Hormones and Auditory Perception: Study of Dichotic Listening in Women during the Menstrual Cycle

Abstract Introduction Dichotic listening refers to the ability to hear different sounds presented to each ear simultaneously. Objective The aim of the present study was to assess dichotic listening in women throughout the menstrual cycle. Methods The volunteers who met the eligibility criteria participated in a dichotic listening assessment composed of three tests: 1) staggered spondaic word test; 2) dichotic digits test; and 3) consonant-vowel test. The female participants were tested during two different phases of the menstrual cycle: the follicular (days 11 to 13) and luteal (days 23 to 26) phases. The phases were confirmed by measuring serum levels of the hormone estradiol. Results A total of 20 volunteers aged 18 to 49 years participated in the study (9 females and 11 males). In test 1, only the right ear of females showed better performance during the follicular phase (high estrogen levels), compared with the luteal phase (low estrogen levels); in test 2, there were no significant differences for any of the groups; and in test 3, both males and females showed significantly better performance in their right ear compared with their left ear. Conclusion The better performance of females during the follicular phase of the cycle may indicate that estrogen levels might have an influence on dichotic listening in women. (AU)

A influência da idade, escolaridade e gênero na ocorrência de pausas do teste DSI / Influence of the age, level of schooling and gender on the occurrence of the DSI test pauses

RESUMO Objetivo Avaliar a influência das variáveis idade, escolaridade e gênero na ocorrência de pausas após o tempo padrão no teste de identificação de sentenças dicóticas. Método A amostra foi constituída por 200 indivíduos destros distribuídos em quatro grupos segundo a faixa etária: grupo I - 13 a 19 anos de idade, grupo II - 20 a 29 anos de idade, grupo III - 30 a 39 anos de idade e o grupo IV - 40 a 49 anos de idade. Cada grupo continha 50 sujeitos (25 homens e 25 mulheres) pareados por escolaridade. Foram adotados os seguintes critérios de elegibilidade: língua materna português brasileiro, normouvinte, leitura fluente independentemente do grau de escolaridade. O teste de identificação de sentenças dicóticas foi aplicado nas etapas de integração binaural e escuta direcionada e a necessidade de pausas no teste após o tempo padrão foi anotada. Foram realizadas estatísticas descritivas e inferenciais. Resultados Para as etapas de integração binaural, houve associação positiva entre idade e ocorrência de pausas. A variável escolaridade apresentou associação negativa com a ocorrência de pausas em todas as etapas do teste. A variável gênero não apresentou nenhuma associação com a ocorrência de pausa em nenhuma das etapas do teste. Conclusão Com o aumento da idade, há um aumento na incidência de pausas na etapa de integração binaural do teste. Quanto mais anos de estudo menor a chance de o indivíduo necessitar de pausas para realizar o teste em todas as etapas de apresentação. A variável gênero não influenciou na ocorrência de pausas.

ABSTRACT Purpose To evaluate the influence of variables age, educational status and sex in the occurrence of pauses after the standard time in the dichotic sentence identification test. Methods This investigation included 200 right-handed subjects divided into four groups according to age: group I - from 13 to 19 years old, group II - from 20 to 29 years old, group III - from 30 to 39 years old and group IV - from 40 to 49 years old. Each group contained 50 subjects (25 men and 25 women) matched by educational level. The following eligibility criteria was adopted: Brazilian Portuguese mother language, listeners, and fluent readers independent of the educational level. It was applied the dichotic sentence identification test in the steps of binaural integration, directed listening, and it was noted the need for pauses in the test after the standard time. The descriptive and inferential statistics were performed. Results For the binaural integration stages there was a positive association between age and pause occurrence. The educational variable presented a negative association with the occurrence of pauses in all stages of the DSI test. The gender variable showed no association with the occurrence of pause in any of the test steps. Conclusion With increasing age, there is an increase in the incidence of pauses in the binaural integration stages of the test. The more years of study the less chance that the individual will need breaks to perform the test at all stages of presentation. The variable gender did not influence the occurrence of pauses.

Relaciónentre audición y cognición durante el envejecimiento: estudio de una población geriátrica de Rosario / Relationship between hearing and cognition during aging: a study of a geriatric population of Rosario / Relação entre audição e cognição durante o envelhecimento: estudo de uma população geriátrica de Rosario

Durante el envejecimiento, la pérdida de audición es considerada como uno de los problemas de salud pública más importante por su impacto sobre el bienestar físico, emocional y social de la persona, disminuyendo de manera notable la calidad de vida de quien la padece. Esto se debe a que un déficit auditivo no sólo afecta la percepción y la comprensión del habla, también condiciona el nivel de participación social. Esto último se manifiesta en una tendencia a la depresión, a la disminución de la autoestima, al aislamiento social y al aumento significativo del estrés familiar, hechos que también son observables en personas con cierto grado de demencia. Diferentes autores (Pouchain, Dupuy, San Julian et al, 2007; Lin et al. 2011; entre otros) sostienen que las dificultades en la comunicación observadas en las personas adultas mayores no sólo se deben a alteraciones en la función auditiva periférica, sino también a un deterioro de las habilidades cognitivas y de las funciones auditivas centrales. En el presente trabajo se pretende considerar la relación entre las alteraciones auditivas y el grado de deterioro cognitivo. Se han explorado 35 personas, de ambos sexos, residentes en el Hospital Geriátrico Provincial de Rosario, con edades comprendidas entre los 58 y los 90 años de edad. El estudio consistió en la evaluación de la función auditiva periférica y central y en la determinación del nivel cognitivo. En general se han observado una serie de correlaciones estadísticas que corroboran la estrecha relación entre la pérdida auditiva y el deterioro cognitivo leve durante el envejecimiento.

During ageing, hearing loss is considered to be one of the most important public health problems due to its impact on the person’s physical, emotional and social wellbeing, as it remarkably decreases the quality of life of those who suffer from it. This is because a hearing deficit not only affects speech perception and comprehension but also conditions the level of social participation. The latter aspect can be seen in a tendency towards depression, lower selfesteem, social isolation, and significant increase in family stress, all of which can also be seen in people with some degree of dementia. Different authors (Pouchain, Dupuy, San Julian et al, 2007; Lin et al. 2011; among others) consider that communication difficulties observed in old adult people are not only due to alterations in their peripheral auditory system but also to some impairment in their cognitive skills and central auditory system. In this project, the aim is to consider the relationship between hearing alterations and the degree of cognitive deterioration. 35 people, of both genders, resident in the Old People’s Provincial Hospital in Rosario, were examined. Their age ranged from 58 to 90 years old. The study consisted in assessing their peripheral and central auditory functions and determining their cognitive level. In general, a series of statistical correlations were observed that corroborate the close relationship between hearing loss and mild cognitive deterioration during ageing.

Durante o envelhecimento, a perda de audição é considerada um dos problemas de saúde pública mais importante devido ao seu impacto sobre o bem-estar físico, emocional e social da pessoa, diminuindo de maneira notável a qualidade de vida de quem a padece. Isso se deve a que um déficit auditivo não só afeta a percepção e a compreensão da fala, mas também condiciona o nível de participação social. Este último se manifesta em uma tendência à depressão, à diminuição da autoestima, ao isolamento social e ao aumento significativo do estresse familiar, fatos que também são observados em pessoas com determinado grau de demência. Diferentes autores (Pouchain, Dupuy, San Julian et al, 2007; Lin et al. 2011; entre outros) sustentam que as dificuldades na comunicação observadas nas pessoas idosas não só se devem a alterações na função auditiva periférica, mas também a uma deterioração das habilidades cognitivas e das funções auditivas centrais. No presente trabalho, pretende-se considerar a relação entre as alterações auditivas e o grau de deterioração cognitiva. Foram analisadas 35 pessoas, de ambos os sexos, residentes do Hospital Geriátrico Provincial de Rosario, com idades entre 58 e 90 anos. O estudo consistia na avaliação da função auditiva periférica e central e na determinação do nível cognitivo. No geral, foi observada uma série de correlações estatísticas que corroboram a estreita relação entre a perda auditiva e a deterioração cognitiva leve durante o envelhecimento.

Effects of the Simultaneous Application of Nonlinear Frequency Compression and Dichotic Hearing on the Speech Recognition of Severely Hearing-Impaired Subjects: Simulation Test

OBJECTIVES: The clinical effects of the simultaneous application of nonlinear frequency compression and dichotic hearing on people with hearing impairments have not been evaluated previously. In this study, the clinical effects of the simultaneous application of these two techniques on the recognition of consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words with fricatives were evaluated using normal-hearing subjects and a hearing loss simulator operated in the severe hearing loss setting. METHODS: A total of 21 normal-hearing volunteers whose native language was English were recruited for this study, and two different hearing loss simulators, which were configured for severe hearing loss in the high-frequency range, were utilized. The subjects heard 82 English CVC words, and the word recognition score and response time were measured. RESULTS: The experimental results demonstrated that the simultaneous application of these two techniques showed almost even performance compared to the sole application of nonlinear frequency compression in a severe hearing loss setting. CONCLUSION: Though it is generally accepted that dichotic hearing can decrease the spectral masking thresholds of an hearing-impaired person, simultaneous application of the nonlinear frequency compression and dichotic hearing techniques did not significantly improve the recognition of words with fricatives compared to the sole application of nonlinear frequency compression in a severe hearing loss setting.

The Category’s Perception of Chinese Aspirated and Unaspirated by Mexican Chinese Learners / 听力学及言语疾病杂志

Objective To investigate the relationship between the advantage ear (brain hemisphere) of Span-ish-speaking Mexican Chinese learners and category's perception of the Chinese aspirated and unaspirated pho-nemes .Methods Chinese aspirated and unaspirated syllables were used as experimental materials with dichotic lis-tening technology to test the Spanish -speaking Mexican Chinese learners .Results Mexican Chinese learners had studied Chinese 25~30 hours firstly showed percept unaspirated affricates and aspirated stops didn't appear left and right ear advantage .Mexican Chinese learners had studied Chinese 50~60 hours showed that percept aspirated affri-cates appeared right ear advantage(P<0 .05) ,and percept unaspirated affricates appeared left ear advantage (P<0 . 05) .Conclusion The conformation of Mexican Chinese learners’ advantage ear (brain hemisphere) is a continuous process ,relating to Chinese aspirated and unaspirated’s category building .

Efectos de la edad sobre el procesamiento auditivo / Effect of aging on auditory processing

En la actualidad existe un cúmulo de información teórica y experimental sobre los cambios de la percepción del habla relacionado con las edades. Se ha establecido que esta dificultad en la comunicación producto de la edad se debería a tres grandes factores; a) déficit de las habilidades cognitivas, b) cambios en la función auditiva periférica y c) cambios en una o más de las funciones auditivas centrales. Si bien es cierto la pérdida auditiva generada con la edad (presbiacusia) es responsable en parte de estas dificultades, no es posible atribuirle a solo este factor los déficits observados en poblaciones de mayor edad. Es posible evidenciar alteraciones en la representación neural de la información acústica, en especial cuando asta es de mayor complejidad como lo podría ser el habla, a su vez tambi6n es posible observar alteraciones en las funciones auditivas y esto evidenciado a través de las pruebas conductuales, como aquellas que utilizan el escucha dicótica. Por lo anterior es importante considerar estos efectos al momento de planificar el proceso de rehabilitación de un adulto mayor.

There is theoretical and experimental information on changes in speech perception related to the age. It has been established that this dufficulty in communication due to aging is due to three main factors: a) cognitive skills, b) changes in peripheral auditory function and c) changes in one or more of the central auditory functions. Although hearing loss generated with age (presbycusis) is partly responsible for these difficulties is not possible to attribute to this factor alone deficits observed in older populations. It is possible for alterations in the neural representation of acoustic information especially when it is more complex as speech, it is also possible to observe changes in auditory functions evidenced through behavioral tests such as those using dichotic listening. Therefore it is important to consider these effects when planning the rehabilitation in elderly.

Language brain dominance in patients with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy: a comparative study between functional magnetic resonance imaging and dichotic listening test

PURPOSE: To identify brain dominance for language functions with DLT and correlate these results with those obtained from fMRI in patients suffering from intractable temporal lobe epilepsy. METHOD: This study reports on 13 patients who underwent pre-surgical epileptic evaluation between April and October 2004 at the Epilepsy Surgery Program, Hospital Sao Lucas, PUCRS. In DLT, dominance was assessed through a consonant-vowel task, whereas in fMRI patients performed a verb generation task. RESULTS: Our results identified a correlation between the fMRI lateralization index and the DLT ear predominance index and reply difference index (r=0.6, p=0.02; Pearson Correlation Coefficient), showing positive correlation between results obtained from fMRI and DLT. CONCLUSION: DLT was found to significantly correlate with fMRI. These findings indicate that DLT (a non-invasive procedure) could be a useful tool to evaluate language brain dominance in pre-surgical epileptic patients as it is cheaper to perform than fMRI.

OBJETIVO: Identificar a dominância cerebral para funções de linguagem através do teste de escuta dicótica (TED) e correlacionar com os resultados de ressonância magnética funcional (RMf) em pacientes com epilepsia refratária de lobo temporal. MÉTODO: Foram estudados 13 pacientes com epilepsia refratária de lobo temporal, que realizaram avaliações pré-cirúrgicas no período de abril a outubro de 2004 no Programa de Cirurgia de Epilepsia do Hospital São Lucas da PUCRS. Realizada investigação da dominância hemisférica para linguagem através do TED Consoante-Vogal e da RMf pela geração de verbos. RESULTADOS: Verificou-se a existência de correlação entre os índices de lateralidade (RMf) e os índices de predomínio de orelha e de diferença de resposta (TED) (r=0,6, p=0,02). CONCLUSÃO: Existe correlação entre os resultados obtidos através da RMf (índice de lateralidade) e do TED (índice de predomínio de orelha e índice de diferença de resposta) em pacientes com epilepsia refratária de lobo temporal.

Novas perspectivas na avaliação neuropsicológica em pacientes com epilepsia refratária / News perspectives in epilepsy cirurgy neuropsychological evaluation

Passados mais de 50 anos, desde que Brenda Milner começou a avaliar pacientes com epilepsia refratária, os testes utilizados nos centros de cirurgia de epilepsia são praticamente os mesmos. Pouco progresso ocorreu em relação ao surgimento de novas técnicas e métodos mais sensíveis e específicos para este fim. Parece que alcançamos o máximo com as técnicas padrões que possuímos o que nos leva a concluir, que sem a inclusão de novas metodologias, a possibilidade de diagnósticos mais específicos e fidedignos, não será mais possível. Novos paradigmas precisam ser desenvolvidos, assim como técnicas que permitam o mapeamento de funções cognitivas, como a Ressonância Magnética funcional. Neste artigo, discutimos a investigação neuropsicológica de pacientes com epilepsia refratária e questionamos alguns aspectos da avaliação da linguagem e memória, bem como sua utilidade para predizer a extensão dos déficits de memória que poderão ocorrer após a cirurgia. Além disso, fazemos referência as novas perspectivas de investigação neste contexto.

More than fifth years have passed since Brenda Milner has started the epilepsy surgery neuropsychological evaluation and tests in use nowadays are mostly the same, i.e., there was little if any progress in terms of the development of new and more sensitive or specific methods. We may have reached the maximum of diagnostic differentiation with standard neuropsychological tests, and without inclusion of experimental test condition, more elaborate diagnostics will not be possible. We have examined several issues relevant to the utility of the current evaluation and also, some alternatives to help making surgery more safe in relation to the cognitive functions. We discuss also, the development of new paradigms to activate cortical functions, like functional Magnetic Resonance. In this article, we discuss neuropsychological investigation of patients epilepsy surgery and whether the approach of memory and language evaluation used is useful in predicting the extent of memory deficits following epilepsy surgery. Moreover, we make reference the new perspectives of investigation in this context.

The Dichotic Listening Research for Different Chinese Rhyming Words in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder by Focused Attention / 中国心理卫生杂志

Objective:To explore the brain function asymmetry characters of the patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).Methods:The study examined the ear advantage of 58 healthy subjects, 115 patients with MDD using two kinds of rhyming words by the method of focused attention. Results:1.In healthy group, no ear advantage was found in true words test, but appeared significant right ear (left-hemisphere) advantage in pseudo-words test. 2.In MDD group, there was also no ear advantage in true words test, but appeared enhanced right ear (left-hemisphere) advantage in pseudo-words test. There was a significant difference between the MDD and healthy subjects. Among patient group, 3. by true words test, no ear advantage was found in those with a comorbid anxiety disorder, but those without comorbid anxiety appeared right ear advantage. By pseudo-word test, both patients with or without comorbid anxiety appeared right ear (left-hemisphere) advantage, and those without had larger advantage. there was a significant difference between this two groups. 4.HAMD, HAMA and SCL-90 ratings had no relation to asymmetry scores of true words or that of pseudo-words.Conclusions:1. both healthy control and MDD patients have no ear advantage for process and cognition of true words in, but as for that of pseudo-words, both of them appear right ear (left-hemisphere) advantage, with the MDD patients have greater advantage. 2.The patients with or without a comorbid anxiety disorder were different in response, patients with comorbid anxiety appear more close to normal control. 4. Asymmetry scores don’t correlate significantly with the scores of HAMD, HAMA or SCL-90. 5.The pseudo-words is the better choice as stimuli for dichotic listening test.

A Preliminary Research on Characteristics of Brain Laterality in Patients with Childhood Onset Schizophrenia / 中国临床心理学杂志

Objective: To investigate the characteristics of brain laterality in patients with childhood onset schizophrenia. Methods: The study employed a dichotic Chinese word listening test(DL) as a chief measure and WISC-R as an assistant measure to examine 16 patients and 20 normal children as controls. Results: DL indicated that the patients differed from the controls in ear advantages and their performances were significantly poorer than the controls in left ear. The performances of the patients on WISC-R showed that their PIQ was significantly lower than VIQ. Conclusion:The patients with childhood onset schizophrenia differed from the controls in brain laterality. They might be involved with right hemisphere impairment.