verbal memory test between the two groups, expert chess players and non-chess players, revealed a significant difference (p= 0.001). The difference between the ears scores for expert chess players (p= 0.023) and non-chess players (p= 0.013) was significant. Gender had no effect on the test results. Conclusion: Auditory memory function in expert chess players was significantly better compared to non-chess players. It seems that increased auditory memory function is related to strengthening cognitive performances due to playing chess for a long time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Music exists in all cultures; many scientists are seeking to understand how music effects cognitive development such as comprehension, memory, and reading skills. More recently, a considerable number of neuroscience studies on music have been developed. This study aimed to investigate the effects of null and positive background music in comparison with silence on auditory-verbal memory performance. Methods: Forty young adults (male and female) with normal hearing, aged between 18 and 26, participated in this comparative-analysis study. An auditory and speech evaluation was conducted in order to investigate the effects of background music on working memory. Subsequently, the Rey auditory-verbal learning test was performed for three conditions: silence, positive, and null music. Results: The mean score of the Rey auditory-verbal learning test in silence condition was higher than the positive music condition (p=0.003) and the null music condition (p=0.01). The tests results did not reveal any gender differences. Conclusion: It seems that the presence of competitive music (positive and null music) and the orientation of auditory attention have negative effects on the performance of verbal working memory. It is possibly owing to the intervention of music with verbal information processing in the brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: According to previous studies, most of the speech recognition disorders in older adults are the results of deficits in audibility and auditory temporal resolution. In this paper, the effect of ageing on timecompressed speech and auditory temporal resolution by word recognition in continuous and interrupted noise was studied. Methods: A time-compressed speech test (TCST) was conducted on 30 young and 32 older adults with normal hearing thresholds. Lists of monosyllabic words were used at three time compression ratios. Auditory temporal resolution was determined by measuring the monosyllabic word recognition score (WRS), in the presence of continuous and interrupted noise, at three signal-to-noise ratios (S/Ns). Results: There was a significant difference in TCST scores at the three compression ratios within and between young and older adult groups (p< 0.001). Similar results were obtained in WRSs at the three S/Ns in the presence of interrupted and continuous noise (p< 0.001), and in the degree of auditory temporal resolution (p=0.007). A significant correlation was found between the level of test difficulty of TCST with WRSs in both young (r = 0.549, P=0.002) and older adults (r= 0.531, P=0.003). Conclusion: Our results showed that ageing remarkably affects the processing of fast speech stimuli and temporal resolving ability. These results are more supportive of the effect of ageing on speech perception than on loss of hearing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Preterm birth is a risk factor for a number of conditions that requires comprehensive examination. Our study was designed to investigate the impact of preterm birth on the processing of auditory stimuli and brain structures at the brainstem level at a preschool age. Materials and Methods: An auditory brainstem response (ABR) test was performed with low rates of stimuli in 60 children aged 4 to 6 years. Thirty subjects had been born following a very preterm labor or late-preterm labor and 30 control subjects had been born following a full-term labor. Results: Significant differences in the ABR test result were observed in terms of the inter-peak intervals of the I-III and III-V waves, and the absolute latency of the III wave (P<0.019). No significant differences were observed in the amplitude of the I or V waves. The choice of test ear examined had no effect on the results. Conclusion: Our results indicate an effect of preterm birth on ABRs and synchronization of auditory stimuli at preschool age, and suggest the need for further follow-up over the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Auditory memory plays an important role in developing language skills and learning. The aim of the present study was to assess auditory verbal memory and learning performance of 18-30 year old healthy adults using the Persian version of the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on seventy 18-30 year old healthy females with the mean age of 23.2 years and a standard deviation (SD) of 2.4 years. Different aspects of memory, like immediate recall, delayed recall, recognition, forgetting rate, interference and learning, were assessed using the Persian version of RAVLT. Results: Mean score increased from 8.94 (SD=1.91) on the first trial to 13.70 (SD=1.18) on the fifth trial. Total learning mean score was 12.19 (SD=1.08), and mean learning rate was 4.76. Mean scores of the participants on the delayed recall and recognition trials were 13.47 (SD=1.2), and 14.72 (SD=0.53), respectively. The proactive and retroactive interference scores were 0.86 and 0.96, respectively. The forgetting rate score was 1.01 and the retrieval score was 0.90. Conclusion: The auditory-verbal memory and learning performance of healthy Persian-speaking females was similar to the performance of the same population in other countries. Therefore, the Persian version of RAVLT is valid for assessment of memory function in the Persian-speaking female population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]