Neurophysiological improvements in speech-in-noise task after short-term choir training in older adults

Abstract

Perceiving speech in noise (SIN) is important for health and well-being and decreases with age. Musicians show improved speech-in-noise abilities and reduced age-related auditory decline, yet it is unclear whether short term music engagement has similar effects. In this randomized control trial we used a pre-post design to investigate whether a 12-week music intervention in adults aged 50-65 without prior music training and with subjective hearing loss improves well-being, speech-in-noise abilities, and auditory encoding and voluntary attention as indexed by auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) in a syllable-in-noise task, and later AEPs in an oddball task. Age and gender-matched adults were randomized to a choir or control group. Choir participants sang in a 2-hr ensemble with 1-hr home vocal training weekly; controls listened to a 3-hr playlist weekly, attended concerts, and socialized online with fellow participants. From pre- to post-intervention, no differences between groups were observed on quantitative measures of well-being or behavioral speech-in-noise abilities. In the choir group, but not the control group, changes in the N1 component were observed for the syllable-in-noise task, with increased N1 amplitude in the passive condition and decreased N1 latency in the active condition. During the oddball task, larger N1 amplitudes to the frequent standard stimuli were also observed in the choir but not control group from pre to post intervention. Findings have implications for the potential role of music training to improve sound encoding in individuals who are in the vulnerable age range and at risk of auditory decline.

Does music training enhance auditory and linguistic processing? A systematic review and meta-analysis of behavioral and brain evidence

“…Nonetheless, these benefits were also often limited to some of the included measures (n = 8 out of 12, 66.67%). For instance, Hennessy et al (2021) found significant effects for adults' N1 amplitude during passive listening to speech-in-noise, but not for the active speech-innoise task (participants were asked to press a button when they could hear a target syllable).…”

“…Language is one of the far transfer domains most extensively examined in the music training literature. Many studies examine transfer to linguistic abilities including phonological awareness (e.g., Vidal et al, 2020), reading (e.g., Carioti et al, 2019), speechin-noise perception (e.g., Hennessy et al, 2021), speech-in-quiet perception (e.g., Tierney et al, 2015), or prosody perception (e.g., Moreno et al, 2009). Although results from individual studies vary (e.g., Boebinger et al, 2015;Mehr et al, 2013), the mechanisms underlying associations between music and linguistic processing have been discussed.…”

“…However, a reanalysis of Sala and Gobet's data indicated that randomization was not a robust moderator, and that there would be evidence for transfer if near-transfer effect sizes had been excluded in the control groups, as they were in the music groups (e.g., phonological awareness when the group received phonological training; Bigand & Tillmann, 2022). processing (e.g., Carpentier et al, 2016;Fleming et al, 2019;Hennessy et al, 2021), no systematic reviews have covered brain data. This will be crucial to understand behavior in the context of brain plasticity, and the neurobiological bases of associations between music and nonmusical domains.…”

“…There was only one study that included an active task, asking participants to make familiarity judgments (familiar vs. unfamiliar) on pseudowords, which could be new to them or previously presented in a familiarization phase (François et al, 2013). The studies that examined speech-in-noise perception also varied in the type of stimuli (e.g., syllables, Hennessy et al, 2021;sentences, Fleming et al, 2019) and task. One study used passive listening (Tierney et al, 2013), while the remaining three included active tasks.…”

The importance of the motor system in the development of music‐based forms of auditory rehabilitation

“…Two more recent studies have confirmed a speech‐in‐noise benefit in older adults as a result of both piano lessons 67 and choir participation 68 . Worschech et al.…”