Relationship between speech-evoked neural responses and perception of speech in noise in older adults. 2018

Guangting Mai, and Jyrki Tuomainen, and Peter Howell
Department of Experimental Psychology, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, WC1H 0AP, England.

Speech-in-noise (SPIN) perception involves neural encoding of temporal acoustic cues. Cues include temporal fine structure (TFS) and envelopes that modulate at syllable (Slow-rate ENV) and fundamental frequency (F0-rate ENV) rates. Here the relationship between speech-evoked neural responses to these cues and SPIN perception was investigated in older adults. Theta-band phase-locking values (PLVs) that reflect cortical sensitivity to Slow-rate ENV and peripheral/brainstem frequency-following responses phase-locked to F0-rate ENV (FFRENV_F0) and TFS (FFRTFS) were measured from scalp-electroencephalography responses to a repeated speech syllable in steady-state speech-shaped noise (SpN) and 16-speaker babble noise (BbN). The results showed that (1) SPIN performance and PLVs were significantly higher under SpN than BbN, implying differential cortical encoding may serve as the neural mechanism of SPIN performance that varies as a function of noise types; (2) PLVs and FFRTFS at resolved harmonics were significantly related to good SPIN performance, supporting the importance of phase-locked neural encoding of Slow-rate ENV and TFS of resolved harmonics during SPIN perception; (3) FFRENV_F0 was not associated to SPIN performance until audiometric threshold was controlled for, indicating that hearing loss should be carefully controlled when studying the role of neural encoding of F0-rate ENV. Implications are drawn with respect to fitting auditory prostheses.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D009622 Noise Any sound which is unwanted or interferes with HEARING other sounds. Noise Pollution,Noises,Pollution, Noise
D011897 Random Allocation A process involving chance used in therapeutic trials or other research endeavor for allocating experimental subjects, human or animal, between treatment and control groups, or among treatment groups. It may also apply to experiments on inanimate objects. Randomization,Allocation, Random
D004569 Electroencephalography Recording of electric currents developed in the brain by means of electrodes applied to the scalp, to the surface of the brain, or placed within the substance of the brain. EEG,Electroencephalogram,Electroencephalograms
D005072 Evoked Potentials, Auditory The electric response evoked in the CEREBRAL CORTEX by ACOUSTIC STIMULATION or stimulation of the AUDITORY PATHWAYS. Auditory Evoked Potentials,Auditory Evoked Response,Auditory Evoked Potential,Auditory Evoked Responses,Evoked Potential, Auditory,Evoked Response, Auditory,Evoked Responses, Auditory,Potentials, Auditory Evoked
D005260 Female Females
D006310 Hearing Aids Wearable sound-amplifying devices that are intended to compensate for impaired hearing. These generic devices include air-conduction hearing aids and bone-conduction hearing aids. (UMDNS, 1999) Ear Molds, Hearing Aid,Aid, Hearing,Aids, Hearing,Hearing Aid
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000368 Aged A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available. Elderly

Related Publications

Guangting Mai, and Jyrki Tuomainen, and Peter Howell
January 2011, Ear and hearing,
Guangting Mai, and Jyrki Tuomainen, and Peter Howell
August 2010, Ear and hearing,
Guangting Mai, and Jyrki Tuomainen, and Peter Howell
January 2008, Audiology & neuro-otology,
Guangting Mai, and Jyrki Tuomainen, and Peter Howell
September 2011, Journal of cognitive neuroscience,
Guangting Mai, and Jyrki Tuomainen, and Peter Howell
October 2020, Journal of audiology & otology,
Guangting Mai, and Jyrki Tuomainen, and Peter Howell
April 2024, International journal of audiology,
Guangting Mai, and Jyrki Tuomainen, and Peter Howell
June 2010, Trends in amplification,
Guangting Mai, and Jyrki Tuomainen, and Peter Howell
January 2017, Frontiers in neuroscience,
Guangting Mai, and Jyrki Tuomainen, and Peter Howell
June 2013, Hearing research,
Copied contents to your clipboard!