Changes in Central Auditory Processing in Patients with Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy after Anterior Temporal Lobectomy with Amygdalohippocampectomy

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the effects of anterior temporal lobectomy with amygdalohippocampectomy (ATL-AH) on central auditory processing (CAP) in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (mTLE-HS), and to identify factors that may contribute to the postoperative worsening of CAP. METHODS: Frequency-pattern, duration-pattern, and dichotic tests were performed before and after epilepsy surgery in 22 patients with normal hearing according to pure-tone audiometry. RESULTS: No significant difference in CAP scores was detected between pre- and postoperative tests, but there was a strong association between surgery in the language-dominant temporal lobe and postoperative worsening in the non-dominant-side dichotic test (p<0.05). The probability of a decreased performance in a non-dominant-side dichotic test after surgery was 7.5-fold greater in patients who underwent surgery on the dominant temporal lobe compared with the nondominant temporal lobe. No significant association of postoperative worsening in CAP with the verbal, nonverbal intelligence quotient, or right- or left-side lobectomy was noted. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that ATL-AH on the dominant side in patients with mTLE-HS worsens the CAP ability in the non-dominant-side dichotic test.

Temporal resolution in individuals with neurological disorders

OBJECTIVE:Temporal processing refers to the ability of the central auditory nervous system to encode and detect subtle changes in acoustic signals. This study aims to investigate the temporal resolution ability of individuals with mesial temporal sclerosis and to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the gaps-in-noise test in identifying this type of lesion.METHOD:This prospective study investigated differences in temporal resolution between 30 individuals with normal hearing and without neurological lesions (G1) and 16 individuals with both normal hearing and mesial temporal sclerosis (G2). Test performances were compared, and the sensitivity and specificity were calculated.RESULTS:There was no difference in gap detection thresholds between the two groups, although G1 revealed better average thresholds than G2 did. The sensitivity and specificity of the gaps-in-noise test for neurological lesions were 68% and 98%, respectively.CONCLUSIONS:Temporal resolution ability is compromised in individuals with neurological lesions caused by mesial temporal sclerosis. The gaps-in-noise test was shown to be a sensitive and specific measure of central auditory dysfunction in these patients.

Análise das habilidades auditivas de crianças com respiração oral / Analysis of hearing abilities in mouth-breathing children

OBJETIVO: destacar possíveis relações entre respiração oral e o sistema auditivo central de crianças em idade escolar, a partir da análise das habilidades auditivas de resolução temporal integração e separação binaural, atenção dividida, memória auditiva e fechamento auditivo. MÉTODOS: estudo em 102 escolares, entre 8 e 12 anos. Grupo I composto por 52 crianças com respiração oral e 50 crianças formaram o grupo II, com respiração nasal. Foram utilizados testes de Fala Filtrada, Teste de Padrões de Freqüência e Dicótico de Dissílabos Alternados (SSW). Os resultados dos testes foram analisados em relação ao tipo de habilidade alterada e sua ocorrência em crianças com respiração oral. Além de uma análise quanto à possível relação entre os testes e as ocorrências de alterações mais freqüentes entre os mesmos. RESULTADOS: indivíduos do grupo I obtiveram maior freqüência de alterações de grau severo e moderado. Comprovou-se diferença estatisticamente significante entre os grupos para as condições de: orelhas esquerda e direita competitiva, alteração relacionada a organização e integração auditiva, fechamento auditivo e padrão temporal. Não ocorreu diferença estatisticamente significante nos resultados da relação entre testes. CONCLUSÃO: crianças com respiração oral apresentam desempenho inferior nas habilidades do processamento auditivo do que crianças com padrão respiratório normal.

PURPOSE: to highlight the possible relationships between mouth breathing and central auditory system of school-age children, based on an analysis of the auditory abilities of temporal resolution, binaural separation and integration, divided attention, auditory memory and closure. METHODS: a study of 102 school children, between 8 and 12-year old. Group I was composed of 52 children with mouth breathing and group II was composed of 50 children with nose breathing. The evaluation was carried out using Filtered Speech tests, Pitch Pattern Sequence and Alternating Staggered Spondaic Word. RESULTS: Subjects from Group I had higher frequency of severe and moderate alterations. A statistically significant difference occurred between the groups for the left and right competitive ear, changes related to organization and auditory integration, auditory closure abilities and temporal patterns. There was no statistically significant difference in the relationship among the tests. CONCLUSION: the performance on the tests for auditory processing was associated to the type of breathing.