No abstract

This investigation evaluated the familiarisation conditions required to promote subsequent and more long-term improvements in perceptual processing of dysarthric speech and examined the cognitive-perceptual processes that may underlie the experience-evoked learning response. Sixty listeners were randomly allocated to one of three experimental groups and were familiarised under the following conditions: (1) neurologically intact speech (control), (2) dysarthric speech (passive familiarisation), and (3) dysarthric speech coupled with written information (explicit familiarisation). All listeners completed an identical phrase transcription task immediately following familiarisation, and listeners familiarised with dysarthric speech also completed a follow-up phrase transcription task 7 days later. Listener transcripts were analysed for a measure of intelligibility (percent words correct), as well as error patterns at a segmental (percent syllable resemblance) and suprasegmental (lexical boundary errors) level of perceptual processing. The study found that intelligibility scores for listeners familiarised with dysarthric speech were significantly greater than those of the control group, with the greatest and most robust gains afforded by the explicit familiarisation condition. Relative perceptual gains in detecting phonetic and prosodic aspects of the signal varied dependent upon the familiarisation conditions, suggesting that passive familiarisation may recruit a different learning mechanism to that of a more explicit familiarisation experience involving supplementary written information. It appears that decisions regarding resource allocation during subsequent processing of dysarthric speech may be informed by the information afforded by the conditions of familiarisation.

No abstract

Perceptual outcomes vary across speaking modes, even when speakers with dysarthria are grouped according to similar perceptual profiles. Further investigation of interspeaker differences is needed to inform individually tailored intervention approaches.

No abstract

Middle ear sensory information has never been localized in the homunculus of the somatosensory cortex (S1). We investigated the somatosensory representation of the middle ear in 15 normal hearing subjects. We applied small air pressure variations to the tympanic membrane while performing a 3T fMRI study. Unilateral stimulations of the right ear triggered bilateral activations in the caudal part of the postcentral gyrus in Brodmann area 43 (BA 43) and in the auditory associative areas 42 (BA 42) and 22 (BA 22). BA 43 has been found to be involved in activities accompanying oral intake, and could be more largely involved in pressure activities in the oropharynx area. The tympanic membrane is indirectly related to the pharynx area through the action of tensor tympani, which is a Eustachian tube muscle. The Eustachian tube muscles have a role in pressure equalisation in the middle ear and also have a role in the pharyngeal phase of swallowing. Activation of BA 42 and BA 22 could reflect activations associated with the bilateral acoustic reflex triggered prior to selfvocalization to adjust air pressure in the oropharynx during speech. We propose that BA 43, 42 and 22 are the cortical areas associated with middle ear function. We did not find representation of tympanic membrane movements due to pressure in S1, but its representation in the postcentral gyrus in BA 43 seems to suggest that at least part of this area conveys pure somatosensory information. inserm-00638231, version 1 -4 Nov 2011Agnès JOB 3

No abstract

This paper evaluated the diagnostic power of electrocochleography (ECochG) in detecting Ménière's disease (MD) as compared with two subjective assessment methods, including the clinical guidelines provided by the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Committee on Hearing Equilibrium and the Gibson score. A retrospective study of 250 suspected MD cases was conducted. The agreement between the three assessment methods was found to be relatively high, with a total reliability being higher than 70%. Participants who tested “positive” with ECochG exhibited a higher occurrence rate of asymmetric hearing threshold as well as the four MD symptoms, namely, vertigo, hearing loss, tinnitus, and aural fullness. The “positive” ECochG group also showed a high correlation between the ECochG measures in response to stimuli at adjacent frequency ranges, suggesting that the interfrequency ECochG correspondence may be sensitive to the presence of endolymphatic hydrops and thus may serve as a useful diagnostic marker for MD.