Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK.
Int J Audiol. 2022 Mar;61(3):197-204. doi: 10.1080/14992027.2021.1899314. Epub 2021 Apr 1.
Baseline electroencephalography (EEG) alpha power, i.e. that measured prior to stimulus presentation, is a potential objective predictor of task performance. Here we assessed the predictive power of EEG alpha on performance accuracy in a digits-in-noise recognition task, factoring in hearing thresholds and age.
EEG alpha power, recorded while participants listened to target digits presented in a noise background, was analysed during two different baseline periods: i) a pre-stimulus baseline (pre-STIM) free from any acoustic stimulus, and ii) a pre-target baseline (pre-TARG) recorded in background noise only.
Eighty-five participants with either normal hearing or aided hearing impairment (age range: 55-85 years old, 42 male).
Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that i) lower hearing thresholds and, to a lesser extent, higher pre-STIM alpha power were associated with improved performance accuracy ii) alpha power in pre-STIM and pre-TARG were highly correlated across individuals but pre-TARG alpha power was not a significant predictor of performance accuracy.
Investigations of baseline EEG alpha power as a predictor of speech-in-noise performance accuracy should control for associations between hearing thresholds and measures of EEG baseline periods.
基线脑电图（EEG）α 功率，即在刺激呈现之前测量的功率，是任务表现的潜在客观预测指标。在这里，我们评估了 EEGα 在数字噪声识别任务中的表现准确性预测能力，考虑了听力阈值和年龄因素。
参与者在噪声背景下听目标数字时记录 EEGα 功率，在两个不同的基线期进行分析：i）无任何声刺激的预刺激基线（pre-STIM），和 ii）仅在背景噪声中记录的预目标基线（pre-TARG）。
85 名听力正常或助听有听力障碍的参与者（年龄范围：55-85 岁，42 名男性）。
分层多元回归分析表明，i）较低的听力阈值和在一定程度上较高的 pre-STIMα 功率与更好的表现准确性相关，ii）个体之间 pre-STIM 和 pre-TARG 的α 功率高度相关，但 pre-TARGα 功率不是表现准确性的显著预测指标。
作为言语噪声表现准确性预测指标的基线 EEGα 功率研究应控制听力阈值与 EEG 基线期测量之间的关联。
