Auditory Perceptual Abilities Research Articles

Specific Auditory Training for Children with Dyslexia and Central Auditory Processing Disorder can Improve Spelling Performance

Background: In this study, the question of whether auditory training for children with a reading and spelling disorder and a central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) can improve spelling performance is investigated. The training apparatus was the Audiva Company‘s DichoTrainer. Method: Dichotic discrimination, auditory/kinaesthetic perception and behavioral strengths and peculiarities as well as spelling ability and intelligence were assessed in 36 dyslexic children from years 2 to 4 of primary school with a central auditory processing disorder (CAPD). Subsequently, the children were divided into an auditory training group, a group with a computer-based drill-and-practice spelling PC program (LernReha) and a control group. After a 12-week training period (20 minutes per day), statistically significant improvements in performance were noted. Results: It was shown that improvements in spelling could be documented within the Dicho-Trainer group. A tendency in favor of the auditory training group could be detected in comparison to the spelling training group. As the implementation of the control group was not felicitous, no final conclusion regarding different spelling abilities after training period between Dicho-Trainer group and control-group can be drawn. Conclusions: The results support the assumption that auditory perception ability has an effect on written language. In the group of children experiencing difficulties with auditory perception, not alone can auditory training improve perception, but as a consequence, it can also improve spelling ability.

Auditory sensitivity, speech perception, L1 Chinese, and L2 English reading abilities in Hong Kong Chinese children.

A 4-stage developmental model, in which auditory sensitivity is fully mediated by speech perception at both the segmental and suprasegmental levels, which are further related to word reading through their associations with phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, verbal short-term memory and morphological awareness, was tested with concurrently collected data on 153 2nd- and 3rd-grade Hong Kong Chinese children. Nested model comparisons were conducted to test this model separately against alternatives in relation to both Chinese and English word reading using structural equation modeling. For Chinese word reading, the proposed 4-stage model was demonstrated to be the best model. Auditory sensitivity was associated with speech perception, which was related to Chinese word reading mainly through its relations to morphological awareness and rapid automatized naming. In contrast, for English word reading, the best model required an additional direct path from suprasegmental sensitivity (in Chinese) to English word reading. That is, in addition to phonological awareness, Chinese speech prosody was also directly associated with English word recognition.

The effect of tinnitus on some psychoacoustical abilities in individuals with normal hearing sensitivity.

Tinnitus is the perception of a sound without an external source. It can affect auditory perception abilities in individuals with normal hearing sensitivity. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of tinnitus on psychoacoustic abilities in individuals with normal hearing sensitivity. The study was conducted on twenty subjects with tinnitus and twenty subjects without tinnitus. Tinnitus group was again divided into mild and moderate tinnitus based on the tinnitus handicap inventory. Differential limen of intensity, differential limen of frequency, gap detection test, modulation detection thresholds were done through the mlp toolbox in Matlab and speech in noise test was done with the help of Quick SIN in Kannada. RESULTS of the study showed that the clinical group performed poorly in all the tests except for differential limen of intensity. Tinnitus affects aspects of auditory perception like temporal resolution, speech perception in noise and frequency discrimination in individuals with normal hearing. This could be due to subtle changes in the central auditory system which is not reflected in the pure tone audiogram.

Auditory-perceptual learning improves speech motor adaptation in children.

Auditory feedback plays an important role in children's speech development by providing the child with information about speech outcomes that is used to learn and fine-tune speech motor plans. The use of auditory feedback in speech motor learning has been extensively studied in adults by examining oral motor responses to manipulations of auditory feedback during speech production. Children are also capable of adapting speech motor patterns to perceived changes in auditory feedback; however, it is not known whether their capacity for motor learning is limited by immature auditory-perceptual abilities. Here, the link between speech perceptual ability and the capacity for motor learning was explored in two groups of 5- to 7-year-old children who underwent a period of auditory perceptual training followed by tests of speech motor adaptation to altered auditory feedback. One group received perceptual training on a speech acoustic property relevant to the motor task while a control group received perceptual training on an irrelevant speech contrast. Learned perceptual improvements led to an enhancement in speech motor adaptation (proportional to the perceptual change) only for the experimental group. The results indicate that children's ability to perceive relevant speech acoustic properties has a direct influence on their capacity for sensory-based speech motor adaptation.

Evaluation of cortical processing of language by use of positron emission tomography in hearing loss children with congenital cytomegalovirus infection

ObjectiveTo predict cochlear implant efficacy and investigate the cortical processing of the visual component of language in profoundly deafened patients with asymptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. Methods and casesThe cortical activity of two children with CMV-related hearing loss was evaluated with fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) with a visual language task before cochlear implantation. Total development and auditory perception ability were assessed one year after implantation. ResultsThe two children with CMV-related hearing loss showed activation in the auditory association area where no activation was found in the controls, and exhibited nearly identical cortical activation patterns to those seen in patients with profound congenital hearing loss. In contrast, differences in total development in verbal ability and discrimination of sentences between the two cases were revealed one year after implantation. ConclusionThese results might indicate that the differences of cortical activities according to hearing abilities could have been influenced by CMV infection that involves higher function of the brain directly and/or affects the cochlea peripherally. Additionally, if CMV infection might have affected only the cochlea, these cortical activation patterns were influenced secondary by the time course of hearing loss characterized by CMV infection, which had varied manifestations.Accurate diagnosis and cochlear implantation at the appropriate time are important for successful speech development, and each patient needs a personalized habilitation program based on their etiology and brain function.

Auditory perceptual performance of children in the identification of contrasts between stressed vowels

Purpose: To assess the auditory perceptual performance of children in a task of identification of vowel contrasts, to classify which phonemes and vowel contrasts provide higher or lower degrees of difficulty, and to verify the influence of age in this performance. Methods: Data recordings of auditory perceptual performance of 66 children in a task of identification using the software Perception Evaluation Auditive & Visuelle (PERCEVAL) were selected from a database. The task consisted of presenting sound stimuli through headphones to children, who would then choose, from two pictures arranged on the computer screen, the one corresponding to the word they heard. The time between auditory inputs and the child's reaction was automatically computed in the software. Results: The perceptual accuracy was 88% and we found a positive correlation with the variable age. The time of response was significantly longer for incorrect answers as opposed to correct answers (p=0.00). Different degrees of similarity in auditory perception were observed, where front vowels were similar more often than back vowels. The tendency for errors was prevalent in the range of non-peripheral to peripheral vowels, which suggests that the latter may serve as a reference or perceptual anchor. Conclusion: The auditory perceptual ability concerning the identification of vowel contrasts is not yet established in the age group studied. The auditory perception of vowel contrasts occurs gradually and asymmetrically, as the order of acquisition in terms of production and perception was not always the same.

The effect of intensive auditory training on auditory skills and on speech intelligibility of prelingual cochlear implanted adolescents and adults

The aim of the studyTo study the effect of intensive auditory training using the modified version of the Arabic rehabilitation program for adults on both the auditory skills and the degree of speech intelligibility. Materials and methodsThe study was conducted on 30 patients who were divided into two groups according to intensiveness of the auditory training. Each group included 15 patients (10 males and 5 females). Both groups received the usual therapy program provided for cochlear implanted patients. Group (I) received an additional therapy other than the usual form. Minimal Auditory Capabilities Test (MAC Test) was used to assess auditory perception abilities and Speech Intelligibility Rating Scale (SIR) was used to assess speech production skills before implantation and at 3, 6, 12, 18months post-operatively. ResultsA significant difference was found when comparing the two groups in spondee discrimination during the post-operative assessment periods, of 3, 6, 12, and 18months with P value <0.05.A highly significant difference was found for spondee recognition, sentence identification and high context sentence recognition at the 18month assessment with P value <0.01. A significant mean difference with P value <0.05 for speech intelligibility scores at 18months post implantation was found between the two groups. ConclusionThe effectiveness of the modified form of the Arabic Adult rehabilitation was revealed in this study. Using more intensive auditory rehabilitation may result in a better improvement in auditory abilities and speech intelligibility of the prelingually deafened adult cochlear implanted population.

Psychoacoustic abilities as predictors of vocal emotion recognition

Prosodic attributes of speech, such as intonation, influence our ability to recognize, comprehend, and produce affect, as well as semantic and pragmatic meaning, in vocal utterances. The present study examines associations between auditory perceptual abilities and the perception of prosody, both pragmatic and affective. This association has not been previously examined. Ninety-seven participants (49 female and 48 male participants) with normal hearing thresholds took part in two experiments, involving both prosody recognition and psychoacoustic tasks. The prosody recognition tasks included a vocal emotion recognition task and a focus perception task requiring recognition of an accented word in a spoken sentence. The psychoacoustic tasks included a task requiring pitch discrimination and three tasks also requiring pitch direction (i.e., high/low, rising/falling, changing/steady pitch). Results demonstrate that psychoacoustic thresholds can predict 31% and 38% of affective and pragmatic prosody recognition scores, respectively. Psychoacoustic tasks requiring pitch direction recognition were the only significant predictors of prosody recognition scores. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying prosody recognition and may have an impact on the assessment and rehabilitation of individuals suffering from deficient prosodic perception.

Environmental Sounds Recognition in Children with Cochlear Implants

The aims of this study were (1) to document the recognition performance of environmental sounds (ESs) in Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants (CIs) and to analyze the possible associated factors with the ESs recognition; (2) to examine the relationship between perception of ESs and receptive vocabulary level; and (3) to explore the acoustic factors relevant to perceptual outcomes of daily ESs in pediatric CI users. Forty-seven prelingually deafened children between ages 4 to 10 years participated in this study. They were divided into pre-school (group A: age 4–6) and school-age (group B: age 7 to 10) groups. Sound Effects Recognition Test (SERT) and the Chinese version of the revised Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-R) were used to assess the auditory perception ability. The average correct percentage of SERT was 61.2% in the preschool group and 72.3% in the older group. There was no significant difference between the two groups. The ESs recognition performance of children with CIs was poorer than that of their hearing peers (90% in average). No correlation existed between ESs recognition and receptive vocabulary comprehension. Two predictive factors: pre-implantation residual hearing and duration of CI usage were found to be associated with recognition performance of daily-encountered ESs. Acoustically, sounds with distinct temporal patterning were easier to identify for children with CIs. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that ESs recognition is not easy for children with CIs and a low correlation existed between linguistic sounds and ESs recognition in these subjects. Recognition ability of ESs in children with CIs can only be achieved by natural exposure to daily-encountered auditory stimuli if sounds other than speech stimuli were less emphasized in routine verbal/oral habilitation program. Therefore, task-specific measures other than speech materials can be helpful to capture the full profile of auditory perceptual progress after implantation.

Performance after timely cochlear implantation in prelingually deaf children with cerebral palsy

ObjectivesTo investigate auditory perception, speech production, and language ability of prelingually deaf toddlers with cerebral palsy (CP) who were implanted within a sensitive period and who received proper speech therapy. Comparison of their outcomes with age- and sex-matched CI recipients without additional disabilities was also performed. MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed a cohort of pediatric CI in Samsung Medical Center. Eight CP subjects who received CI before 3 years of age and age–sex matched control recipients who had no additional disabilities except idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) were included for the analysis. Preoperative evaluation included the Categories of Auditory Performance (CAP) score, Korean Version of the Ling's Stage (K-Ling), Sequenced Language Scale for Infants (SELSI), Bailey Scales of Infant Development II assessment, Social Maturity Scale test, and grading of CP severity using severity level and Gross Motor Function Classification System for CP (GMFCS). To measure the outcome, the CAP scores, K-Ling, and SELSI were performed at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after implantation. ResultsFour CP children with outstanding performances showed comparable achievement with matched control recipients. These patients had less severe motor disabilities (mild–moderate severity, GMFCS level 1–3), better social quotient, and better cognitive abilities. Although the others showed poor language abilities and hardly produced meaningful speech, their CAP scores reached 1 or 2 in 24 months after implantation. ConclusionsDeaf children with CP could have various ranges of benefits up to the levels of normal peers whose only disability was hearing loss, when CI was performed within a critical period. Especially, children with mild or moderate CP had a favorable outcome after CI, equivalent to that of normal peers.

Auditory and Speech Performance in Deaf Children With Deaf Parents After Cochlear Implant

To evaluate the auditory and speech outcome in deaf children with deaf parents (CDP) after cochlear implantation (CI), emphasizing both the presence of additional caregiver and patients' main communication mode. Retrospective case review. Cochlear implant center at a tertiary referral hospital. Fourteen CDP and 14 age- and sex-matched deaf children with normal-hearing parents (CNH). The Korean version of Ling's stage (K-Ling) and Category of Auditory Perception (CAP) were administered to the children to assess the speech production and auditory perception abilities, preoperatively and 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after CI. To elucidate the effects of the additional caregiver and main communication mode of the implanted child, the patients were divided into the following groups: with additional caregiver(s) who have normal hearing (n = 11) versus without additional caregiver (n = 3); sign language plus oral communication (S+O) group (n = 9) versus oral communication only (O) group (n = 5). CAP scores and K-Ling stages improved remarkably in both CDP and CNH, and no significant differences were found between the 2 groups. Within the CDP group, CAP scores and K-Ling stages improved significantly in CDP with an additional caregiver than those without. Auditory perception and speech production performances in the S+O group were similar to those in the O group. CDP can develop similarly to CNH in auditory perception and speech production, if an additional caregiver with normal hearing provides sufficient support and speech input. In addition, using sign language in addition to oral language might not be harmful, and these children can be a communication bridge between their deaf parents and society.

音響テレプレゼンスロボットの聴覚実験における有用性

“Embodiment” plays a critical role in robots' learning, human-robot interaction, and understanding of environment for robots. The concept is also important for the research of robot audition and human auditory perception. We devised an acoustical telepresence robot, “TeleHead” that has a user-like dummy head and can be synchronized with user's head movement. We performed several psychophysical experiments to assess sound localization, delay discrimination, and auditory perceptual grouping ability in humans. The errors of the sound localization via TeleHead were less than 10[deg]. Head posture change during the discriminable delay time ranged from 10[deg] to 17[deg]. The performance of auditory perceptual grouping did not differ between conditions with and without TeleHead. In addition, we used TeleHead to divide head movement effects on perception into three factors: self-movement, sound source movement, and acoustical change. The results indicate that TeleHead can mirror the 3D motion of users with minimal latency and distortion, suggesting that it is a useful tool for measurements of human auditory perception.

The Cognitive-Enhancing Effects of Bacopa monnieri: A Systematic Review of Randomized, Controlled Human Clinical Trials

Traditional knowledge suggests that Bacopa monnieri enhances cognitive performance. Such traditional beliefs have now been scientifically tested through a handful of randomized, controlled human clinical trials. The current systematic review aimed to examine the scientific evidence as to whether Bacopa can enhance cognitive performance in humans. A systematic review of randomized controlled trials is presented. Multiple databases were systematically searched by multiple authors. Relevant trials were objectively assessed for methodological quality. The subjects studied were adult humans without dementia or significant cognitive impairment. B. monnieri, including Bacopa extracts, were administered over long-term supplementation periods. Any validated cognitive test, whether a primary or secondary outcome. Six (6) studies met the final inclusion criteria and were included in review. Trials were all conducted over 12 weeks. Across trials, three different Bacopa extracts were used at dosages of 300-450 mg extract per day. All reviewed trials examined the effects of Bacopa on memory, while other cognitive domains were less well studied. There were no cognitive tests in the areas of auditory perceptual abilities or idea production and only a paucity of research in the domains of reasoning, number facility, and language behavior. Across studies, Bacopa improved performance on 9 of 17 tests in the domain of memory free recall. There was little evidence of enhancement in any other cognitive domains. There is some evidence to suggest that Bacopa improves memory free recall with evidence for enhancement in other cognitive abilities currently lacking perhaps due to inconsistent measures employed by studies across these cognitive domains. Research into the nootropic effects of Bacopa is in its infancy, with research still yet to investigate the effects of Bacopa across all human cognitive abilities. Similarly, future research should examine the nootropic effects of Bacopa at varied dosages and across different extracts.

Desempenho perceptivo-auditivo de crianças na identificação de contrastes fonológicos entre as oclusivas

To verify children's auditory-perceptual performance regarding the identification of contrasts among stop; to identify which phonemes and contrasts provide greater or lesser perceptual difficulty; and to verify age-related influence in auditory-perceptual accuracy. Information regarding the auditory-perceptual performance of 59 children (30 male and 29 female) in a task of identification of occlusive consonants in Brazilian Portuguese were selected from a database. The task consisted on the presentation of acoustic stimuli by headphones, and the choice of the picture corresponding to the word presented between two pictures displayed on the computer screen. The time of stimulus presentation and the reaction time were automatically computed by the PERCEVAL software. It was found an 85% auditory-perceptual accuracy and a positive correlation with age. The reaction time for errors was significantly higher than the reaction time for correct responses. According to the confusion matrix, perceptual difficulty of contrasts varied: voicing cues are more salient than articulation cues. For the variable place of articulation of occlusive consonants, it was observed an auditory-perceptual asymmetry, in which the phonetic distance plays a key role in perceptual salience. The auditory-perceptual ability regarding the identification of stop contrasts is still not stabilized in the age range studied. The auditory-perceptual mastery of occlusive contrasts occurs gradually and, within this class, there seems to be a hierarchy in mastery.

Age-related dissociation of sensory and decision-based auditory motion processing

Studies on the maturation of auditory motion processing in children have yielded inconsistent reports. The present study combines subjective and objective measurements to investigate how the auditory perceptual abilities of children change during development and whether these changes are paralleled by changes in the event-related brain potential (ERP). We employed the mismatch negativity (MMN) to determine maturational changes in the discrimination of interaural time differences (ITDs) that generate lateralized moving auditory percepts. MMNs were elicited in children, teenagers, and adults, using a small and a large ITD at stimulus offset with respect to each subject's discrimination threshold. In adults and teenagers large deviants elicited prominent MMNs, whereas small deviants at the behavioral threshold elicited only a marginal or no MMN. In contrast, pronounced MMNs for both deviant sizes were found in children. Behaviorally, however, most of the children showed higher discrimination thresholds than teens and adults. Although automatic ITD detection is functional, active discrimination is still limited in children. The lack of MMN deviance dependency in children suggests that unlike in teenagers and adults, neural signatures of automatic auditory motion processing do not mirror discrimination abilities. The study critically accounts for advanced understanding of children's central auditory development.

Right temporal TMS impairs voice detection

Summary Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research has revealed bilateral cortical regions along the upper banks of the superior temporal sulci (STS) which respond preferentially to voices compared to non-vocal, environmental sounds [1,2]. This sensitivity is particularly pronounced in the right hemisphere. Voice perception models imply that these regions, referred to as the temporal voice areas (TVAs), could correspond to a first stage of voice-specific processing in auditory cortex [3,4], after which different types of vocal information are processed in interacting but partially independent functional pathways. However, clear causal evidence for this claim is missing. Here we provide the first direct link between TVA activity and voice detection ability using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Voice/non-voice discrimination ability was impaired when rTMS was targeted at the right TVA compared with a control site. In contrast, a lower-level loudness judgement task was not differentially affected by site of stimulation. Results imply that neuronal computations in the right TVA are necessary for the distinction between human voices and other, non-vocal sounds.

Assessing Listening Skills in Children with Cochlear Implants: Guidance for Speech-Language Pathologists

Assessing Listening Skills in Children with Cochlear Implants: Guidance for Speech-Language Pathologists

Development of auditory‐specific brain rhythm in infants

Human infants rapidly develop their auditory perceptual abilities and acquire culture-specific knowledge in speech and music in the second 6 months of life. In the adult brain, neural rhythm around 10 Hz in the temporal lobes is thought to reflect sound analysis and subsequent cognitive processes such as memory and attention. To study when and how such rhythm emerges in infancy, we examined electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings in infants 4 and 12 months of age during sound stimulation and silence. In the 4-month-olds, the amplitudes of narrowly tuned 4-Hz brain rhythm, recorded from bilateral temporal electrodes, were modulated by sound stimuli. In the 12-month-olds, the sound-induced modulation occurred at faster 6-Hz rhythm at temporofrontal locations. The brain rhythms in the older infants consisted of more complex components, as even evident in individual data. These findings suggest that auditory-specific rhythmic neural activity, which is already established before 6 months of age, involves more speed-efficient long-range neural networks by the age of 12 months when long-term memory for native phoneme representation and for musical rhythmic features is formed. We suggest that maturation of distinct rhythmic components occurs in parallel, and that sensory-specific functions bound to particular thalamo-cortical networks are transferred to newly developed higher-order networks step by step until adult hierarchical neural oscillatory mechanisms are achieved across the whole brain.

Cochlear Implantation in Children with Congenital X-Linked Deafness Due to Novel Mutations in POU3F4 Gene

We report novel mutations in the POU3F4 gene resulting in congenital X-linked deafness DFN3, and describe the results of cochlear implantation in 4 boys (3 siblings) followed for an average of 3.5 years. The diagnosis of DFN3 was made in infant boys on the basis of the radiologic criteria of an underdeveloped modiolus, a wide cochlear fossette, and the presence of all cochlear turns. The POU3F4 gene was sequenced. A standard, transmastoid, facial recess approach was used for cochlear implantation. A lumbar drain was placed before the operation. The identified mutations in the POU3F4 gene were novel (p.R167X in the 3 siblings) or recently reported (p.S310del). A high-flow cerebrospinal fluid leak through the cochleostomy was encountered in each patient and was ultimately controlled. Although the implants functioned properly, the auditory perceptual abilities did not progress past sound detection in the 3 siblings, or past closed-set word identification in the non-sibling, who achieved better speech perception with contralateral amplification. Three boys (2 siblings) show signs of other learning disorders; 1 boy was too young for a complete assessment. Preoperative gene mutation analysis in DFN3 patients who are considering cochlear implantation may help in long-term counseling and in avoidance of postoperative complications. Limited auditory perception and language acquisition may result. Amplification may sometimes be a better alternative than cochlear implantation, despite the severity of the hearing loss.

Cochlear implantation in Waardenburg syndrome: The Indian scenario

Conclusion: Children with Waardenburg syndrome (WS) exhibiting normal inner ear anatomy, like those included in our cohort, derive significant benefit from cochlear implantation and results are comparable to those reported for the general population of implanted children. Objectives: The patient population of WS accounts for approximately 2% of congenitally deaf children. The purpose of this retrospective case review was to describe the outcomes for those children with WS who have undergone cochlear implantation. Methods: On retrospective chart review, there were four cases with WS who underwent cochlear implantation. These cases were assessed for age at implantation, clinical and radiological features, operative and perioperative course, and performance outcomes. Auditory perception and speech production ability were evaluated using categories of auditory performance (CAP), meaningful auditory integration scales (MAIS), and speech intelligibility rating (SIR) during the follow-up period. Results: In this group of children with WS, with a minimum follow-up of 12 months, the CAP score ranged from 3 to 5, MAIS from 25 to 30, and SIR was 3. These scores are comparable with those of other cochlear implantees.