Language Processing in Toddlers with Permanent Congenital Sensorineural Hearing Impairment: A Preliminary Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Study

Prasanna Karunanayaka

doi:10.34297/ajbsr.2020.10.001471

Abstract

Language Processing in Toddlers with Permanent Congenital Sensorineural Hearing Impairment: A Preliminary Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Study

Highlights

Undetected hearing loss in infants is known to adversely affect early speech and language acquisition-directly affecting later academic achievement, including social and emotional development in children
Differences in Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) effects are exacerbated when sedatives are taken into account [28]; deciphering BOLD signal behavior in infant brains presents a challenging problem that may very well determine the future clinical applicability of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in infants [29]
Future research in our lab will investigate whether pre-implant fMRI activation can be used to predict language outcome measures in hearing impairment (HI) infants following cochlear implantation [4]. This preliminary report demonstrates the feasibility of fMRI for the assessment of auditory cortical function in severe to profound HI infants under sedation

Summary

Introduction

Undetected hearing loss in infants is known to adversely affect early speech and language acquisition-directly affecting later academic achievement, including social and emotional development in children. Detection of sensorineural hearing impairment (HI) in children can minimize these negative outcomes through enrollment in targeted intervention programs [1]. As suggested by Niparko et al, the timing of implantation must be a function of the level of hearing loss and the associated delays in spoken language ability [4]. They reported that greater rates of improvement in language comprehension and expression are significantly correlated with both age and residual hearing at implantation. The use of cochlear implants in young children has resulted in better spoken language abilities than would be predicted from pre-implantation scores [4]

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Discussion

Conclusion