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  1. Fulltext Speech token detection and discrimination in individual infants using functional near-infrared spectroscopy
    Mao D, Wunderlich J, Savkovic B, Jeffreys E, Nicholls N, Lee OW, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2021 Dec 14;11(1):24006.
    PMID: 34907273 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-03595-z
    Speech detection and discrimination ability are important measures of hearing ability that may inform crucial audiological intervention decisions for individuals with a hearing impairment. However, behavioral assessment of speech discrimination can be difficult and inaccurate in infants, prompting the need for an objective measure of speech detection and discrimination ability. In this study, the authors used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) as the objective measure. Twenty-three infants, 2 to 10 months of age participated, all of whom had passed newborn hearing screening or diagnostic audiology testing. They were presented with speech tokens at a comfortable listening level in a natural sleep state using a habituation/dishabituation paradigm. The authors hypothesized that fNIRS responses to speech token detection as well as speech token contrast discrimination could be measured in individual infants. The authors found significant fNIRS responses to speech detection in 87% of tested infants (false positive rate 0%), as well as to speech discrimination in 35% of tested infants (false positive rate 9%). The results show initial promise for the use of fNIRS as an objective clinical tool for measuring infant speech detection and discrimination ability; the authors highlight the further optimizations of test procedures and analysis techniques that would be required to improve accuracy and reliability to levels needed for clinical decision-making.
  2. The Use of Heart Rate Responses Extracted From Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Data as a Measure of Speech Discrimination Ability in Sleeping Infants
    Lee OW, Mao D, Savkovic B, Wunderlich J, Nicholls N, Jeffreys E, et al.
    Ear Hear, 2023 01 14;44(4):776-786.
    PMID: 36706073 DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0000000000001325
    OBJECTIVES: Cardiac responses (e.g., heart rate changes) due to an autonomous response to sensory stimuli have been reported in several studies. This study investigated whether heart rate information extracted from functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data can be used to assess the discrimination of speech sounds in sleeping infants. This study also investigated the adaptation of the heart rate response over multiple, sequential stimulus presentations.

    DESIGN: fNIRS data were recorded from 23 infants with no known hearing loss, aged 2 to 10 months. Speech syllables were presented using a habituation/dishabituation test paradigm: the infant's heart rate response was first habituated by repeating blocks of one speech sound; then, the heart rate response was dishabituated with the contrasting (novel) speech sound. This stimulus presentation sequence was repeated for as long as the infants were asleep.

    RESULTS: The group-level average heart rate response to the novel stimulus was greater than that to the habituated first sound, indicating that sleeping infants were able to discriminate the speech sound contrast. A significant adaptation of the heart rate responses was seen over the session duration.

    CONCLUSION: The dishabituation response could be a valuable marker for speech discrimination, especially when used in conjunction with the fNIRS hemodynamic response.

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