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Auditory deficits in multiple sclerosis: a review.

This article reviews available clinical and psychophysical data concerning the effects of multiple sclerosis (MS) on basic auditory processes. On the basis of the data, it is suggested that the presence of auditory deficits should be sought in MS patients. This is especially important in light of recent psychophysical evidence suggesting that subtle auditory problems present in affected individuals may not always be detectable via conventional clinical testing. These data also provide an alternate means of interpreting various aspects of impaired auditory functioning in MS patients, and aid in generating new hypotheses regarding the possible consequences of demyelination on normal auditory perception. Finally, new ways of testing such hypotheses are proposed, and possible directions for future research are suggested.

Auditory Perception↗

Brain lesions, central masking, and dichotic speech perception.

A dichotic CV syllables task and an auditory central masking task were administered to 10 right hemisphere stroke, 10 left hemisphere stroke, and 10 age-matched controls. When data for all subjects were considered within and across groups, it was found that lateralized performance measures for dichotic listening and central masking were highly correlated (r = .647, p < .05 for controls; r = .810, p < .005 for R-CVA; r = .648, p < .05 for L-CVA; r = .833, p < .0001 for all subjects). The data suggest that some aspects of dichotic performance that have been previously attributed to changes in verbal processing are more adequately explained as being the result of a general binaural asymmetry of auditory perception.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

FOS and ZENK responses in 45-day-old zebra finches vary with auditory stimulus and brain region, but not sex.

Male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) begin to sing around 45 days posthatch (d45) and tune their songs to match learned templates. Females never develop song, but they use male conspecific vocalizations for mate choice. While auditory perception is critical for both sexes, the responses of the immediate early genes (IEGs) ZENK and FOS differ in auditory brain areas of d30 males and females. The present study examined expression of these IEGs in the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM), caudomedial mesopallium (CMM; formerly cHV), and the hippocampus (HP) in both sexes at d45 in response to conspecific, heterospecific, or no songs. Overall, zebra finch song presentations resulted in the highest density of ZENK and FOS cells in each region analyzed, but expression varied across brain areas. Contrary to d30 birds, the IEG response patterns did not differ between the sexes. ZENK-immunoreactivity was significantly increased following exposure to conspecific songs compared to no songs, and zebra finch song presentations produced more FOS-immunoreactive nuclei than both heterospecific and no songs. While the pattern was consistent, significant effects of stimulus type were seen only in the NCM when the brain regions were analyzed separately. Furthermore, levels of FOS- and ZENK-immunoreactive neurons were higher in the lateral than medial NCM in both sexes. Along with previous work from our lab and others, these data suggest that at d45 neuronal responses within perceptual regions are still maturing on some levels, but IEG expression has acquired a number of adult characteristics.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Species-specific auditory discrimination in bobtail quail neonates.

Incubator-hatched bobwhite quail neonates were tested individually in a variety of single call and simultaneous auditory choice tests involving 6 adult quail vocalizations and a chicken exodus call. The quail showed a high degree of responsiveness (100%) to 3 adult quail vocalizations and significantly less responsiveness (40-50%) to 3 other quail calls and to the chicken exodus call in single call tests. In simultaneous choice tests, the quail were selectively responsive to a call of their own species over the chicken call, and they also showed certain intraspecific preferences. Because of their high degree of responsiveness, coupled with selectivity of their approach responses, bobwhite quail neonates are ideal for the laboratory investigation of the development of auditory perception.

Animals↗

The effect of whole-body tilt on sound lateralization.

The effect of passive whole-body tilt in the frontal plane on the lateralization of dichotic sound was investigated in human subjects. Pure-tone pulses (1 kHz, 100 ms duration) with various interaural time differences were presented via headphones while the subject was in an upright position or tilted 45 degrees or 90 degrees to the left or right. Subjects made two-alternative forced-choice (left/right) judgements on the intracranial sound image. During body tilt, the auditory median plane of the head, computed from the resulting psychometric functions, was always shifted to the upward ear, indicating a shift of the auditory percept to the downward ear, that is, in the direction of gravitational linear acceleration. The mean maximum magnitude of the auditory shift obtained with 90 degrees body tilt was 25 micro s. On the one hand, these findings suggest a certain influence of the otolith information about body position relative to the direction of gravity on the representation of auditory space. However, in partial contradiction to previous work, which had assumed existence of a significant 'audiogravic illusion', the very slight magnitude of the present effect rather reflects the excellent stability in the neural processing of auditory spatial cues in humans. Thus, it might be misleading to use the term 'illusion' for this quite marginal effect.

Adult↗

Auditory stream segregation in an insect.

Auditory stream segregation is the perceptual grouping of the acoustic mixture reaching the ear into coherent representations of sound sources. It has been described in a variety of vertebrates and underlies auditory scene analysis or auditory image formation. Here we describe a phenomenon in an invertebrate that bears an intriguing resemblance to auditory stream segregation observed in vertebrates: in Neoconocephalus retusus (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae) an auditory interneuron segregates information about bat echolocation calls from background male advertisement songs. This process utilizes differences between the temporal and spectral characteristics of the two stimuli, a mechanism which is similar to those of auditory stream segregation in vertebrates. This similarity suggests that auditory stream segregation is a fundamental feature of auditory perception, widespread from invertebrates to humans.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) conceal visual and auditory information from others.

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) competed with a human for food. The human sat inside a booth, with 1 piece of food to her left and 1 to her right, which she could retract from her chimpanzee competitor's reach as needed. In Experiment 1, chimpanzees could approach either side of the booth unseen but then had to reach through 1 of 2 tunnels (1 clear, 1 opaque) for the food. In Experiment 2, both tunnels were clear and the human was looking away, but 1 of the tunnels made a loud noise when it was opened. Chimpanzees preferentially reached through the opaque tunnel in the first study and the silent tunnel in the second, successfully concealing their taking of the food from the human competitor in both cases. These results suggest that chimpanzees can, in some circumstances, actively manipulate the visual and auditory perception of others by concealing information from them.

Animals↗

Effects of room reflectance and background noise on perceived auditory distance.

Perceptions of egocentric auditory distance were investigated within an environment for which the reverberation time could be systematically varied without changes in the size or shape of the room. Two levels of wide-band background noise, differing by 20 dB, were used as a masking stimulus. Target sounds were presented from distances between 0.75 and 6.0 m and verbal reports of distance were collected from 288 listeners in two separate experiments. Changes in physical distance produced variation in reported distance in each configuration. Reported distance was generally proportional to real distance, but considerably underestimated when room reflectance was low. When room reflectance was high (T60 approximately 1.7 s for the range of frequencies used), initial reports of distance were often overestimates; upon repeated presentation, judgments in the high reflectance room became more nearly veridical. The effect of increasing the background noise level was to decrease the perceived distance. These findings are in accord with expectations based upon the importance of reverberation cue(s) to distance and upon previous analyses from this laboratory.

Acoustics↗

[The localization and the sexual differences of substance P in vocal control and part auditory nuclei of Carduelis spinus].

The expression of substance P in the vocal control and auditory nuclei was investigated by wsing immunohistochemical methods, and the gray density of numerical value was measured with the image processing system in females and males of Carduelis spinus. Then, the distribution and the gray density of substance P were compared between males and females. The results indicate that: 1) Substance P labeled terminal and part cells were distributed in the Area X; 2) Substance P labeled cells were distributed in the nucleus high vocal center (HVc), magnocellular nucleus of the anterior neostriatum (MAN), robust nucleus of the archistriatum (RA) and dorsolateral nucleus of the anterior thalamus (DLM); 3) Substance P labeled terminal and fibers were distributed in the vocal control nuclei such as nucleus dorsalis medialis (DM) and the nucleus hypoglossi, pars tracheosyringealis (nXI-Its), and in the auditory nuclei such as the nucleus ovidalisashell (Ov shell), the shell regions of mesencephalicus lateralis, pars dorsalis (MLd shell) and the nucleus intercollicularis (ICo). The values of gray degree of substance P labeled cells or fibers were significantly higher in males than that in females. The present study indicates that the distribution of substance P exhibits significantly sexual difference in the songbird. The presence of substance P in most auditory and vocal control nuclei suggests that substance P may play an important physiological role in the auditory perception and vocal production.

Animals↗

On the origin and development of the mismatch negativity.

This review summarizes a number of findings related to the generation, development, and diagnostic value of mismatch negativity (MMN). The animal analogue of MMN to frequency contrast can be observed in the primary and secondary auditory cortical and also in the association cortical recordings. It is shown that subcortical sensory specific and archicortical structures may also contribute to the processes involved. The results are more complex than would be predicted by the notion that only the primary system plays an active role in the comparison processes reflected by the MMN that and the nonprimary pathway acts only as a modulating influence. The fundamental nature of the brain functions reflected by MMN is suggested by the demonstration of MMN in sleep and anesthesia, though in limited conditions. The postnatal development of automatic stimulus comparison, as indexed by MMN, presents an isochronicity, contrary to other evoked potential components whose development is not complete until puberty. Thus, the MMN provides a stable measure for electrophysiological assessment of auditory perception. This possible diagnostic value of the MMN is shown in studies of aphasics which emphasize the nature of perceptual deficits in the processing various speech and nonspeech stimuli.

Anesthesia↗

Inferior colliculus unitary activity in wakefulness, sleep and under barbiturates.

The spontaneous unitary activity and the response to contralateral tone-burst were analyzed in the inferior colliculus (IC) of guinea pigs during the sleep-waking cycle and under the effects of pentobarbital anesthesia. Minor changes were observed in both spontaneous and evoked activity between wakefulness (W) and slow wave sleep (SWS). On the other hand, a consistent increase in the mean spontaneous firing rate and a significant decrement in the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ratio) was observed during paradoxical sleep (PS). Pentobarbital anesthesia reduced the spontaneous and evoked firing rate, the duration of the excitatory response and increased the duration of the post-excitatory suppression. We conclude, that the processing of auditory information in the IC change markedly during PS. Because the IC is a compulsory station for almost all the ascending auditory pathways, the observed decrease in the S/N ratio may deeply affect the auditory perception during this behavioral state. Finally, the alteration of the neuronal activity induced by pentobarbital differs not only with the activity observed during W, but also with the activity observed during both SWS and PS.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Lesions of the anterior forebrain song control pathway in female canaries affect song perception in an operant task.

We tested whether the avian anterior forebrain pathway functions in song perception in female canaries, and whether it is specialized for conspecific song perception or functions more generally in auditory perception. Using operant conditioning methods, we trained female canaries to discriminate among synthetic sound stimuli, canary songs, and song sparrow songs. We also trained each bird to discriminate among visual stimuli to test for general effects of lesions on performance. When canaries had learned the discrimination tasks, bilateral electrolytic lesions of the lateral portion of the magnocellular nucleus of the anterior neostriatum (lMAN) were made. The lesioned birds were then tested on the previously learned discrimination tasks. Lesions that destroyed most or all of lMAN decreased the ability of female canaries to discriminate between previously learned pairs of acoustic stimuli of all types, while visual discrimination was unaffected. These results suggest that the female canary anterior forebrain pathway contributes to the perception of acoustic stimuli, with this contribution including heterospecific song and other acoustic stimuli as well as canary song.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Deficit of temporal auditory processing in dyslexic adults.

Dyslexia is a common disorder with largely unknown pathophysiology. We tested ten dyslexic adults and 20 control subjects with trains of binaural clicks which led to illusory sound movements at short click intervals. In controls, the illusion disappeared at intervals exceeding 90-120 ms while in the dyslexics it persisted up to intervals of 250-500 ms. Dyslexic adults thus seem to have a deficit in the processing of rapid sound sequences, which is also manifested in significant delays in their conscious auditory percepts. This pathophysiological abnormality seems to persist throughout life.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Young deaf children with hearing aids or cochlear implants: early assessment package for monitoring progress.

BACKGROUND: Very few assessment measures exist for evaluating progress in young deaf children with hearing aids and cochlear implants. OBJECTIVE: To introduce and describe an early assessment package that covers auditory perception, communication/language development, and speech production in very young deaf children. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Seven of the assessment measures (Listening Progress Profile, Categories of Auditory Performance, Tait Video Analysis, Stories-Narratives Assessment Procedure, Profile of Actual Linguistic Skills, Speech Intelligibility Rating, and the Profile of Actual Speech Skills) have been specifically developed at the Nottingham Cochlear Implant Programme, and a further one (Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale) was modified for use within the package. Moreover, two commercially available tests (Pragmatics Profile of Everyday Communication Skills and Preschool Language Scale) are included to complete the package. METHODS: The present paper describes each measure, how to use it, and its time frame. In addition, two case studies demonstrate the usefulness of the package as a whole. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The Nottingham Early Assessment Package (NEAP) offers a framework with which to assess in young deaf children the use of audition and language and communication in real-life situations. Being simple, reliable, and time effective can be used in everyday clinical practice. NEAP is innovative in design and offers a structured approach to monitor very young deaf children, both in short and long term. In addition, it allows the identification of additional problems and areas of difficulty as well as specific abilities and skills. This enables the clinician to determine appropriate intervention strategies.

Auditory Perception↗

Evolution of maternal mood state and of the auditory and olfactory perception of their newborn: preliminary data.

The auditory and olfactory discrimination ability of mothers, in relation to stimuli from their newborn infants, was concomitantly measured in a sample of 12 mother-newborn dyads during the 1st week after the child's birth. Both types of discrimination ability had a parallel evolution from one day to the next. The performances continued to increase from day to day, except on the 4th and 7th days. These 2 days corresponded to times when the mothers were more depressed. Half of the mothers were more skilled in one sensorial skill than the other.

Adult↗

Transient musical hallucinosis of central origin: a review and clinical study.

A 52 year old, right handed, hearing impaired woman was admitted with headache and neck stiffness. The only neuropsychological symptom was transient auditory perceptions in the left ear, which were musical, seemed familiar and were not influenced by verbal communication. CT and MRI showed a right subarachnoid haemorrhage, while brainstem auditory evoked potentials failed to reveal a brainstem lesion. In patients with organic cerebral disease, unilateral auditory hallucinations (AHs) may indicate a lesion in the contralateral hemisphere. However, according to this review the type of AHs (verbal versus musical) is not consistently associated with a cerebral lesion on either side.

Auditory Perception↗

Recency and suffix effects in serial recall of musical stimuli.

Auditory presentation of verbal items leads to larger recency effects in recall than visual presentation. This enhanced recency can be eliminated if a stimulus suffix (an irrelevant sound) follows the last item. Four experiments tested the hypothesis that recency and suffix effects in serial recall result from a speech-specific process. It was demonstrated that serial recall of musical notes played on a piano exhibited substantial recency effects. These recency effects were reduced when the list items were followed by either a piano chord or the word start. However, a white-noise suffix had no effect on recency. This pattern of data is consistent with current work on auditory perception and places constraints on theories of recency and suffix effects.

Adolescent↗

Evoked potentials of the auditory cortex of the porpoise, Phocoena phocoena.

Evoked potential (EP) recordings in the auditory cortex of the porpoise, Phocoena phocoena, were used to obtain data characterizing the auditory perception of this dolphin. The frequency threshold curves showed that the lowest EP thresholds were within 120-130 kHz. An additional sensitivity peak was observed between 20 and 30 kHz. The minimal EP threshold to noise burst was 3 X 10(-4) - 10(-3) Pa. The threshold for response to modulations in sound intensity was below 0.5 dB and about 0.1% for frequency modulations. Special attention was paid to the dependence of the auditory cortex EP on the temporal parameters of the acoustic stimuli: sound burst duration, rise time, and repetition rate. The data indicate that the porpoise auditory cortex is adapted to detect ultrasonic, brief, fast rising, and closely spaced sounds like echolocating clicks.

Acoustic Stimulation↗