(114) Cortical Plasticity Elicited by Age-Related Hearing Loss: An ERP Study

Monday, October 2, 2023

2:45 PM – 3:45 PM East Coast USA Time

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Author(s)

Tatiana Marques, AuD

Research Fellow
Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; University of Porto, Faculty of Medicine, Porto, Portugal; Audiology, Physiotherapy and Environmental Health Department, Coimbra Health School, Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

Co-Author(s)

JC

João Castelhano, PhD

Dr
Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Coimbra, Coimbra, PRT
ID

Isabel Catarina Duarte, MSc

Mrs
Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Coimbra, Coimbra, PRT
CP

Carla P. Pinto Moura, MD PhD

Professor
Department of Otorhinolaryngology/ Medical Genetics, University of Porto, Faculty of Medicine, Portugal; São João University Hospital Centre, Porto, Portugal; I3S: Institute for Research and Innovation in Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Porto, Porto, Portugal

Senior Author(s)

MC

Miguel Castelo-Branco, MD PhD

Professor
Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Coimbra, Coimbra, PRT

Presenting Author(s)

Antonio Carlos Eva Migueis, MD PhD

Full Professor
University Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

Senior Author(s)

Antonio Carlos Eva Migueis, MD PhD

Full Professor
University Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

Disclosure(s):

Tatiana Marques, AuD: No relevant relationships to disclose.

Antonio Carlos Eva Migueis, MD PhD: No relevant relationships to disclose.

Introduction: Peripheral signs of age-related hearing loss (ARHL) has been well documented, although is not well understood if it contributes to adaptive plasticity of cortical regions and how it interacts with functional responses of high-order centers associated with cognitive function. Therefore, the present study investigates electrophysiological auditory plasticity in ARHL.

Methods: Fourteen older adults comprised the normal hearing (NH) group (mean age = 72.50 years, SD = 5.98) and seventeen adults comprised the hearing loss (HL) group (mean age = 75.00 years, SD = 6.96). All participants completed a hearing assessment with pure tone average (PTA) ≥ 25 dB defining HL. Auditory oddball responses to a consonant-vowel stimuli, comprising /ba/ as standard and /ga/ as deviant stimulus, was administered while EEG was recorded. Grand average event-related potentials (ERPs) waveforms for the NH and HL groups were achieved. A permutation student t-test was performed with Bonferroni correction (level 0.05).

Results: ERPs responses in the NH and HL groups are marked by the presence of P1, N1 and P2 components. Comparing to NH group, the HL group showed significantly larger amplitudes for P1 and P2 components (p < 0.05). Further, a positive component (P2’) following P2 was observed exclusively in HL group. Otherwise, the P3 component responses were present in all participants in the NH group, while they were recorded in only 58.82% of HL older adults.

Conclusions: Results provide evidence that ARHL reduce perceptual auditory processes, leading to maladaptive plasticity in cognitive-related auditory tasks, as observed by decreased responsiveness of P3 component. Further, larger amplitude of early perceptual ERPs in ARHL, such as the P1 and P2, suggests higher auditory plasticity in the HL group due to increased listening effort to decode the degraded auditory signal.