OBJECTIVE:Among the stimulus factors, the influence of presentation level is less studied in normal-hearing individuals when using speech stimuli withvarious presentation levels for the auditory late latency response (ALLR). Hence, the present study aimed to explore the Latency-Intensity (L-I) function, i.e., how the latency and amplitude change as a function of intensity using speech stimuli. MATERIALS and METHODS:Speech-evoked ALLR was obtained from 15 normal-hearing individuals. The syllable/ta/ was used to record ALLR with an intensity of 30, 50, 70, and 90 dBSPL. Electroencephalography (EEG) from five channels was recorded and analyzed offline. RESULTS:The overall results revealed that there is an influence of intensity on P1 and N1 latencies in a nonlinear fashion. The latency change is consistent at lower intensities than at moderate and high intensities. The amplitude changes did not reach significance, though a decrease with a reduction in intensity was obvious. CONCLUSION:There is a significant effect of intensity on the latency and amplitude of ALLR in speech stimulus. However, this effect may vary for different speech stimuli.

Background: It has been reported that in prelingually deafened adults there is maturation of the late latency response (LLR) after rehabilitation using cochlear implants. Other evidence suggests that the auditory system, like any other sensory system, receives multimodal stimulation, a factor which could help the auditory system mature even in the absence of any auditory input. The current study was done on two prelingually deaf adults who had not received rehabilitation, and their latencies were within the normal mature range, suggesting their auditory cortex responses were maturely developed prior to rehabilitation.Material and methods: Two male participants took part in the study: one was 21 years old and the other was 36, and both had congenital profound hearing loss. Using pure tone thresholds obtained earlier, a strong class hearing aid (Siemens Infiniti Pro SP) was programmed using NOAH software and fitted to the right ear using the NALNL-1 fitting formula. As an objective measure of verification of hearing aid effect, auditory P1, N1, P2, and N2 were recorded using the free-field facility available in the IHS SmartEP system: a 1000 Hz pure tone was presented at 70 dB SPL (30 dB SL) and 50 dB SPL (10 dB SL) from a loudspeaker at a distance of 1 m and 45° angle. Results:The latencies of P1, N1, P2, and N2 for both participants were recorded for 70 and 90 dB HL; all latencies were well within normal limits. Conclusions:The results indicate that, with adequate amplification, a mature response from the auditory cortex can be obtained even in adults who have profound hearing loss and who have been deprived of auditory stimuli since a prelingual age.

Objective: Most evidences from animal models and human subjects with auditory deprivation report that the children rehabilitated later than 5–6 years of age show abnormal CAEPs (absence of N1) even after a long period of cochlear implant usage and attributed to cortical decoupling. The current study aims to explore the auditory cortical activation in congenitally deaf adults who never received any rehabilitation. Design: Aided CAEPs were elicited using 1000 Hz pure tone at 30 dB SL from 11 congenitally deaf adults and age/gender matched controls aged between 17 and 45 years. The latencies and amplitudes of the P1–N1–P2 obligatory responses were measured and compared using topographic ANOVA (TANOVA). Results: The morphology of CAEP responses from the deaf group was similar to that of the normal hearing group except the presence of a broader P2. The amplitude measures between the groups did not reveal statistical significance; however, P2 latency revealed a significant difference between the groups. TANOVA revealed that the topographic maps between the groups did not significantly differ. Conclusions: The matured cortical response for acoustic stimulus, especially the presence of N1, clearly signifies the activation of auditory cortex. The presence of matured CAEPs might be due to the abnormal synaptogenesis of auditory neurons transforming into multisensory neurons and continues the normal course of maturation. These matured CAEP responses will be an indication of closure of critical period and limited benefit with rehabilitation.

Voice User Interface (VUI) is an Artificial Intelligence tool that enables children to access a computing device and complete tasks through speech instead of using learning methods. VUI, a form of AI (Artificial Intelligence), takes a sound that children articulate in a spoken statement and use intent recognition to understand the action required to fulfill the child’s spoken request. The design and features of VUI have been developed to increase the interpersonal level of communication with users and, to some degree, make voice assistants behave like humans. The features that have been created, have been shaped in such a way as to improve learning efficacy and ease of use for early childhood learning development. The current available VUIs in the market have been geared to provide children with a simpler way to interact with access to educational technology learning tools. The research posits that there are two primary uses of VUI in childhood learning development exploration, whereby children use VUI as a form of entertainment and information seeking, and children use VUI to develop various knowledge facets. For children in the early language stages currently using language to communicate, VUI language stimulation can help children to engage in continuous communication processes, use and understand various words, and successfully complete more complex sentences. The research seeks to state the problems associated with VUI and the standard opinions based on research associated with the problem. Moreover, the study seeks to articulate the hypothesis that VUI is an effective tool for early childhood language learning through the use of peer-reviewed evidence and examples, to the hypothesis, to generate new and innovative perspectives.

No abstract