Quique Yina M, Gnanateja G Nike, Dickey Michael Walsh, Evans William S, Chandrasekaran Bharath
Center for Education in Health Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States.
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
Front Hum Neurosci. 2023 Sep 14;17:1122480. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1122480. eCollection 2023.
People with aphasia have been shown to benefit from rhythmic elements for language during aphasia rehabilitation. However, it is unknown whether rhythmic processing is associated with such benefits. Cortical tracking of the speech envelope (CTenv) may provide a measure of encoding of speech rhythmic properties and serve as a predictor of candidacy for rhythm-based aphasia interventions.
Electroencephalography was used to capture electrophysiological responses while Spanish speakers with aphasia ( = 9) listened to a continuous speech narrative (audiobook). The Temporal Response Function was used to estimate CTenv in the delta (associated with word- and phrase-level properties), theta (syllable-level properties), and alpha bands (attention-related properties). CTenv estimates were used to predict aphasia severity, performance in rhythmic perception and production tasks, and treatment response in a sentence-level rhythm-based intervention.
CTenv in delta and theta, but not alpha, predicted aphasia severity. Neither CTenv in delta, alpha, or theta bands predicted performance in rhythmic perception or production tasks. Some evidence supported that CTenv in theta could predict sentence-level learning in aphasia, but alpha and delta did not.
CTenv of the syllable-level properties was relatively preserved in individuals with less language impairment. In contrast, higher encoding of word- and phrase-level properties was relatively impaired and was predictive of more severe language impairments. CTenv and treatment response to sentence-level rhythm-based interventions need to be further investigated.
失语症患者在失语症康复过程中已被证明能从语言的节奏元素中获益。然而，尚不清楚节奏处理是否与这些益处相关。语音包络的皮层追踪（CTenv）可能提供一种衡量语音节奏特性编码的方法，并可作为基于节奏的失语症干预候选资格的预测指标。
当9名说西班牙语的失语症患者听一段连续的语音叙述（有声读物）时，使用脑电图来捕捉电生理反应。时间响应函数用于估计δ波（与单词和短语层面特性相关）、θ波（音节层面特性）和α波（与注意力相关特性）中的CTenv。CTenv估计值用于预测失语症严重程度、节奏感知和产出任务中的表现，以及基于句子层面节奏的干预中的治疗反应。
δ波和θ波中的CTenv而非α波能预测失语症严重程度。δ波、α波或θ波中的CTenv均不能预测节奏感知或产出任务中的表现。一些证据支持θ波中的CTenv可预测失语症患者的句子层面学习，但α波和δ波则不能。
音节层面特性的CTenv在语言损伤较轻的个体中相对保留。相比之下，单词和短语层面特性的较高编码相对受损，并可预测更严重的语言损伤。CTenv与基于句子层面节奏的干预的治疗反应需要进一步研究。
