Parkinson's disease affects the neural alpha oscillations associated with speech‐in‐noise processing

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) has increasingly been associated with auditory dysfunction, including alterations regarding the control of auditory information processing. Although these alterations may interfere with the processing of speech in degraded listening conditions, behavioural studies have generally found preserved speech-in-noise recognition in PD. However, behavioural speech audiometry does not capture the neurophysiological mechanisms supporting speech-in-noise processing. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the neural oscillatory mechanisms associated with speech-in-noise processing in PD. Twelve persons with PD and 12 age-and gender-matched healthy controls (HCs) were included in this study. Persons with PD were studied in the medication off condition. All subjects underwent an audiometric screening and performed a sentence-in-noise recognition task under simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) recording. Behavioural speech recognition scores and self-reported ratings of effort, performance, and motivation were collected. Time-frequency analysis of EEG data revealed no significant difference between persons with PD and HCs regarding delta-theta (2-8 Hz) inter-trial phase coherence to noise and sentence onset. In contrast, significantly increased alpha (8-12 Hz) power was found in persons with PD compared with HCs during the sentence-in-noise recognition task. Behaviourally, persons with PD demonstrated significantly decreased speech recognition scores, whereas no significant differences were found regarding effort, performance, and motivation ratings. These results suggest that persons with PD allocate more cognitive resources to support speech-in-noise processing. The interpretation of this finding is discussed in the context of a top-down mediated compensation mechanism for inefficient filtering and degradation of auditory input in PD.

Time course of EEG complexity reflects attentional engagement during listening to speech in noise

“…The interpretation of the underlying mechanisms of alpha activity during speech in noise complements our previous studies on attentive listening to natural continuous speech (Eqlimi et al, 2021) and speech‐in‐noise tasks for people with Parkinson's disease. (De Groote et al, 2021).…”

“…The interpretation of the underlying mechanisms of alpha activity during speech in noise complements our previous studies on attentive listening to natural continuous speech and speech-in-noise tasks for people with Parkinson's disease. (De Groote et al, 2021). [Correction added on 30 October 2023, after first online publication: In the preceding sentence, reference citations (De Groote et al, 2021) were not correctly captured.…”

“…(De Groote et al, 2021). [Correction added on 30 October 2023, after first online publication: In the preceding sentence, reference citations (De Groote et al, 2021) were not correctly captured. These have been corrected in this version.…”

Effects of stepped speech rehabilitation and psychological intervention on speech disorders and cognitive function in Parkinson disease patients

“…[ 4 ] In a study exploring the impact of PD on verbal cognition, Groote team discovered that PD patients allocate more cognitive resources to support speech processing in noisy environments. [ 5 ] As a result, speech rehabilitation exercises can be utilized to enhance articulation clarity and speech fluency through techniques like articulation, intonation, and speech rate practice. [ 6 ] PI, on the other hand, assists patients in regulating their emotions, boosting self-confidence, and improving social skills through cognitive-behavioral therapy and other strategies.…”