Speech in noise listening correlates identified in resting state and DTI MRI images

David S Wack; Ferdinand Schweser; Audrey S Wack; Sarah F Muldoon; Konstantinos Slavakis; Cheryl McGranor; Erin Kelly; Robert S Miletich; Kathleen McNerney

doi:10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105503

Speech in noise listening correlates identified in resting state and DTI MRI images

Brain Lang. 2025 Jan:260:105503. doi: 10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105503. Epub 2024 Dec 12.

Authors

David S Wack¹, Ferdinand Schweser², Audrey S Wack³, Sarah F Muldoon⁴, Konstantinos Slavakis⁵, Cheryl McGranor⁶, Erin Kelly⁷, Robert S Miletich⁸, Kathleen McNerney⁹

Affiliations

¹ Dept. of Nuclear Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA; Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA; Center for Biomedical Imaging, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.
³ The Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
⁴ Dept. of Mathematics, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA; Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA; Neuroscience Program, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.
⁵ Dept. of Information and Communications Engineering, Institute of Science, Tokyo, Japan.
⁶ Center for Biomedical Imaging, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.
⁷ Canon Medical Systems, USA, Tustin, CA, USA.
⁸ Dept. of Nuclear Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.
⁹ Dept. of Speech-Language Pathology, SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo, NY, USA.

PMID: 39667096
DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105503

Abstract

This study presents an examination of the neural connectivity associated with processing speech in noisy environments, an ability that declines with age. We correlated subjects' speech-in-noise (SIN) ability with resting-state MRI scans and Fractional Anisotropy (FA) values from the auditory section of the corpus callosum, both with and without correcting for age. The results revealed that subjects who performed poorly on the right ear SIN test (QuickSIN, MedRx) had higher correlations between the primary auditory cortex and regions of the brain that process language. Subjects who performed well on the QuickSIN test had stronger correlations bilaterally between the primary auditory cortices, however, this finding was due to age. Likewise, FA values seem best explained by age not SIN. The Ig2 region of the insula showed significant correlation with right ear SIN when correcting for age.

Keywords: Diffusion Tenson Imaging (DTI); Resting-state MRI; Speech-in-noise.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Anisotropy
Auditory Cortex / diagnostic imaging
Auditory Cortex / physiology
Brain / diagnostic imaging
Brain / physiology
Diffusion Tensor Imaging*
Female
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Noise*
Speech Perception* / physiology
Young Adult