Audio‐visual speech perception is associated with cerebral tau deposition on [18F]flortaucipir PET

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundSensory impairments are associated with dementia and biomarkers of pathology. In a preliminary study, we evaluated whether audio‐visual speech perception, which involves integration of complementary phonetic information from two sensory modalities (vision and hearing), is associated with AD neuropathology on imaging.Method14 individuals (2 cognitive normal (CN), 7 subjective cognitive decline (SCD), 4 MCI, and 1 AD) from the Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center and Indiana Memory and Aging Study underwent auditory testing, MRI, amyloid PET with [18F]florbetaben, and tau PET with [18F]flortaucipir. The audiologic testing included a brief pure‐tone hearing screen, followed by CUNY Sentences [1], among other tests. CUNY Sentences are presented using auditory input only (Auditory condition (A)) or using both auditory and visual input (AV using video with sound of an individual saying sentences). Words and sentences correct are scored, as is the difference between word and sentence scores (ΔWdtoSent). Amyloid and tau PET were processed using standard techniques. Mean SUVR from the cortex (amyloid and tau) and lateral temporal lobe (LTL; tau) were extracted. MRI was processed with Freesurfer v6 to extract LTL thickness. Because the CUNY scores were skewed, Spearman correlations were used to assess relations of sentence scores and ΔWdtoSent for both the A and AV conditions with neuroimaging measures of AD pathology (cortical amyloid, LTL and cortical tau, and LTL thickness). Inclusion of age, sex, and ICV where appropriate did not alter the observed results.ResultsSignificant associations between AV speech perception for sentences and AV ΔWdtoSent and tau deposition in the LTL and cortex were observed (Figure 1). These results remained significant after the AD participant was removed. Only trend associations were observed for the A condition, which were less robust than in the AV condition. Finally, a trend for a significant association with LTL thickness was observed. No association with amyloid was observed.ConclusionIntegration of phonetic information from two sensory modalities (vision and hearing) may be a potential a biomarker for tau pathology in patients at risk for AD. Future studies with larger samples and longitudinal follow‐up are needed. Reference: [1] Boothroyd et al. (1988) Ear and Hearing.