Transcranial alternating current stimulation modulates auditory temporal resolution in elderly people.

This article describes four experiments on gap detection by normal listeners, with the general goal being to examine the consequences of using noises in different perceptual channels to delimit a silent temporal gap to be detected. In experiment 1, subjects were presented with pairs of narrow-band noise sequences. The leading element in each pair had a center frequency of 2 kHz and the trailing element's center frequency was parametrically varied. Gap detection thresholds became increasingly poor, sometimes by up to an order of magnitude, as the spectral disparity was increased between the noise bursts that marked the gap. These data suggested that gap-detection performance is impoverished when the underlying perceptual timing operation requires a comparison of activity in different perceptual channels rather than a discontinuity detection within a given channel. In experiment 2, we assessed the effect of leading-element duration in within-channel and between-channel gap detection tasks. Gap detection thresholds rose when the duration of the leading element was less than about 30 ms, but only in the between-channel case. In experiment 3, the gap-detection stimulus was redesigned so that we could probe the perceptual mechanisms that might be involved in stop consonant discrimination. The leading element was a wideband noise burst, and the trailing element was a 300-ms bandpassed noise centered on 1.0 kHz. The independent variable was the duration of the leading element, and the dependent variable was the smallest detectable gap between the elements. When the leading element was short in duration (5-10 ms), gap thresholds were close to 30 ms, which is close to the voice onset time that parses some voiced from unvoiced stop consonants. In experiment 4, the generality of the leading-element duration effect in between-channel gap detection was examined. Spectrally identical noises defining the leading and trailing edges of the gap were presented to the same or to different ears. There was a leading-element duration effect only for the between channel case. The mean gap threshold was again close to 30 ms for short leading-element durations. Taken together, the data suggest that gap detection requiring a temporal correlation of activity in different perceptual channels is a fundamentally different task to the discontinuity detection used to execute gap detection performance in the traditional, within-channel paradigm.

Gap detection thresholds were measured in patients with the Nucleus and Symbion cochlear implants as a function of several current waveform parameters. Detection of gaps in an electrical sinusoidal stimulus or in a train of biphasic pulses by implanted patients was similar to detection of gaps in comparable acoustic stimuli by normal listeners. Threshold gaps were 20-50 ms for low-level stimuli and improved with stimulus level to 2-5 ms for high-level stimuli. Gap detection performance was not affected by the electrode position in the cochlea or by the distance between stimulating electrodes. The data from most patients were well fitted by a trading relation between the duration of the gap and the square of stimulus intensity, indicating energy detection. The similarity of gap thresholds for normal subjects and implant patients suggests that many details of the peripheral neural activity are probably not important for this task, and that there is no retrocochlear loss of auditory temporal resolution with sensorineural hearing loss.

Music has important consequences on the anatomo-functional organization of the brain. Learning and listening to music has various advantages beginning with relaxation, mind training and neural strengthening. Learning music when young has a wide influence on cognion, attention and listening thereby resulting in better performance in most tasks. Currently the practice of parents exposing their children from the womb through their children’s early years has not been researched and explored.Method:School going children who are undergoing music training for more than 2 years and an non-musical control group were tested for auditory processing abilities for pitch perception, gap detection and auditory processing performance scale.Result:The children in the school going amateur musical group out performed the non-musical trained group in the pitch pattern test, the random gap detection test and in the child auditory processing performance scale.Conclusion:Music training results in better temporal processing which can be shown in classroom activities. The improvement observed in amateur musicians over a short training duration, can be attributed to the pitch, loudness, and duration of the acrobatics that the musicians undergo. Studying these aspects and reporting the benefits help in designing training modules for children with various developmental disorders.

Effects of otitis media with effusion on auditory temporal resolution

Received June 18, 2015 Revised August 18, 2015 Accepted August 29, 2015 Address for correspondence Yong-Hwi An, MD Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Eulji Medical Center, Eulji University School of Medicine, 68 Hangeulbiseok-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul 01830, Korea Tel +82-2-970-8276 Fax +82-2-970-8275 E-mail an0072@hanmail.net Background and ObjectivesZZAuditory temporal resolution, which refers to the time-related aspects of acoustic processing, can be evaluated by the Gaps-In-Noise (GIN) test. We investigated whether the presence of high frequency sensorineural hearing loss (HF-SNHL) affects the temporal resolution of GIN performance in older adults with normal hearing. Subjects and MethodZZHearing tests including the GIN test were performed in 87 subjects with normal pure tone average. The GIN threshold and percentage of correct answers were compared among 4 groups of participants; older adults with normal hearing (n=18), older adults with HF-SNHL (n=24), young adults with normal hearing (n=24) and young adults with HF-SNHL (n=21). ResultsZZThere was no significant difference in the mean GIN thresholds between the HFSNHL group (5.8±0.8 msec) and the normal hearing group (6.0±0.8 msec) in older adults, whereas the mean GIN thresholds of HF-SNHL group was higher than that of the normal group in young adults (4.6±0.3 msec vs. 4.2±0.5 msec, p<0.05). The mean percentage of correct answers of HF-SNHL group (62.5±5.5%) was not significantly different from that of the normal hearing group (60.6±3.9%) in the old, unlike in the young (71.3±4.0% with HF-SNHL vs. 76.9±4.3% with normal hearing, p<0.05). Age only showed a significant correlation with the GIN performance. Neither the GIN threshold nor the GIN perception level had any relation with the presence of HF-SNHL in older adults. ConclusionZZWe found no evidence that supported the influence of HF-SNHL on auditory temporal resolution in older adults. These results imply that HF-SNHL may be of little importance in gap detection after age-related changes in central auditory system. Korean J Otorhinolaryngol-Head Neck Surg 2015;58(12):841-7

The goal of this study was to examine the degree to which age-related differences in early or automatic levels of auditory processing and attention-related processes explain age-related differences in auditory temporal processing. We hypothesized that age-related differences in attention and cognition compound age-related differences at automatic levels of processing, contributing to the robust age effects observed during challenging listening tasks. We examined age-related and individual differences in cortical event-related potential (ERP) amplitudes and latencies, processing speed, and gap detection from 25 younger and 25 older adults with normal hearing. ERPs were elicited by brief silent periods (gaps) in an otherwise continuous broadband noise and were measured under two listening conditions, passive and active. During passive listening, participants ignored the stimulus and read quietly. During active listening, participants button pressed each time they detected a gap. Gap detection (percent detected) was calculated for each gap duration during active listening (3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 msec). Processing speed was assessed using the Purdue Pegboard Test and the Connections Test. Repeated measures analyses of variance assessed effects of age on gap detection, processing speed, and ERP amplitudes and latencies. An "attention modulation" construct was created using linear regression to examine the effects of attention while controlling for age-related differences in auditory processing. Pearson correlation analyses assessed the extent to which attention modulation, ERPs, and processing speed predicted behavioral gap detection. Older adults had significantly poorer gap detection and slower processing speed than younger adults. Even after adjusting for poorer gap detection, the neurophysiological response to gap onset was atypical in older adults with reduced P2 amplitudes and virtually absent N2 responses. Moreover, individual differences in attention modulation of P2 response latencies and N2 amplitudes predicted gap detection and processing speed in older adults. That is, older adults with P2 latencies that decreased and N2 amplitudes that increased with active listening had faster processing speed and better gap detection than those older adults whose P2 latencies increased and N2 amplitudes decreased with attention. The results from the present study are broadly consistent with previous findings that older adults exhibit significantly poorer gap detection than younger adults in challenging tasks. Even after adjusting for poorer gap detection, older and younger adults showed robust differences in their electrophysiological responses to sound offset. Furthermore, the degree to which attention modulated the ERP was associated with individual variation in measures of processing speed and gap detection. Taken together, these results suggest an age-related deficit in early or automatic levels of auditory temporal processing and that some older adults may be less able to compensate for declines in processing by attending to the stimulus. These results extend our previous findings and support the hypothesis that age-related differences in cognitive or attention-related processing, including processing speed, contribute to an age-related decrease in gap detection.

To systematically evaluate the application of near-infrared spectroscopy technology in the study of the effect of Baduanjin exercise on cognitive function in elderly people. Relevant literature was retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science core database, ScienceDirect, Wanfang, VIP, and CNKI from 2014 to June 2023, and relevant data were extracted. A total of 1 valid literature was obtained, published in 2022, sourced from the medical journal FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH, with an impact factor of 6.46. This journal belongs to JCR Q1 area, and the SCI basic version of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is in the Q3 area of medicine. The inclusion criteria for the subjects of this study were age 60 years, experience of Baduanjin exercise for 3 years, and MMSE score 24 points. This study, based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy technology, explores the effects of Baduanjin imagery and Baduanjin exercise on cognitive function in elderly people. Baduanjin exercise can increase brain connectivity, improve brain structural connections, and enhance brain function in elderly people. These three factors are also the main reasons for Baduanjin exercise to promote the improvement of cognitive function, including increasing brain gray matter volume, brain functional area connections, etc. Baduanjin exercise can improve specific cognitive functions by increasing gray matter volume. Baduanjin exercise can regulate the functional connections of the cognitive control network in elderly people and improve their memory.

Auditory temporal processing frequently appears more affected in old subjects than would be predicted by the degree of peripheral hearing loss, pointing to an age-dependent central processing deficit. In parallel, an age-dependent decline of inhibitory function has been demonstrated in the auditory pathway, suggesting a causal relationship between temporal processing and inhibition. Gabapentin has been specifically synthesized as a potential gamma-amino-butyric-acid (GABA) mimetic with the capability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Gabapentin treatment ameliorated tinnitus in a rat model and improved tinnitus annoyance in humans with acoustic trauma. Consequently, the present study evaluated the effect of gabapentin on auditory temporal processing in the gerbil model. Psychometric functions were collected for different test paradigms. (A) "Gap detection": The detection of a gap in the middle of a 800 msec broadband noise pulse was determined either at 15 or at 30 dB SL. (B) "Forward masking": The detection of a 20 msec probe stimulus following 2.5 msec after a 400 msec 40 dB SPL masker was determined with masker and probe frequency at 2.85 kHz. The effect of gabapentin was evaluated by collecting gap detection and forward masking functions before, during, and after treating gerbils with gabapentin doses of 115 or 350 mg/kg/day administered via drinking water. Data under different experimental conditions were collected for groups of 3 to 5 young (<2 years) and 6 to 10 old (>2 years) gerbils. Two-way analyses of variance for the factors age groups and treatment groups with subsequent pairwise comparisons for significant effects were used for the statistical evaluation of the data. For gap detection, mean thresholds were significantly increased in the group of old as compared with the young gerbils at 30 dB SL (young 2.0 msec; old 3.2 msec) and at 15 dB SL (young 2.9 msec; old 9.1 msec). Gabapentin had no significant effect on gap detection, and there was no significant interaction between age group and gabapentin treatment. Mean thresholds in the forward masking paradigm were significantly elevated in old (45.5 dB SPL) as compared with young (35.0 dB SPL) gerbils. Overall, gabapentin had no significant effect on masked thresholds; however, there was a significant interaction between treatment and age. Subsequent pairwise comparisons revealed no significant effect on masked thresholds in old gerbils but showed significantly elevated thresholds of young gerbils during 350 mg/kg gabapentin (38.3 dB SPL) compared with thresholds obtained in young gerbils before (32.3 dB SPL) and after (33.5 dB SPL) treatment. Gabapentin did not exert a therapeutic effect on impaired gap detection and forward masking in old gerbils. The lack of an effect of gabapentin on impaired auditory temporal processing in old gerbils and the finding of elevated masked thresholds in young gerbils can be reconciled with reports of only moderate GABAergic effects compared with other drugs (e.g., comparing elevation of GABA levels in the brain by gabapentin and vigabatrin) and effects due to binding of gabapentin to alpha-2-delta units of voltage-gated calcium channels.

Temporal gap detection thresholds were measured in narrow-band noise-burst markers having acoustic characteristics representative of isolated steady-state second-formant (F2) properties for/p,t,k/paired separately with/i,ae,u,o/. The results revealed that gap detection threshold increased systematically as the difference was increased between the simulated stop and vowel F2 frequencies. A strong positive correlation (r = 0.87) between gap detection threshold and linear marker center frequency difference was highly significant (p < 0.001). Differences in other stimulus features had little influence on gap detection performance. Implications for speech perception are discussed.

Developmental effects on gap detection and temporal order performance were examined cross sectionally in 18 males between 6 and 17 years, while age effects in adults were examined cross sectionally in 38 males and 23 females between 18 and 70 years of age. Thresholds for gap detection and temporal order were measured using a 21FC procedure. The gap was embedded in broadband noise while the signals for the temporal order task were 1000- and 2500-Hz tones. Percent correct detection and reaction time were assesed during a 15 min go-no-go vigilance task with a tonal signal at 10-dB sensation level in white noise. There was a statistically significant correlation between the young boys ages and temporal order threshold. Gap detection and temporal order thresholds were significantly correlated with age for the adult males but the relation was most marked after age 50. Significant correlations were found between age and all measures for the females. In addition to main effects for sex and age, there was a significant sex by age interaction for gap detection.

Objectives: Elderly people are more prone to decline in cognitive functions, This study was amied to observe the effect of mindfulness meditation on the attention and executive functions in elderly people. Methods: In this case control study 100 elderly people (>60 year old) were randomly divided into study (meditating) group (n=50) and control (non-meditating) group (n=50). Meditation group did mindfulness meditation for 45day (half an hour/day, for 6 days in a week). Before and after the study period attention and executive function of both groups were assessed by Trail making test(TMT) type ‘A ‘and type ‘B’. Statistical analysis was done by using independent and paired student’s t test. P value ≤ 0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Between both the groups, there were no significant different in the baseline scores for TMT type A (p value =0.06) and type B (p value = 0.91.After study period, significant improvement were noticed in the scores of TMT type ‘A’ scores (p =0 .036) and type ‘B’ scores (p =0.002) for the study group. On the other hand there were no significant variations in the TMT type A (P = 0.663) and type B (p= .239) scores of control group. Conclusions: This study showed that, mindfulness meditation practice has positive effect on the attention and executive functions in elderly people. Regular mindfulness meditation may improve the quality of life.

To investigate the effects of the Silent Laboratory Optimization System (SLOS), a technical-noise reduction and communication-management system, on noise load and stress among medical-laboratory workers. We conducted a quasiexperimental field study (20days with SLOS as the experimental condition, and 20days without SLOS as the control condition) in a within-subjects design. Survey data from 13 workers were collected before and after the shift. Also, a survey was conducted after the control and experimental conditions, respectively. Noise was measured in dBA and as a subjective assessment. Stress was operationalized via a stress composite score (STAI and Perkhofer Stress Scale), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), an exhaustion score (Leipziger StimmungsBogen in German [LSB]), and salivary cortisol values in µg/L. SLOS users perceived significantly less noise (V=76.5; P =.003). Multilevel models revealed a stress reduction with the SLOS on the composite score, compared with a stress increase in the control condition (F[1, 506.99]=6.00; P=.01). Alower PSS score (F[1,13]=4.67; P=.05) and a lower exhaustion level (F[1, 508.72]=9.057; P=.003) in the experimental condition were found, whereas no differences in cortisol (F[1,812.58.6]=0.093; P=.76) were revealed. The workers showed reduced noise perception and stress across all criteria except cortisol when using SLOS.

Among the many questions regarding the ability to effortlessly name musical notes without a reference, also known as absolute pitch, the neural processes by which this phenomenon operates are still a matter of debate. Although a perceptual subprocess is currently accepted by the literature, the participation of some aspects of auditory processing still needs to be determined. We conducted two experiments to investigate the relationship between absolute pitch and two aspects of auditory temporal processing, namely temporal resolution and backward masking. In the first experiment, musicians were organized into two groups according to the presence of absolute pitch, as determined by a pitch identification test, and compared regarding their performance in the Gaps-in-Noise test, a gap detection task for assessing temporal resolution. Despite the lack of statistically significant difference between the groups, the Gaps-in-Noise test measures were significant predictors of the measures for pitch naming precision, even after controlling for possible confounding variables. In the second experiment, another two groups of musicians with and without absolute pitch were submitted to the backward masking test, with no difference between the groups and no correlation between backward masking and absolute pitch measures. The results from both experiments suggest that only part of temporal processing is involved in absolute pitch, indicating that not all aspects of auditory perception are related to the perceptual subprocess. Possible explanations for these findings include the notable overlap of brain areas involved in both temporal resolution and absolute pitch, which is not present in the case of backward masking, and the relevance of temporal resolution to analyze the temporal fine structure of sound in pitch perception.

This study aims at evaluating the association between subjective well-being (SWB) and oral functions in elderly people. Materials and Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out in a private dental college of central part of India. A study was carried out with a structured questionnaire on 200 individuals aged above 60 years. The questionnaire consisted of demographic data, oral function, habits, and general health. The SWB scale was used to tabulate the results. Results: A total of 200 people, comprising 67% and females 33% who were in the age group of 60–80 years, were covered in this research. The demographic profiles taken in the above study were age, gender, occupation, and monthly income. It was found that there is an association of SWB with health in the previous year (0.047). Thirty-nine percent of the persons had good health and 9.5% had altered health condition. In case of smoking as a habit, 43% of the people never smoked and the remaining had the habit (P = 0.012). Dental caries was found to be associated with SWB (0.001), 48% of the people had no caries, and the rest 52% had no caries. In case of loss of taste, 71.5% had no change in taste sensations, whereas 28.5% had altered taste sensations (P = 0.005). Twenty-eight percent of the people experienced burning sensation in the mouth and the remaining 72% had no complaints (P = 0.000). Conclusion: It was found that poor oral functions such as loss of teeth and other oral conditions such as burning mouth and loss of taste caused psychological and social disturbances in elderly people.

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of 12 weeks Pilates exercises on functional and cognitive performance in elderly people which are living in an elderly care center. Forty three elderly were randomly allocated either to Pilates group (PG, n= 21; mean age, 72.8 ± 7.84 years), which performed three session of Pilates per week for 12 weeks, or to control group (CG, n= 22; mean age, 77.7 ± 7.25 years), which no performed any exercise is except from daily works. Participants tested to handgrip strength, Berg balance scale, Functional reach test and Mini Mental State Examination Test before and after the 12 weeks of exercise. Finally, PG demonstrated improvement in all variables. However, CG has no improvement any variables. Pilates exercises led to significant improvement in functional and cognitive performance. Therefore, elderly people can apply a well-structured Pilates exercise program under Pilates instructor and physiotherapist.