Perera, Janani
(2018)
Neurophysiologic underpinnings of interaural asymmetry in young adults with and without binaural integration deficits on dichotic listening tests.
Undergraduate Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Amblyaudia is an auditory processing disorder characterized by a binaural integration deficit with poor performance in only one ear and a larger than normal interaural asymmetry (Moncrieff, et al., 2016), which responds to a deficit-specific auditory training protocol that helps to remove the asymmetry (Moncrieff, et al, 2017).
There is significant controversy in using behavioral, speech-based tests to assess children for auditory processing disorders via current diagnostic protocols, which has resulted in efforts to find alternative diagnostic methods to add to the current test battery (Jerger & Musiek, 2000). A population which previously has been shown to demonstrate binaural integration deficits is those with schizophrenia (Schubring, Popov, Miller, & Rockstroh, 2017). Their difficulties are displayed in their evoked responses to various stimulus presentation paradigms, such as those evoking the P300 responses, P50 responses, and other cortical responses. The question arises as to whether another population—i.e. those with amblyaudia—who also demonstrates binaural integration deficits will display similar patterns in their evoked responses in terms of latency and amplitude of their responses.
The purpose of this study was to identify the presence of amblyaudia in a population of young adult subjects, to measure MMN/P300, P50 (paired pulse), and Frequency Following Responses (FFR) from those individuals and other control subjects without amblyaudia, and to investigate whether any of the objective electrophysiological measures show reliable differences in individuals with amblyaudia. Control and amblyaudia groups were determined through specific patterns of interaural asymmetry as determined by performance on the Randomized Dichotic Digits Test (RDDT) (Strouse-Carter & Wilson, 1999) and the Dichotic Words Test (DWT) (Moncrieff, 2015). The results from electrophysiological testing showed that the S3 response peak following the paired pulse paradigm was significantly longer, the amplitude of the N2 negative going response peak in the P300 paradigm was significantly larger, and the latencies of the D and E peaks in the FFR response were significantly longer in the amblyaudia group when compared to the control group. These results supported the general trends suggesting that there is increased noise and less synchrony in the central auditory nervous systems of those with amblyaudia—there was a high degree of variability in the subjects in this group, overall suggesting that there are differences in processing in those with amblyaudia as compared to the control group.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
26 April 2018 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
6 April 2018 |
| Approval Date: |
26 April 2018 |
| Submission Date: |
20 April 2018 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
39 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
David C. Frederick Honors College
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences > Communication Science and Disorders |
| Degree: |
BPhil - Bachelor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Undergraduate Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
auditory processing, amblyaudia, evoked potentials, electrophysiology |
| Date Deposited: |
26 Apr 2018 14:27 |
| Last Modified: |
26 Apr 2018 14:27 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/34355 |
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