The cortical representations of orofacial pneumotactile stimulation involve complex neuronal networks, which are still unknown. This study aims to identify the characteristics of functional connectivity (FC) evoked by three different saltatory velocities over the perioral and buccal surface of the lower face using functional magnetic resonance imaging in twenty neurotypical adults. Our results showed a velocity of 25 cm/s evoked stronger connection strength between the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the right thalamus than a velocity of 5 cm/s. The decreased FC between the right secondary somatosensory cortex and right posterior parietal cortex for 5-cm/s velocity versus all three velocities delivered simultaneously ("All ON") and the increased FC between the right thalamus and bilateral secondary somatosensory cortex for 65 cm/s vs "All ON" indicated that the right secondary somatosensory cortex might play a role in the orofacial tactile perception of velocity. Our results have also shown different patterns of FC for each seed (bilateral primary and secondary somatosensory cortex) at various velocity contrasts (5 vs 25 cm/s, 5 vs 65 cm/s, and 25 vs 65 cm/s). The similarities and differences of FC among three velocities shed light on the neuronal networks encoding the orofacial tactile perception of velocity.

This meta-analysis study aims to quantify the group differences in reading skills between children with cochlear implants and their hearing peers and between children with cochlear implants and children with hearing aids (aged between 3 and 18 years old). Of the 5,642 articles screened, 47 articles met predetermined inclusion criteria (published between 2002 and 2019). The robust variance estimation based meta-analysis models were used to synthesize all the effect sizes. Children with cochlear implants scored significantly lower than their hearing peers in phonological awareness (g = −1.62, p < 0.001), vocabulary (g = −1.50, p < 0.001), decoding (g = −1.24, p < 0.001), and reading comprehension (g = −1.39, p < 0.001), but not for fluency (g = −0.67, p = 0.054). Compared to children with hearing aids, children with cochlear implants scored significantly lower in phonological awareness (g = −0.30, p = 0.028). The percentage of unilateral cochlear implant negatively impacts the group difference between children with cochlear implants and their hearing peers. Findings from this study confirm a positive shift in reading outcomes for profoundly deaf children due to cochlear implantation. Some children with cochlear implants may need additional supports in educational settings.

In this article, the effects of tissues and geometric shape complexity of human body and head phantoms on the performance of radio frequency (RF) antennas/coils are investigated. The magnetic field, H, electric field, E, and the specific energy absorption rate true(normalSnormalAnormalRtrue) of a meander dipole RF coil are calculated. The coil has been designed and fabricated at the University laboratory to resonate at the operating frequency of 7 T magnetic resonance imaging machines. Three phantoms of different geometries, homogeneous and inhomogeneous, are used in this work. It was noticed that the homogeneous spherical human head phantom exhibited higher peak SAR value (by an amount of 30%) than a homogeneous simple rectangular body model. Similarly, the geometric shape complexity of the homogeneous SAM head phantom played the dominant role in the accuracy of SAR results. The coil with the homogeneous SAM head model exhibited higher peak SAR value (by an amount of 84%) than the homogeneous spherical head model. In contrary, the inhomogeneous multilayered spherical head phantom exhibited SAR value less than the single‐layered homogenous one (by 40%). The complexity of tissues, in particular, the adult skull bone thickness, reduces the intensity of power coupled to the brain.

This meta-analysis study aims to quantify the group differences in reading skills between children with cochlear implants and their hearing peers and between children with cochlear implants and children with hearing aids. Of the 5,642 articles screened, 47 articles met predetermined inclusion criteria. The robust variance estimation based meta-analysis models were used to synthesize all the effect sizes. Children with cochlear implants performed significantly worse than their hearing peers for phonological awareness (g = -1.62, p < .001), vocabulary (g = -1.50, p < .001), decoding (g = -1.24, p < .001), and reading comprehension (g = -1.39, p < .001), but not for fluency (g = -.67, p = .054). Children with cochlear implants only scored significantly lower in phonological awareness (g = -.30, p = .028) than children with hearing aids. The only significant moderator was the percentage of unilateral cochlear implant that negatively impact the group difference between children with cochlear implants and their hearing peers. Findings from this study confirm a positive shift in reading outcomes for profoundly deaf children as a consequence of cochlear implantation despite the poor scores in all constructs.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest Author contribution statement YW proposed and performed connectivity analysis, and drafted the manuscript. SM contributed to the conception, design, and data collection of the study, and revising the manuscript critically for important intellectual content. RC and HO carried out the experiment and data collection. FS organized and pre-processed the data. All authors read and approved the submitted version and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work. AbstractWord count: 224The cortical representation of orofacial pneumotactile stimulation involves a complex network, which is still unknown. This study aims to identify the characteristics of functional connectivity (FC) elicited by different saltatory velocities over the perioral and buccal surface of the lower face using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in twenty neurotypical adults. Our results showed 25 cm/s evoked more functional coupling in the right hemisphere, suggesting 25 cm/s might be optimal velocity if bilateral brain damages occur. The decreased FC between the right secondary somatosensory cortex and right posterior parietal cortex for 5 cm/s versus All-on showed that the relatively slow velocity evoked less coupling in the ipsilateral hemisphere, which suggesting functional coupling in the contralateral hemisphere is in charge of orofacial tactile perception of velocity. The increased FC between the right thalamus and bilateral secondary somatosensory cortex for 65 cm/s versus All-on indicated that the neural encoding of relatively fast tactile velocity is more coupling between the right thalamus and bilateral secondary somatosensory cortex. Our results have shown different characteristics of FC for each seed at various velocity contrasts (5 > 25 cm/s, 5 > 65 cm/s, and 25 > 65 cm/s), suggesting the neuronal networks encoding the orofacial tactile perception of velocity. The difference of functional connectivity among three velocities may indicate the optimal stimulation setting for better therapeutic effects on stroke recovery. Contribution to the fieldThis is the first study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify the characteristics of functional connectivity elicited by novel pneumotactile stimulations with different velocity on the lower face. Our findings will elucidate the neuronal networks encoding the orofacial tactile perception of velocity. The difference in functional connectivity among three velocities may indicate the optimal stimulation setting for better therapeutic effects on stroke recovery.Abstract 17