Testing A Hypothesis: Tinnitus Control by Enhancing Physiological Inhibition.

Background: Deficit in cognitive functions and central executive function is one of the popular hypotheses on the underlying cause of tinnitus. Some studies expressed the effect of tinnitus on the inhibitory cognitive tasks, referring to the slower inhibitory results such as in the Stroop task in the people suffering from tinnitus as compared to normal subjects. Since Stroop engages the network overlapping the attention and tinnitus distress networks, it seems likely that Stroop exercises can effectively contribute to controlling the tinnitus and its consequent distress through improvement of the cognitive function and increasing the physiological inhibition. Method: A total of 25 patients with chronic tinnitus (> 6 months) were randomly divided into two groups: an intervention group of 15 patients and a control group of 10 patients. Both groups were subjected to initial evaluations including pure tone audiometry, psychoacoustic measurements, tinnitus handicap inventory (THI) survey, and visual analogue scale (VAS) of annoyance and loudness. The intervention group underwent a rehabilitation program consisting of 6 Stroop training sessions. The control group didn't receive any training. Afterwards, both groups were reevaluated and the results were compared to those of initial evaluations. Results: Results of this study indicated significant differences in THI scores and VAS of annoyance, before and after Stroop training in the intervention group, although no significant difference was observed when it came to VAS of loudness. Conclusion: Successive sessions of conflict processing training can improve the annoyance of tinnitus by enhancing the patient's inhibition control, making this task a safe practice for tinnitus treatment.

Parallel Picture-Naming Tests: Development and Psychometric Properties for Farsi-Speaking Adults.

The present study describes the development and validation of two parallel picture-naming tests (PPNTs) as neuropsychological tools for evaluating word retrieval disorders in Farsi-speaking adults with and without aphasia. The development phase used the distributions of psycholinguistic variables (word frequency or age of acquisition) to select test items. Each parallel test consists of 109 line-drawings assigned to concrete nouns that were arranged in order of increasing difficulty. Assessment of content validity indicated that all items were quite or highly relevant and clear. The psychometric features were tested on 30 normal adults and 10 matched individuals with aphasia. The results showed appropriate criterion validity. Parallel tests allowed discrimination by subjects with and without naming difficulties. The tests were internally consistent. Each test form showed reasonable test-retest reliability. The correlation between the scores from both test forms indicated good parallel reliability. The cut-off point at which the tests reached the highest level of sensitivity and specificity was observed to be 86 correct responses. The percentage of correct responses for each item correlated strongly with frequency, age of acquisition, and name agreement. The overall findings support the validity and reliability of the PPNTs and suggest that these tests are appropriate for use in research and for clinical purposes.

Emotional Perception of Music in Children With Bimodal Fitting and Unilateral Cochlear Implant.

OBJECTIVE: Biological, structural, and acoustical constraints faced by cochlear implant (CI) users can alter the perception of music. Bimodal fitting not only provides bilateral hearing but can also improve auditory skills. This study was conducted to assess the impact of this amplification style on the emotional perception of music among children with hearing loss (HL). METHODS: Twenty-five children with congenital severe to profound HL and unilateral CIs, 20 children with bimodal fitting, and 30 children with normal hearing participated in this study. Their emotional perceptions of music were measured using a method where children indicated happy or sad feelings induced by music by pointing to pictures of faces showing these emotions. RESULTS: Children with bimodal fitting obtained significantly higher mean scores than children with unilateral CIs for both happy and sad music items and in overall test scores (P < .001). Both groups with HL obtained significantly lower scores than children with normal hearing (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Bimodal fitting results in a better emotional perception of music compared to unilateral CI. Given the influence of music in neurological and linguistic development and social interactions, it is important to evaluate the possible benefits of bimodal fitting prescriptions for individuals with unilateral CIs.

Emotional perception of music in children with unilateral cochlear implants.

INTRODUCTION: Cochlear implantation (CI) improves language skills among children with hearing loss. However, children with CIs still fall short of fulfilling some other needs, including musical perception. This is often attributed to the biological, technological, and acoustic limitations of CIs. Emotions play a key role in the understanding and enjoyment of music. The present study aimed to investigate the emotional perception of music in children with bilaterally severe-to-profound hearing loss and unilateral CIs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-five children with congenital severe-to-profound hearing loss and unilateral CIs and 30 children with normal hearing participated in the study. The children's emotional perceptions of music, as defined by Peretz (1998), were measured. Children were instructed to indicate happy or sad feelings fostered in them by the music by pointing to pictures of faces showing these emotions. RESULTS: Children with CI obtained significantly lower scores than children with normal hearing, for both happy and sad items of music as well as in overall test scores (P<0.001). Furthermore, both in CI group (P=0.49) and the control one (P<0.001), the happy items were more often recognized correctly than the sad items. CONCLUSION: Hearing-impaired children with CIs had poorer emotional perception of music than their normal peers. Due to the importance of music in the development of language, cognitive and social interaction skills, aural rehabilitation programs for children with CIs should focus particularly on music. Furthermore, it is essential to enhance the quality of musical perception by improving the quality of implant prostheses.

Effects of Fish Oil Supplementation during the Suckling Period on Auditory Neural Conduction in n-3 Fatty Acid-Deficient Rat Pups.

INTRODUCTION: Omega-3 fatty acid, particularly in the form of fish oil, has a structural and biological role in various systems of the body. The auditory and nervous systems are both influenced by omega-3 fatty acids, with omega-3 deficiency having devastating effects on both systems. Numerous studies have attempted to investigate this further. This study aimed to evaluate neural conduction in n-3 fatty acid-deficient rat pups following supplementation with fish oil during the suckling period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this interventional and experimental study, omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil (FO) were fed to rat pups of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-deficient dams. Changes in auditory neural conduction were compared with those of control and n-3 PUFA-deficient groups using auditory brainstem response (ABR). The parameters of interest were P1, P3, and P4 absolute latency, P1-P3, P1-P4, and P3-P4 interpeak latency (IPL), and P4/P1 amplitude ratio. The rat pups were given oral FO, 5 ml/g weight for 17 days, between the age of 5 and 21 days. RESULTS: No significant group differences were observed in P1 and P3 absolute latency (P>0.05), but there was a significant difference in P4 (P≤0.05). The n-3 PUFA-deficient + vehicle group had the most prolonged (the worst) P1-P4 IPL and P3-P4 IPL compared with control and n-3 PUFA-deficient + FO groups. There was no significant difference in P1-P4 IPL and P3-P4 IPL between the n-3 PUFA-deficient + FO group and the control group (P>0.05). There was a significant effect of diet on P1-P4 IPL and P3-P4 IPL between groups (P≤0.05). CONCLUSION: The results of present study showed the effect of omega-3 deficiency on auditory neural structure during pregnancy and the lactation period. Additionally, we observed reduced reduction in devastating effects on neural conduction in n-3 fatty acid-deficient rat pups following the supplementation of FO during the suckling period.

Working memory in Farsi-speaking children with normal development and cochlear implant.

AIM AND BACKGROUND: Working memory has an important role in language acquisition and development of cognition skills. The ability of encoding, storage and retrieval of phonological codes, as activities of working memory, acquired by audition sense. Children with cochlear implant experience a period that they are not able to perceive sounds. In order to assess the effect of hearing on working memory, we investigated working memory as a cognition skill in children with normal development and cochlear implant. METHODS: Fifty students with normal hearing and 50 students with cochlear implant aged 5-7 years participated in this study. Children educated in the preschool, the first and second grades. Children with normal development were matched based on age, gender, and grade of education with cochlear implant. Two components of working memory including phonological loop and central executive were compared between two groups. Phonological loop assessed by nonword repetition task and forward digit span. To assess central executive component backward digit span was used. The developmental trend was studied in children with normal development and cochlear implant as well. The effect of age at implantation in children with cochlear implants on components of working memory was investigated. RESULTS: There are significant differences between children with normal development and cochlear implant in all tasks that assess working memory (p < 0.001). The children's age at implantation was negatively correlated with all tasks (p < 0.001). In contrast, duration of usage of cochlear implant set was positively correlated with all tasks (p < 0.001). The comparison of working memory between different grades showed significant differences both in children with normal development and in children with cochlear implant (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These results implied that children with cochlear implant may experience difficulties in working memory. Therefore, these children have problems in encoding, practicing, and repeating phonological units. The results also suggested working memory develops when the child grows up. In cochlear implant children, with decreasing age at implantation and increasing their experience in perceiving sound, working memory skills improved.

Effects of stimulus presentation mode and subcortical laterality in speech-evoked auditory brainstem responses.

OBJECTIVE: Speech-evoked auditory brainstem responses (ABR) are sensitive to the manipulation of stimulus parameters, including how the stimulus is presented, i.e. monaurally or binaurally. Therefore, this parametric study was designed to compare the effect of binaural and monaural stimuli presentation on speech-evoked ABR features in the parallel assessment of subcortical asymmetry of speech stimuli acoustic elements. DESIGN: Electrophysiological responses to the speech syllable /da/ were recorded within three stimulus presentation modes. STUDY SAMPLE: Forty-eight normal hearing monolingual Persian speakers were included in the current study as volunteer cases. RESULTS: Shorter right ear latency was observed for peaks A and E, but the overall response timing was comparable within different stimulus presentation modes. Binaural stimulation generally led to larger response than monaural stimulation and affected the encoding of speech spectral elements. Moreover, no significant interpeak interval difference was observed in the sustained portion of responses. Response to the right and left ear stimulation was highly correlated, and a symmetrical pattern was observed between the two ears. CONCLUSIONS: The timing of speech-evoked responses is not related to the stimulus presentation mode; however, binaural stimulation produces more robust responses. Lateral asymmetry in the representation of speech elements was not considerable at the brainstem level.

Quantitative oculomotor findings in migrainous patients.

BACKGROUND: Neurotologic signs and symptoms, especially vestibular symptoms are common in migrainous patients. Involvement of the visual system in migrainures has received a great deal of attention in recent years, but the oculomotor part of the visual system has been largely ignored. The goal of this study was to investigate some parts of the central vestibular system using the oculomotor part of videonystagmographic evaluation, including spontaneous nystagmus, gaze-evoked nystagmus, smooth pursuit, saccade and optokinetic ystagmus interictally in migrainous patients. METHODS: In this case-control study, 30 patients with migraine and 38 healthy volunteers within the age range of 18-48 years old were included spontaneous nystagmus; gaze-evoked nystagmus in right, left and up sides, smooth pursuit, optokinetic nystagmus using three different velocities and saccade test performed in both groups. The data were analyzed using SPSS for Windows 18.0. RESULTS: Some parameters of gain and phase and also morphology of the smooth pursuit, velocity of the saccade and slow phase velocity of optokinetic were significantly different in migrainures, although the statistical differences of these parameters were not clinically important as they were in the normal range of a defined device. CONCLUSION: These results may suggest the presence of subtle otoneurologic abnormalities in migrainous patients that is probably due to the efficiency of oculomotor function with vestibulocerebellar origin.

The beneficial effects of adding low level laser to ultrasound and exercise in Iranian women with shoulder tendonitis: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: A randomized, double-blind, clinical trial study was conducted with the aim of determining the efficacy of adding laser (830 nm) to ultrasound (US) and exercise for the management of shoulder tendonitis. METHODS: 42 subjects (n=21, in adding laser group and n=21, in US and exercise group) received a course of 10 sessions treatment over one month in the shoulder region. Outcome measures such as Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Tenderness Severity Scale (TSS), Constant Murley Score (CMS) and Manual Muscle Testing (MMT) were performed before treatment and at the end of 4 weeks treatment. In addition, follow up were performed 2 months after the end of treatment based on the degree of pain improvement. RESULTS: VAS, TSS and CMS improved significantly (P=0.001) in both groups, however the muscle strengths only improved significantly in adding laser group (P< 0.01). CONCLUSION: It seems that both protocols of physical therapy interventions were effective in relieving the signs and symptoms of shoulder tendonitis. Furthermore, adding low level laser therapy (LLLT) to the US and exercise was more efficient in improving the muscle strength in patients with shoulder tendonitis over a period of three months. However, it should be emphasized that, the current results might be due to the effects of laser and exercise instead of laser, us and exercise (as we had no independent group for US).