Vocal control and speech production in cochlear implant listeners: A review within auditory-motor processing framework.

A comprehensive literature review is conducted to summarize and discuss prior findings on how cochlear implants (CI) affect the users' abilities to produce and control vocal and articulatory movements within the auditory-motor integration framework of speech. Patterns of speech production pre- versus post-implantation, post-implantation adjustments, deviations from the typical ranges of speakers with normal hearing (NH), the effects of switching the CI on and off, as well as the impact of altered auditory feedback on vocal and articulatory speech control are discussed. Overall, findings indicate that CIs enhance the vocal and articulatory control aspects of speech production at both segmental and suprasegmental levels.

Speech-evoked cortical activities and speech recognition in adult cochlear implant listeners: a review of functional near-infrared spectroscopy studies.

Cochlear implants (CIs) are the most successful neural prostheses, enabling individuals with severe to profound hearing loss to access sounds and understand speech. While CI has demonstrated success, speech perception outcomes vary largely among CI listeners, with significantly reduced performance in noise. This review paper summarizes prior findings on speech-evoked cortical activities in adult CI listeners using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to understand (a) speech-evoked cortical processing in CI listeners compared to normal-hearing (NH) individuals, (b) the relationship between these activities and behavioral speech recognition scores, (c) the extent to which current fNIRS-measured speech-evoked cortical activities in CI listeners account for their differences in speech perception, and (d) challenges in using fNIRS for CI research.

Age-Related Hearing Loss, Cognitive Decline, and Social Interaction: Testing a Framework.

Purpose: Aging increases risk for hearing loss, cognitive decline, and social isolation; however, the nature of their interconnection remains unclear. This study examined the interplay between age-related hearing loss, cognitive decline, and social isolation in adults by testing the ability to understand speech in background noise, a challenge frequently reported by many older adults.

Method: We analyzed data collected from 128 adults (20-79 years of age, = 51 years) recruited as part of the Aging Brain Cohort at the University of South Carolina repository.

The impact of age-related hearing loss on cognitive decline: The mediating role of brain age gap.

In recent years, the relationship between age-related hearing loss, cognitive decline, and the risk of dementia has garnered significant attention. The significant variability in brain health and aging among individuals of the same chronological age suggests that a measure assessing how one's brain ages may better explain hearing-cognition links. The main aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of Brain Age Gap (BAG) in the association between hearing impairment and cognitive function.

On the interplay between speech perception and production: insights from research and theories.

The study of spoken communication has long been entrenched in a debate surrounding the interdependence of speech production and perception. This mini review summarizes findings from prior studies to elucidate the reciprocal relationships between speech production and perception. We also discuss key theoretical perspectives relevant to speech perception-production loop, including hyper-articulation and hypo-articulation (H&H) theory, speech motor theory, direct realism theory, articulatory phonology, the Directions into Velocities of Articulators (DIVA) and Gradient Order DIVA (GODIVA) models, and predictive coding.