System Maintenance Notice

Please note that maintenance work is scheduled between 4 AM and 5 AM - CET. During this time, you may experience reduced performance. Thanks for your patience.

Publications

Journal Article Ahead of print

PubMed: 41512485 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2026.2111502

Reduced neural speech tracking in adolescents with listening difficulty.

Clin Neurophysiol 183:2111502

Authors: Katsuaki Kojima, Chunyan Liu, Shelley Ehrlich, Harvey Dillon, Chelsea Blankenship, Lina Motlagh Zadeh, Jennifer Vannest, Lisa Hunter, Srikantan Nagarajan, David R Moore

Affiliations

  • Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039, United States; Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 3230 Eden Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45267, United States.
  • Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039, United States.
  • Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 3230 Eden Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45267, United States; Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039, United States.
  • Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; Manchester Center for Audiology and Deafness, School of Health Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
  • Division of Patient Services Research, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 240 Albert Sabin Way, Cincinnati, OH 45229, United States; Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Cincinnati, 3225 Eden Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45267, United States.
  • Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Cincinnati, 3225 Eden Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45267, United States.
  • Departments of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.
  • Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 3230 Eden Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45267, United States; Manchester Center for Audiology and Deafness, School of Health Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom; Division of Patient Services Research, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 240 Albert Sabin Way, Cincinnati, OH 45229, United States.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE

To investigate neural mechanisms underlying speech-in-speech listening in adolescents with listening difficulties (LiD).

METHODS

Neural speech tracking (NST) was assessed using magnetoencephalography (MEG; 275 sensors) in 21 adolescents with LiD (11 females), identified by caregiver report, and 25 typically developing (TD) peers (10 females), all with normal audiograms and frequency-matched on age, sex, race, and ethnicity. Participants completed a cocktail-party task with target speech alone and with competing streams that varied in talker and spatial cues. NST was quantified using theta-band (4-8 Hz) inter-event phase coherence (IEPC) to acoustic edges.

RESULTS

Adolescents with LiD showed reduced target-speech NST relative to TD peers, with comparable competitor tracking. Theta-band IEPC correlated with listening ability (partial R 2 = 0.10; p = 0.037). Concurrent talker and spatial cues synergistically enhanced target-speech NST, especially in TD adolescents, but not competitor streams.

CONCLUSIONS

LiD is characterized by impaired processing of attended speech rather than enhanced competitor processing or generalized auditory disengagement. Reduced integration of talker and spatial cues in LiD may contribute to real-world listening challenges.

SIGNIFICANCE

Theta‑band NST provides a clinically relevant neural index of everyday listening and may guide interventions targeting selective attention and cue integration.

MeSH

Adolescent, Neurophysiology, Speech