Cognition Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Cognition, including details on psychology, neuroscience, memory, brain theory.

Hearing loss in older adults affects neural systems supporting speech comprehension.

Peelle JE, Troiani V, Grossman M, Wingfield A

Departments of Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. peelle@gmail.com

Hearing loss is one of the most common complaints in adults over the age of 60 and a major contributor to difficulties in speech comprehension. To examine the effects of hearing ability on the neural processes supporting spoken language processing in humans, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to monitor brain activity while older adults with age-normal hearing listened to sentences that varied in their linguistic demands. Individual differences in hearing ability predicted the degree of language-driven neural recruitment during auditory sentence comprehension in bilateral superior temporal gyri (including primary auditory cortex), thalamus, and brainstem. In a second experiment, we examined the relationship of hearing ability to cortical structural integrity using voxel-based morphometry, demonstrating a significant linear relationship between hearing ability and gray matter volume in primary auditory cortex. Together, these results suggest that even moderate declines in peripheral auditory acuity lead to a systematic downregulation of neural activity during the processing of higher-level aspects of speech, and may also contribute to loss of gray matter volume in primary auditory cortex. More generally, these findings support a resource-allocation framework in which individual differences in sensory ability help define the degree to which brain regions are recruited in service of a particular task.

Published 1 September 2011 in J Neurosci, 31(35): 12638-43.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

Articles on Cognition published 31 August 2011:

Prevalence of limited health literacy and compensatory strategies used by hospitalized patients.   Nurs Res, 60(5): 361-6.

[Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Cognition published 25 August 2011:

Targeting the nicotinic alpha7 acetylcholine receptor to enhance cognition in disease.   Biochem Pharmacol, 82(8): 891-903.

A promising drug target currently under investigation to improve cognitive deficits in neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders is the neuronal nicotinic alpha7 acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR). Improving cognitive impairments in diseases such as Alzheimer's (AD) and schizophrenia remains a large unmet medical need, and the α7nAChR has many properties that make it an attractive therapeutic target. The α7nAChR is a ligand gated ion channel that has particularly high permeability to Ca(2+) ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Neurobiology of nAChRs and cognition: a mini review of Dr. Jerry J. Buccafusco's contributions over a 25 year career.   Biochem Pharmacol, 82(8): 883-90.

This review highlights some of the many contributions of the late Dr. Jerry J. Buccafusco to the neurobiology of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and cognition over a 25 year period. The article is written by two of Dr. Buccafusco's professional colleagues, one from academia and one from the pharmaceutical industry. While Dr. Buccafusco's expertise in the cholinergic field was extensive, his insights into the practical relevance of his work (with a long-term goal of formulating new ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Functional brain imaging of nicotinic effects on higher cognitive processes.   Biochem Pharmacol, 82(8): 943-51.

Significant advances in human functional brain imaging offer new opportunities for direct observation of the effects of nicotine, novel nicotinic agonists and nicotinic antagonists on human cognitive and behavioral performance. Careful research over the last decade has enabled investigators to explore the role of nicotinic systems on the functional neuroanatomy and neural circuitry of cognitive tasks in domains such as selective attention, working memory, episodic memory, cognitive control, and ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Cognition published 19 August 2011:

Cortical state and attention.   Nat Rev Neurosci, 12(9): 509-23.

The brain continuously adapts its processing machinery to behavioural demands. To achieve this, it rapidly modulates the operating mode of cortical circuits, controlling the way that information is transformed and routed. This article will focus on two experimental approaches by which the control of cortical information processing has been investigated: the study of state-dependent cortical processing in rodents and attention in the primate visual system. Both processes involve a modulation of ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Chronic fatigue syndrome: understanding a complex illness.   Nat Rev Neurosci, 12(9): 539-44.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating illness that affects many people. It has been marred by controversy, from initial scepticism in the medical community about the existence of the condition itself to continuing disagreements--mainly between some patient advocacy groups on one side, and researchers and physicians on the other--about the name for the illness, its aetiology, its pathophysiology and the effectiveness of the few currently available treatments. The role of the CNS in ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Cognition published 18 August 2011:

Self-knowledge in childhood: relations with children's imaginary companions and understanding of mind.   Br J Dev Psychol, 29: 680-6.

Relations between interior self-knowledge and (a) imaginary companion (IC) status and (b) theory of mind (ToM) abilities were investigated in a sample (N= 80) of 4- to 7-year-olds. Interior self-knowledge was assessed in terms of the extent to which children acknowledged that they (rather than an adult) were the authority on unobservable aspects of themselves (e.g., dreaming, thinking, hunger). Compared with children without an IC, those who possessed a parentally corroborated IC ascribed less ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

'In fairy tales fairies can disappear': children's reasoning about the characteristics of humans and fantasy figures.   Br J Dev Psychol, 29: 635-55.

Two studies assessed whether children share with adults a concept of fantasy figures as entities that violate causal principles. Inferences about the characteristics of humans and fantasy figures were elicited with a forced-choice questionnaire. Items from the biological, psychological, and physical domains pitted possible against impossible abilities; social domain items pitted conventional against unconventional behaviours. Older children (6-9 years) and adults attributed few non-human ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

© 2005-2011 Cognition Research Today. All Rights Reserved.