Normal aging is associated with speech perception in noise (SPiN) difficulties. The objective of this study was to determine if SPiN performance can be enhanced by intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) in young and older adults.

Method

We developed a sub-lexical SPiN test to evaluate the contribution of age, hearing, and cognition to SPiN performance in young and older adults. iTBS was applied to the left posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) and the left ventral premotor cortex (PMv) to examine its impact on SPiN performance.

Results

Aging was associated with reduced SPiN accuracy. TMS-induced performance gain was greater after stimulation of the PMv compared to the pSTS. Participants with lower scores in the baseline condition improved the most.

Discussion

SPiN difficulties can be reduced by enhancing activity within the left speech-processing network in adults. This study paves the way for the development of TMS-based interventions to reduce SPiN difficulties in adults.

中文翻译：

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使用经颅磁刺激改善年轻人和老年人在噪音中的言语感知

正常老化与噪声中的语音感知 (SPiN) 困难有关。本研究的目的是确定是否可以通过间歇性 theta-burst 刺激 (iTBS) 来提高年轻人和老年人的 SPiN 性能。

方法

我们开发了一个亚词汇 SPiN 测试来评估年龄、听力和认知对年轻人和老年人的 SPiN 表现的贡献。iTBS 应用于左后颞上沟 (pSTS) 和左腹侧运动前皮层 (PMv)，以检查其对 SPiN 性能的影响。

结果

老化与 SPiN 精度降低有关。与 pSTS 相比，在刺激 PMv 后，TMS 诱导的性能增益更大。在基线条件下得分较低的参与者进步最大。

讨论

通过增强成人左侧语音处理网络中的活动，可以减少 SPiN 的困难。这项研究为开发基于 TMS 的干预措施以减少成人 SPiN 困难铺平了道路。