Evaluating the use of cortical entrainment to measure atypical speech processing: A systematic review. (February 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Palana, Joseph; Schwartz, Sophie; Tager-Flusberg, Helen
• Is Part Of: Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews. Volume 133(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-02
• Subjects: Cortical entrainment -- Neural tracking -- Acoustic envelope -- Continuous speech -- Speech processing -- Hearing impairment -- Old age -- Neurodevelopmental disorders; Psychophysiology -- Periodicals; Human behavior -- Periodicals; Animal behavior -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Behavior -- Periodicals; Ethology -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Psychophysiologie -- Périodiques; Comportement humain -- Périodiques; Animaux -- Mœurs et comportement -- Périodiques; Neurologie -- Périodiques; Animal behavior; Human behavior; Neurology; Psychophysiology; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 573.8
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.12.029
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0149-7634

Abstract

Highlights: In all studies reviewed, populations with speech processing differences displayed atypical cortical entrainment to continuous speech. Older and hearing-impaired adults tended to display heightened cortical entrainment to continuous speech. People with neurodevelopmental disorders (dyslexia, autism) tended to display reduced cortical entrainment to continuous speech. Across groups, atypical cortical entrainment was associated with worse performance on tasks related to speech processing. Cortical entrainment could offer viable means for identifying and characterizing speech processing differences in populations with atypical speech processing. Abstract: Background: Cortical entrainment has emerged as a promising means for measuring continuous speech processing in young, neurotypical adults. However, its utility for capturing atypical speech processing has not been systematically reviewed. Objectives: Synthesize evidence regarding the merit of measuring cortical entrainment to capture atypical speech processing and recommend avenues for future research. Method: We systematically reviewed publications investigating entrainment to continuous speech in populations with auditory processing differences. Results: In the 25 publications reviewed, most studies were conducted on older and/or hearing-impaired adults, for whom slow-wave entrainment to speech was often heightened compared to controls. Research conducted on populations with neurodevelopmental disorders, in whom slow-wave entrainment was often reduced, was less common. Across publications, findings highlighted associations between cortical entrainment and speech processing performance differences. Conclusions: Measures of cortical entrainment offer a useful means of capturing speech processing differences and future research should leverage them more extensively when studying populations with neurodevelopmental disorders.