Neural links between facial emotion recognition and cognitive impairment in presbycusis

Abstract

Objectives Facial emotion recognition (FER) is impaired in people with dementia and with severe to profound hearing loss, probably reflecting common neural changes. Here, we aim to study the association between brain structures and FER impairment in mild to moderate age‐related hearing loss participants. Methods We evaluated FER in a cross‐sectional cohort of 111 Chilean nondemented elderly participants. They were assessed for FER in seven different categories using 35 facial stimuli. We collected pure‐tone average (PTA) audiometric thresholds, cognitive and neuropsychiatric assessments, and morphometric brain imaging using a 3‐Tesla MRI. Results According to PTA threshold levels, participants were classified as controls (≤25 dB, n = 56) or presbycusis (>25 dB, n = 55), with an average PTA of 17.08 ± 4.8 dB HL and 36.27 ± 9.5 dB HL respectively. Poorer total FER score was correlated with worse hearing thresholds (r = −0.23, p < 0.05) in participants with presbycusis. Multiple regression models explained 57 % of the variability of FER in presbycusis and 10% in controls. In both groups, the main determinant of FER was cognitive performance. In the brain structure of presbycusis participants, FER was correlated with the atrophy of the right insula, right hippocampus, bilateral cingulate cortex and multiple areas of the temporal cortex. In controls, FER was only associated with bilateral middle temporal cortex volume. Conclusions FER impairment in presbycusis is distinctively associated with atrophy of neural structures engaged in the perceptual and conceptual level of face emotion processing.

Eye-gaze Strategies During Facial Emotion Recognition in Neurodegenerative Diseases and Links With Neuropsychiatric Disorders

“…A future experimental protocol should include dynamic material, both visual (colorized) and auditory, such as videos, to confirm our results. There is a correlation between hearing loss and FER impairment due to superior temporal sulcus atrophy, which is a key region for FER (Gobbini and Haxby, 2007), following presbycusis (Belkhiria et al, 2021). Although none of the individuals in our study had significant hearing loss, we did not conduct an audiologic assessment.…”

The impact of age-related hearing loss on structural neuroanatomy: A meta-analysis

“… Belkhiria et al ( 66 ) controlled for education, cognitive abilities, visuospatial capacities, (neuro-) psychiatric symptoms. Belkhiria et al ( 24 ) controlled for education, cognitive abilities, dementia, smoking, cardiovascular risk factors, diabetes, depression.…”

“…In one study, it was unclear whether confounding variables were controlled for in analyses, but the two groups (ARHL and no-ARHL) were matched for age, sex, and education, and showed statistically similar cognitive functioning across a range of tests ( 64 ). Critically, the four remaining studies state explicitly that statistical analyses accounted for both age and sex ( 22 , 24 , 65 , 66 ). Further, three studies controlled for education ( 24 , 65 , 66 ), and three controlled for total estimated intracranial volume ( 22 , 24 , 65 ).…”

“…Critically, the four remaining studies state explicitly that statistical analyses accounted for both age and sex ( 22 , 24 , 65 , 66 ). Further, three studies controlled for education ( 24 , 65 , 66 ), and three controlled for total estimated intracranial volume ( 22 , 24 , 65 ). In the one longitudinal study included here, the additional variables of hypertension, smoking, hearing impairment, and years since baseline, were included as covariates in analyses ( 22 ).…”

Screening Tools and Assessment Methods of Cognitive Decline Associated With Age-Related Hearing Loss: A Review

“…OAE and ABR also have the potential to determine which ARHL patients could be at risk of having a cognitive impairment (Belkhiria et al, 2019 , 2020 ; Delano et al, 2020 ). In addition, a recent study found that impaired facial emotion recognition in ARHL patients is correlated with the atrophy of multiple areas of the cerebral cortex and may also relate to cognitive impairment (Belkhiria et al, 2021 ). Future research may find more reliable biomarkers for cognitive decline caused by ARHL.…”