# Auditory skills and neural encoding in children with speech sound disorder

## TL;DR

This study explores how children with speech sound disorder process sounds and how their brain encodes speech, finding differences in binaural integration and neural responses.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into auditory processing and neural encoding differences in children with speech sound disorder.

## Key findings

- Children with SSD showed significant differences in binaural integration but not in temporal resolution.
- Neural encoding in SSD children revealed higher latency in the O component and a greater A-O shift.
- Greater neuronal excitation was observed in typically developing children compared to those with SSD.

## Abstract

To investigate binaural integration and temporal resolution auditory skills, measure parents’ and/or guardians’ perceptions of their dependents’ auditory behavior, and analyze neural encoding in children with speech sound disorder (SSD).

The study included 28 children divided into two groups: 13 with SSD (mean age of 7 years) and 15 with typical speech development, matched for age with the study group. Auditory skills of binaural integration and temporal resolution were assessed. Parents and/or guardians completed the Auditory Processing Domains Questionnaire. Neural encoding was analyzed using the frequency following response with a /da/ stimulus, assessing amplitudes, absolute latencies, shifts, and the slope measure. The basic frequency analysis of the frequency following response employed the time-frequency distribution of the spectrogram. Inferential data analysis was conducted.

Statistically significant differences were observed in binaural integration auditory skills. However, no such differences were observed in temporal resolution. Parents and/or guardians reported changes in their dependents’ auditory behavior in both groups. In the analysis of neural encoding, children with SSD showed higher latency in the O component, with a greater A-O shift. There was a positive correlation between the severity of SSD and the latency of the E component. The spectrogram analysis revealed greater neuronal excitation in the group with typical development.

Children diagnosed with SSD show alterations in binaural integration auditory skills and in the neural encoding of speech sounds.

Investigar as habilidades auditivas de integração binaural e resolução temporal, mensurar a percepção de pais e/ou responsáveis quanto ao comportamento auditivo de seus dependentes, além de analisar a codificação neural em crianças com Transtorno Fonológico (TF).

Participaram do estudo 28 crianças, divididas em dois grupos: 13 com TF (média de idade de 7:0 anos) e 15 crianças com desenvolvimento típico da fala, emparelhados por idade com o grupo estudo. Avaliou-se as habilidades auditivas de integração binaural e resolução temporal. Pais e/ou responsáveis preencheram o questionário Auditory Processing Domains Questionnaire (APDQ). A codificação neural foi analisada utilizando-se o Frequency Following Response (FFR) com estímulo /da/, avaliando-se as amplitudes, latências absolutas, deslocamentos, e a medida do slope. Para a análise frequencial básica do FFR, empregou-se o Time-Frequency Distribution (TFD) do espectrograma. A análise inferencial dos dados foi conduzida.

Foram observadas diferenças estatisticamente significativas na habilidade auditiva de integração binaural. Porém, o mesmo não foi visualizado na resolução temporal. Os pais e/ou responsáveis reportaram alterações no comportamento auditivo de seus dependentes em ambos os grupos. Já, na análise da codificação neural, as crianças com TF apresentaram latência mais elevada no componente O, com maior deslocamento A-O. Houve correlação positiva entre a gravidade do TF e a latência do componente E. A análise do espectrograma revelou maior excitação neuronal no grupo com desenvolvimento típico.

Crianças diagnosticadas com TF apresentam alterações na habilidade auditiva de integração binaural e na codificação neural dos sons da fala.