Calmels Marie-Noëlle, Gallois Yohan, Marx Mathieu, Deguine Olivier, Taoui Soumia, Arnaud Emma, Strelnikov Kuzma, Barone Pascal
Service d'Oto-Rhino-Laryngologie, d'Oto-Neurologie et d'ORL Pédiatrique, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse, CEDEX 9, 31059 Toulouse, France.
Centre de Recherche cerveau et Cognition, Université de Toulouse, Université Paul Sabatier, 31052 Toulouse, France.
Brain Sci. 2022 Mar 22;12(4):423. doi: 10.3390/brainsci12040423.
In children, single-sided deafness (SSD) affects the development of linguistic and social skills and can impede educational progress. These difficulties may relate to cortical changes that occur following SSD, such as reduced inter-hemispheric functional asymmetry and maladaptive brain plasticity. To investigate these neuronal changes and their evolution in children, a non-invasive technique is required that is little affected by motion artifacts. Here, we present a research protocol that uses functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to evaluate the reorganization of cortical auditory asymmetry in children with SSD; it also examines how the cortical changes relate to auditory and language skills. The protocol is designed for children whose SSD has not been treated, because hearing restoration can alter both brain reorganization and behavioral performance. We propose a single-center, cross-sectional study that includes 30 children with SSD (congenital or acquired moderate-to-profound deafness) and 30 children with normal hearing (NH), all aged 5-16 years. The children undergo fNIRS during monaural and binaural stimulation, and the pattern of cortical activity is analyzed using measures of the peak amplitude and area under the curve for both oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin. These cortical measures can be compared between the two groups of children, and analyses can be run to determine whether they relate to binaural hearing (speech-in-noise and sound localization), speech perception and production, and quality of life (QoL). The results could be of relevance for developing individualized rehabilitation programs for SSD, which could reduce patients' difficulties and prevent long-term neurofunctional and clinical consequences.
在儿童中，单侧耳聋（SSD）会影响语言和社交技能的发展，并可能阻碍教育进程。这些困难可能与SSD后发生的皮质变化有关，例如半球间功能不对称性降低和适应性不良的脑可塑性。为了研究儿童中的这些神经元变化及其演变，需要一种受运动伪影影响较小的非侵入性技术。在这里，我们提出了一种研究方案，该方案使用功能性近红外光谱（fNIRS）来评估SSD儿童皮质听觉不对称性的重组；它还研究皮质变化与听觉和语言技能之间的关系。该方案是为未经治疗的SSD儿童设计的，因为听力恢复会改变脑重组和行为表现。我们提议进行一项单中心横断面研究，包括30名SSD儿童（先天性或后天性中度至重度耳聋）和30名听力正常（NH）的儿童，所有儿童年龄在5至16岁之间。儿童在单耳和双耳刺激期间接受fNIRS检查，并使用氧合血红蛋白和脱氧血红蛋白的峰值幅度和曲线下面积测量值分析皮质活动模式。可以在两组儿童之间比较这些皮质测量值，并进行分析以确定它们是否与双耳听力（噪声中的语音和声音定位）、语音感知和产生以及生活质量（QoL）相关。这些结果可能与为SSD制定个性化康复计划相关，这可以减少患者的困难并预防长期的神经功能和临床后果。
