SRTn and brain volume (Rudner et al., 2019)

Purpose: Hearing loss is associated with changes in brain volume in regions supporting auditory and cognitive processing. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a systematic association between hearing ability and brain volume in cross-sectional data from a large nonclinical cohort of middle-aged adults available from the UK Biobank Resource (http://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk).Method: We performed a set of regression analyses to determine the association between speech reception threshold in noise (SRTn) and global brain volume as well as predefined regions of interest (ROIs) based on T1-weighted structural images, controlling for hearing-related comorbidities and cognition as well as demographic factors. In a 2nd set of analyses, we additionally controlled for hearing aid (HA) use. We predicted statistically significant associations globally and in ROIs including auditory and cognitive processing regions, possibly modulated by HA use.Results: Whole-brain gray matter volume was significantly lower for individuals with poorer SRTn. Furthermore, the volume of 9 predicted ROIs including both auditory and cognitive processing regions was lower for individuals with poorer SRTn. The greatest percentage difference (−0.57%) in ROI volume relating to a 1 SD worsening of SRTn was found in the left superior temporal gyrus. HA use did not substantially modulate the pattern of association between brain volume and SRTn.Conclusions: In a large middle-aged nonclinical population, poorer hearing ability is associated with lower brain volume globally as well as in cortical and subcortical regions involved in auditory and cognitive processing, but there was no conclusive evidence that this effect is moderated by HA use. This pattern of results supports the notion that poor hearing leads to reduced volume in brain regions recruited during speech understanding under challenging conditions. These findings should be tested in future longitudinal, experimental studies.Supplemental Material S1. Model 1.Supplemental Material S2. Model 2.Rudner, M., Seeto, M., Keidser, G., Johnson, B., & Rönnberg, J. (2019). Poorer speech reception threshold in noise is associated with lower brain volume in auditory and cognitive processing regions. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 62(4S), XXX-XXX. https://doi.org/10.1044/2018_JSLHR-H-ASCC7-18-0142Publisher Note: This article is part of the Special Issue: Select Papers From the 7th Aging and Speech Communication Conference.

研究目的：听力损失与支持听觉和认知处理的脑区体积变化相关。本研究旨在确定听力能力与大脑体积之间是否存在系统性关联，该关联基于来自英国生物样本库资源（http://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk）的大型非临床中年成人横断面数据。研究方法：我们进行了一系列回归分析，以确定噪声中言语接收阈（SRTn）与全脑体积以及基于T1加权结构图像预定义的兴趣区域（ROIs）之间的关联，同时控制听力相关合并症、认知以及人口统计学因素。在第二组分析中，我们进一步控制了助听器（HA）的使用。我们预测了在全脑和ROIs，包括听觉和认知处理区域中可能受助听器使用调节的统计学上显著的关联。研究结果：SRTn较差的个体全脑灰质体积显著降低。此外，包括听觉和认知处理区域在内的9个预测ROIs的体积对于SRTn较差的个体也较低。与SRTn恶化1个标准差相关的ROI体积百分比差异最大（-0.57%）出现在左侧颞上回。助听器使用并未显著调节大脑体积与SRTn之间的关联模式。研究结论：在大型中年非临床人群中，较差的听力能力与全局大脑体积以及参与听觉和认知处理的皮层和皮质下脑区的体积降低相关，但未发现明确证据表明这种效应受助听器使用调节。这种结果模式支持了不良听力导致在困难条件下理解言语时所涉及的脑区体积减少的观点。这些发现应在未来的纵向、实验研究中进行验证。补充材料S1：模型1。补充材料S2：模型2。Rudner, M.，Seeto, M.，Keidser, G.，Johnson, B.，& Rönnberg, J.（2019）。噪声中言语接收阈较差与听觉和认知处理区域大脑体积降低相关。言语、语言和听力研究杂志，62（4S），XXX-XXX。https://doi.org/10.1044/2018_JSLHR-H-ASCC7-18-0142。出版者注：本文是特别专辑“第7届衰老与言语交流会议精选论文”的一部分。