1,720,989 research outputs found
Restoration of auditory network after Cochlear Implant: A P300 and EEG study using LORETA (Low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography)
Full text linkThe proper functioning of the auditory processing needs an integration of many types of information, and a synchronised action between auditory cortex and other cortical and subcortical centres. The normal development of connectivity between the auditory system and the higher neurocognitive functions depends on sensory experience, and congenital hearing loss makes it essentially impossible.
The aim of this work was to perform an electrophysiological analysis of auditory cortical areas in patients with cochlear implant (CI).
Thirty implanted patients were included in the study. Twenty-four of them were prelingual patients and they were divided into three groups, according to the age at time of CI surgery and to the duration of CI use: group A - early implant and lengthy CI use, group B - late implant and lengthy CI use, group C - late implant and short CI use. The remaining six patients were affected by postlingual deafness, and they were included in the group D. Each patient group was compared with a normal hearing age matched control group. Each subject underwent an Event-related potentials (ERPs) evaluation and electroencephalographic registration. All data analysis were performed by using Loreta software (Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography).
ERPs latencies were for the most part significantly longer in patients than in controls. Concerning the Event-related cortical activity, all the control groups showed a high and well-defined activation in frontals areas and the cingulate cortex, in the N200 and P300 time windows. A comparable activation in strength and timing, between patients and controls, was only found in the first prelingual patient group (A), and to a lesser extent in the second group (B), while patients belonging to the third prelingual group (C) showed a very low cortical activation, with no cyclic pattern. Postlingual patients (D) showed no difference in activation compared to controls.
ln a second step of the study, functional connectivity was analysed from EEG data, in two different conditions: resting state and activation state. Default mode network, left and right Precuneus and associative visual cortex were examined. No difference between prelingual patients and controls was found in the first group (A). Functional connectivity showed a significant increase in the second (B) and third (C) prelingual patient group, especially in the activation state, and specifically between visual areas and Precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex, while postlingual patients (D) showed no difference compared to controls.
Cochlear implant adds a new auditory modality in prelingual patients, allowing the creation of a functional network. This involves the areas implicated in sensory and cognitive modalities, and needs some time to form. The duration of CI use is crucial: prolonged CI use, in addiction to an early time of implant, can restore auditory network, allowing a normalization process, from both an audiological and a neurophysiological point of view. However, in the case of patients with postlingual hearing loss, cochlear implant seems to restore and reinforce a cortical network that has already been formed, before the onset of the hearing impairment
The effect of unintelligible speech noise on children’s verbal working memory performance
Full text link
The Impact of Age and Duration of Cochlear Implant in a Congenital Deaf Population: An ERP Study
Full text linkObjective: It is well known that patients with Cochlear Implant (CI) have a large inter-individual
variability in linguistic and auditory performances. This can be related to individual auditory
processing abilities and integrity of auditory system from auditory nerve to cerebral cortex. P300
can be used for the evaluation of central auditory functions in people with hearing loss and CI. No
studies considered the P300 in the population of prelingually deafened adults that underwent CI
in old age. The aim of this study is to assess Event Related Potential (ERP) in patients with congenital
profound hearing loss with early or late implantation and evaluate these results respect to an
age-matched normal hearing group. Methods: ERPs (N100, N200 and P300) and auditory benefit
testing (pure tone average and speech audiometric test) and auditory perception testing (Categories
of Auditory Performance—CAP) were evaluated in all subjects with their device. Results: All
mean latencies (N100, N200 and P300) were found greater in patients group compared to control
group. When analyzing all measures in patient group, we did not find any significant differences
according to age of implant while significant difference (p > 0.05) in N100 amplitude (p = 0.045)
and P300 latency (p = 0.035) were found according to time of CI use. A linear correlation between
N200 and P300 latency in control and patients groups was found. Conclusion: In summary, ERPs
analysis in the evaluation of CI showed a great importance of long use of the device in addiction to
an early time of implant
Unilateral peripheral facial paralysis following vestibular schwannoma surgical removal
No full textIntroduction: Unilateral peripheral facial palsy after vestibular neuroma surgery may cause miming, articulatory, communication and swallowing disorders, especially with liquids. The therapy ranges from no intervention to intensive treatment directly following onset or after a resting period of several months, when the nerve shows signs of recovery. Methods: The study is divided in two sequential steps. Patients involved in the first phase can volunteer for the second phase. In the first phase the perceived impairment was measured through a self-assessment questionnaire, the ‘Facial Disability Index’ (FDI). Other five questions were added to the FDI to better understand the perceived impairment of oral functions. In this second phase of the study, three clinical follow-ups were conducted by two Speech and Language Therapists during a 3-months period. During each session the Sunnybrook Facial Grading System (SFGS) Scale was used to assess the severity of facial palsy in terms of facial asymmetry at rest or in motion and presence of synkinesis. Each evaluation was recorded on videotape and scored. Moreover, patients were monitored and observed during the ingestion of solid and liquid foods to detect difficulties and compensatory behaviours. Results: The median values and interquartile ranges for Physical, Social and Oral functioning scales of the FDI questionnaire were 48 [40–52], 76 [72–80], 52 [32–56] respectively. The Physical scale seemed to be the most impaired, the Oral functioning is the one with the lower scores. Four patients of the first phase entered the second one. During the follow-ups, they all showed a reduction of the perceived impairment although there was no significant physical recovery, as the SFGS remain stable. Discussion: The study supports the importance of the FDI, as a disease-specific, self-report functional status instrument. The follow-ups seem to confirm that the severity of dysphagia and swallowing disorder does not correlate with the severity of the facial palsy. The present study suggests adding patient’s education to the first rehabilitation goals, to allow the patient to have a better understanding of his/her oral functioning, that is altered after surgery
Effetti del rumore sulle prestazioni cognitive dei bambini della scuola primaria = Effects of noise on the cognitive performance of primary school children
No full textClassroom acoustic environments often fail to meet standards, and noisy environments can not only affect children’s listening abilities but also lead to a decline in cognitive performance. This study examines how background noise infl uences primary school children’s cognitive processes. Children from two primary schools underwent testing in their classroom environments under both quiet and noisy conditions, with students performing neuropsychological tests to assess executive functions and learning tasks. Preliminary findings only partially support the hypothesis that noise negatively impacts cognitive performance. Noise was found to adversely affect children’s performance on attention tasks in the first school, whereas in the second school, children performed better in noise on both attention and inhibition tasks, as well as on a writing task. Unlike the fi rst school, the second school had a reverberation time that did not meet regulatory standards. These initial findings suggest interesting hypotheses and directions for future research. However, they also reveal some weaknesses in the experimental protocol that need to be addressed to further investigate the emerging hypotheses.----Gli ambienti acustici delle aule scolastiche spesso non rispettano le gli standard normativi. Ambienti rumorosi possono non solo influenzare negativamente le abilità percettive dei bambini, ma anche avere un effetto negativo sulle loro prestazioni cognitive. Questo studio presenta risultati preliminari su come il rumore di fondo possa influenzare i processi cognitivi e di apprendimento dei bambini di scuola primaria. I bambini di due scuole primarie sono stati testati in aula e in due diverse condizioni acustiche: quiete e rumore. L'app CoEN (Cognitive Effort in Noise) è stata sviluppata e utilizzata per valutare lo sforzo cognitivo dei bambini mediante test neuropsicologici standardizzati e ai bambini è stato chiesto di svolgere anche una prova di comprensione del testo e una prova di scrittura. Le prestazioni sono state correlate anche con misure ambientali acustiche e con un questionario di autovalutazione dello sforzo cognitivo percepito. I risultati preliminari supportano solo parzialmente l'ipotesi che il rumore influenzi negativamente le prestazioni cognitive. Nella prima scuola il rumore ha avuto un impatto negativo sulle prestazioni dei bambini nei compiti di attenzione, nella seconda scuola al contrario i bambini hanno ottenuto risultati migliori nel rumore sia nelle prove di attenzione e inibizione, sia nel compito di scrittura. A differenza della prima scuola, la seconda scuola aveva un tempo di riverbero che non rispettava gli standard normativi. Questi risultati iniziali suggeriscono interessanti ipotesi e direzioni per futuri studi. Allo stesso tempo, rivelano alcune debolezze nel protocollo sperimentale che dovranno essere risolte al fine di trovare nuove evidenze e approfondire ulteriormente le domande di ricerca
Students’ Cognitive Performance in Different Acoustic Conditions at Different Educational Stages
No full textThe quality of the acoustic environment is crucial for facilitating learning, as students primarily learn through listening to teachers and peers. Environmental noise, especially in educational settings like schools, poses a significant concern. Prolonged exposure to noise during critical learning periods can hinder development and have lasting effects on educational achievement. Poor acoustic quality leads to greater cognitive effort, making it harder to process and retain information, thus impacting perception negatively. However, the precise impact of noise on skills beyond listening requires further investigation.
This study aims to deepen understanding of how noise exposure affects students’ cognitive processes across different educational stages. Primary school children and university students underwent neuropsychological exercises testing working memory, attention, inhibition, and problem-solving skills. They were tested in both quiet and noisy conditions. Quiet conditions simulated typical background noise during individual tasks, while noise conditions included babble noise with additional transient events. Physical and noise parameters were measured during the tests, and a questionnaire on perceived cognitive effort was administered. Results indicate that noise has a positive impact on attention and inhibition in children while it has no clear effect on the cognitive functions of the young adults
On the effect of indoor acoustic conditions in performing cognitive tests in primary school
Full text linkThe quality of the acoustic environment is essential to foster learning as students learn by listening to the teacher. Prolonged exposure to noise during critical learning periods at school can impair development and have a lifelong effect on academic achievement. This is why the problem of noise is of concern in learning environments such as schools. Poor acoustic quality leads to increased cognitive effort that is associated with greater difficulty in processing and remembering information in the short and long term.
Preliminary results from the administration of neuropsychological tests under quiet and noise conditions only partially supported the hypothesis that noise negatively impacts children's cognitive performance. In fact, only in one of the two monitored schools the children's performance was affected by the presence of noise during the execution of the tests. In this paper, new results obtained from the correlation between the acoustic parameters and the children’s responses to the cognitive performance are presented to confirm the validity of the hypotheses
A Modern Case Sheds Light on a Classical Enigma: Beethoven's Deafness
No full textTwo hundred and fifty years have passed since the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven, and the enigma about his hearing loss and overall health status seems to be not completely solved. However, the admission to the hospital of a 64-year-old woman in 2018 with symptoms extremely similar to those experienced by the great composer may add further evidence to a theory previously underestimated. The health issues of the modern patient were found to be due to chronic lead intoxication. The lead was released during daily cooking using a ceramic-coated frying pan with worn surface that poisoned her breakfast most probably for years. Abdominal pain, asthenia, and hearing loss affecting the high frequencies with a many impact on speech intelligibility tormented the patient, as they had Beethoven. An extensive review of the music and medical literature was performed, as well as re-examination of manuscripts, correspondence, and autopsy reports of the famous composer; and great similarities have been found. The soundness of the most-cited classical theories about Beethoven's hearing loss will be discussed. After close scrutiny of the theories, our analysis points toward a progressive sensorineural hearing loss due to lead intoxication as the most probable cause of not only Beethoven's hypoacusis but his overall health status as well. Laryngoscope, 2020
- …
