Neuroplasticity and the Auditory System

This chapter will present information on the central auditory nervous system with a special focus in the auditory pathways. The intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of neuroplasticity will be described, and the neuroplasticity of the auditory system will be presented in detail. These topics are the basis of the auditory training (AT) program for central auditory processing disorders

FREQUENCY FOLLOWING RESPONSE AND MUSICAL EXPERIENCE: A REVIEW

The aim of this review is to compare published FFR studies for groups of musicians and non-musicians. Musicians are taken to be those who have used their instrument at least twice a week for many years. The review considers sample size, age, gender, native language, preliminary and complementary assessments, equipment, stimuli, objective results, and conclusions of the studies. Medline/PubMed and Web of Science databases were accessed. Keywords were restricted to English Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms and included: auditory brainstem response, speech ABR, speech perception, frequency following response, musicians. The search identified 140 articles published between 2008 and 2015. After filtering the total number of papers according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, 11 studies remained. Analysis showed that individuals with musical experience, that is, play a musical instrument at least 2 to 3 hours per week, show an improved development of their FFR. Musical experience improves a broad range of abilities: detection, recognition, and discrimination of sound stimuli are processed more accurately and effectively in musicians. The improvement also relates to the encoding of speech, facilitating literacy. Assessment by FFR allows neural changes from musical training to be monitored

Encoding of speech sounds with frequency-following response in infants with Congenital Zika Syndrome: A case-controlled study

ABSTRACT Purpose: to investigate the frequency-following response (FFR) for sustained neural activity. Methods: 39 individuals, aged between 20 to 47 months old were divided into 2 groups: (i) 20 individuals without prenatal exposure to the congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) or hydrocephaly, normal development, no risk factors for hearing loss or syndromic hearing impairment and (ii) 19 individuals diagnosed with CZS and microcephaly - based on imaging studies linked to the clinical presentation of the condition. All participants exhibited normal click-ABR tests. FFR waveforms were documented using the /da/ syllable employing the Navigator Pro. The statistical analysis used was ANOVA (p-value <0.05). Results: no distinctions were observed concerning the variables of group, age, or gender with respect to FFR latency values, except for an interaction between gender and group for latency values associated with waves V and F. Children with CZS and microcephaly showed a difference for latency values in wave V for both males and females, when compared to the control group. Conclusion: children presented with CZS and microcephaly showed higher average latencies for waves V, A, C, D and F (male) compared to the control group, whereas, in waves E, F (female) and O they showed higher values in the control group

Auditory training in children with history of otitis media undergone ventilation tube placement

Orientador: Maria Francisca Colella dos SantosDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências MédicasResumo: Introdução: A otite média é uma das infecções mais comuns durante a infância, podendo causar prejuízos no processamento das informações auditivas. Através da avaliação comportamental é possível observar o funcionamento do sistema nervoso auditivo central e verificar a presença do transtorno do processamento auditivo central (TPAC). O treinamento auditivo (TA) é uma proposta de intervenção que se baseia na neuroplasticidade que tem o objetivo de reorganizar o substrato neural e melhorar as habilidades auditivas alteradas. Objetivo: avaliar a eficácia do TA em crianças e adolescentes com histórico de otite média. Método: estudo experimental prospectivo de corte transversal. A amostra foi selecionada de um hospital público universitário e composta por 38 sujeitos que foram divididos em três grupos: grupo treinamento auditivo (GTA) - formado por 20 crianças que realizaram um programa de treinamento auditivo; grupo treinamento visual (GTV) - 14 crianças que realizaram um programa de treinamento visual; e grupo sem intervenção (GSI) - formado por 4 sujeitos que não foram submetidos a qualquer tipo de estimulação. Todos os sujeitos foram submetidos à avaliação audtiva periférica e avaliação comportamental do PAC (teste dicótico de dígitos, teste de identificação de sentenças com mensagem competitiva ipsilateral, teste gaps-in-noise, teste de padrão de frequência e teste dicótico consoante-vogal). Os programas de treinamento auditivo e treinamento visual foram iguais para todos os sujeitos e realizados com atividades extraídas de um website. Todos os sujeitos foram reavaliados após oito semanas com a mesma bateria de testes comportamentais realizada na avaliação inicial. Resultados: Após as sessões de TA, houve diferença estatisticamente significante no desempenho para todos os testes da bateria comportamental do PAC (<0,001). Ao comparar a porcentagem de indivíduos dentro dos valores de normalidade, para cada faixa etária, houve diferença estatisticamente significante nas habilidades de integração binaural (0,001), ordenação temporal (0,0000), resolução temporal (<0,0001) e figura fundo (<0,0001) no GTA. Já no grupo treinamento visual (GTV), não houve diferença significante tanto para a média de acertos quanto para a porcentagem estimada de sujeitos dentro dos valores de normalidade nos testes comportamentais do PAC. No grupo sem intervenção (GSI), a analise descritiva da porcentagem média de acertos na avaliação comportamental revelou uma discreta melhora nos testes DD, TPF nomeação e SSI e piora na reavaliação dos testes TPF imitação e GIN. Conclusão: O treinamento auditivo foi eficaz como estratégia de intervenção para readequar as habilidades auditivas alteradas nos sujeitos com histórico de otite médiaAbstract: Introduction: Otitis media is one of the most common infections during childhood, and can damage the processing of auditory information. Through the behavioral evaluation it is possible to observe how the central auditory nervous system process information and to verify the presence of central auditory processing disorder (CAPD). Auditory training (AT) is an intervention based on neuroplasticity that aims to reorganize the neural substrate and improve altered auditory abilities. Objective: to evaluate the efficacy of AT in children and adolescents with history of otitis media. Methods: Prospective cross-sectional study. The sample was selected from a public hospital. Composed of 38 subjects that were divided into three groups: auditory training group (ATG) - formed by 20 children who underwent an auditory training program; visual training group (VTG) - 14 children who performed a visual training program; and non-intervention group (NIG) - formed by 4 subjects who did not undergo any type of stimulation. All children performed peripheral auditory evaluation and behavioral evaluation tests (dichotic digits, synthetic sentence identification with ipsilateral competing message, gaps-in-noise, frequency pattern and dichotic consonant-vowel). Auditory training (AT) and visual training (VT) programs were conducted with activities from a website. In both interventions, the same abilities were stimulated for all subjects independent of CAPD type that were found in the initial evaluation. All subjects in the three groups were re assessed after eight weeks. Results: After the TA sessions, there was a statistically significant difference in performance for all behavioral tests (<0.001). There was also a statistical difference in percentage of individuals in reference values for binaural integration (0.001), temporal ordering (0.0000), temporal resolution (<0.0001) and figure ground (<0.0001) in ATG. In VTG, there was no significant difference in the performance of behavioral tests and percentage of subjects within normal values. Regarding to the non-intervention group (NIG), the descriptive analysis of the average percentage of correct answers in the behavioral evaluation revealed a slight improvement in dichotic digits and synthetic sentence identification with ipsilateral competing message tests, and worse reassessment performance in frequency pattern and gaps in noise tests. Conclusion: Auditory training was effective as an intervention strategy to re-adjust the altered auditory skills in subjects with a history of otitis mediaMestradoSaude da Criança e do AdolescenteMestra em Ciências01-P-1732/2016CAPE

Electrophysiology and Auditory Training

Electrophysiology is an objective evaluation method that allows investigating the responses of the central auditory nervous system arising from the capture of neuronal responses through surface electrodes. In addition to the possibility of investigating and diagnosing different pathologies, electrophysiology proves to be an effective and effective instrument in monitoring auditory intervention programs. Auditory rehabilitation programs is based on the premise of neuroplasticity that derives from a capacity for neuronal change due to intense sound stimulation, specific and directed to the patient’s needs. Throughout this chapter, current studies that correlate electrophysiology with auditory training programs in different clinical populations will be presented, such as: hearing in typically developed individuals, hearing and school difficulties, hearing and CAPD, hearing and otitis media, hearing and hearing loss, and hearing and voice. Electrophysiological tests are important objective measures in predicting the gains to be expected from auditory training programs

Otitis Media: Long-Term Effect on Central Auditory Nervous System

Objectives. To analyze the central auditory nervous system function through behavioral and electrophysiological tests in children with a history of otitis media and subsequent bilateral tubes placement surgery. Methods. The participants were divided into two groups between eight and 14 years old: control group (CG) consisted of 40 children with no history of otitis media; experimental group (EG) consisted of 50 children with documented history of otitis media and undertook a surgery for bilateral tubes placement. All children completed audiological evaluation (audiometry, speech audiometry, and immittance audiometry), behavioral evaluation (tests: dichotic digits, synthetic sentence identification with ipsilateral competing message, gaps-in-noise, frequency pattern), and electrophysiological evaluation (Auditory Brainstem Response, ABR, Frequency Following Response, FFR (verbal), and Long Latency Auditory Evoked Potential, LLAEP). Results. The EG group showed significantly poorer performance (p<0.001) than the CG for all auditory abilities studied. The results revealed significant latency delays and reduced amplitude (p<0.05) of waves III and V for ABR; significant latency delay was seen of potentials P2, N2, and P300 for LLAEP; significant latency delays and reduced amplitude (p<0.05) were observed for FFR in children with a history of otitis media. Conclusion. The results demonstrate negative effect of otitis media in the auditory abilities and electrophysiological measures in children with a history of otitis media

Auditory training: effects on auditory abilities in children with history of otitis media

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Long-term effect of middle ear disease on temporal processing and P300 in two different populations of children.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE:The effects of otitis media on the function of the central auditory nervous system in different populations is unknown. Understanding how the history of otitis media affects children from different nations will guide health professionals worldwide on the importance of adequate auditory stimulus in childhood. For this reason, the aim of the present study was to investigate the long-term auditory effects of middle ear disease on temporal processing and P300 in two different populations of children: Australian and Brazilian. METHODS:Temporal processing tests (Frequency Pattern Tests-FPT and Gaps in noise-GIN) and P300 were measured in 68 Brazilian and Australian children, aged between 8 to 14 years. The Brazilian otitis media group (BrOM) and Australian otitis media group (AusOM) consisted of 20 children each who had a documented history of otitis media. Control groups of 14 children (BrControl and AusControl) were also recruited from each country, all with no documented history of otitis media. RESULTS:The BrOM group showed significantly poorer performance (p<0.001) for FPT and the GIN compared to BrControl. The P300 response showed significantly longer mean latencies (p = 0.02) compared to BrControls. The AusOM group also showed significant delayed latency of P300 (p = 0.04) compared to the AusControl. The FPT showed significantly poorer performance (p = 0.04) compared to AusControls. The two otitis media groups showed no significant differences between each other on P300. Significant differences were seen however in temporal processing tests performance between the two cohorts for the otitis media groups. The BrOM group had significantly poorer responses (p<0.001) for FPT and GIN compared to the AusOM group. CONCLUSIONS:These findings support that although differences exist between BrOM and AusOM groups, otitis media can be demonstrated to affect the underlying mechanisms of the P300 measures and behavioral auditory responses in two different populations of children

Skarzynski Tinnitus Scale: Cultural Adaptation and Validation to Brazilian Portuguese

Introduction Tinnitus is a prevalent condition among many different populations. Since tinnitus is subjective, self-report questionnaires are one way of assessing how much the condition interferes with the quality of life of an individual

Otoacoustic Emissions in Children with Long-Term Middle Ear Disease

Introduction: Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) evaluate the functional status of the cochlea. Repeated otitis media (OM) can cause changes in the peripheral structures of the auditory system, and, in this way, middle ear infection may irreversibly damage the middle ear, or even the cochlea. Objectives: To analyze the results of transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) in individuals with a history of OM. Method: Participants with 8 to 16 years of schooling were split into two groups: a control group (CG) of 50 subjects who had no history of otological disease and an experimental group (EG) of 50 subjects who had a history of recurrent otitis in childhood and had consequently undergone myringotomy to insert bilateral ventilation tubes. All children underwent basic audiological assessment (tonal audiometry, speech audiometry, and immittance testing) and otoacoustic emission testing (TEOAEs and DPOAEs). Results: There were no significant differences between the groups when audiometrically tested via air and bone conduction. OAEs were found in all CG subjects. For the EG, there were no TEOAE responses in 17 ears and no DPOAEs in nine ears; response amplitudes were lower at all frequencies. The emission level and the signal-to-noise ratio were statistically different between the two groups, and OAEs in the EG were statistically smaller compared to the GC. Conclusion: In the EG, responses were more likely to be absent and were of statistically smaller amplitude compared to the CG. A history of repeated OM apparently interferes with the generation and transmission of TEOAEs and DPOAEs