The Resting State Central Auditory Network: a Potential Marker of HIV-Related Central Nervous System Alterations

• Main Authors: Buckey, J.C (Author), Cai, D.-C (Author), Clavier, O.H (Author), Fan, M. (Author), Fellows, A.M (Author), Ford, J.C (Author), Lu, H. (Author), Shi, X. (Author), Shi, Y. (Author), Soli, S.D (Author), Yu, Q. (Author), Zhan, Y. (Author), Zhang, Z. (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: NLM (Medline) 2022
• Subjects: adult; Adult; audiometry; Audiometry; auditory cortex; Auditory Cortex; auditory threshold; Auditory Threshold; complication; female; Female; HIV Infections; human; Human immunodeficiency virus infection; Humans; male; Male; middle aged; Middle Aged; noise; Noise; physiology; speech perception; Speech Perception
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher
• ISBN: 15384667 (ISSN)
• DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0000000000001186

OBJECTIVE: HIV positive (HIV+) individuals with otherwise normal hearing ability show central auditory processing deficits as evidenced by worse performance in speech-in-noise perception compared with HIV negative (HIV-) controls. HIV infection and treatment are also associated with lower neurocognitive screening test scores, suggesting underlying central nervous system damage. To determine how central auditory processing deficits in HIV+ individuals relate to brain alterations in the cortex involved with auditory processing, we compared auditory network (AN) functional connectivity between HIV+ adults with or without speech-in-noise perception difficulties and age-matched HIV- controls using resting-state fMRI. DESIGN: Based on the speech recognition threshold of the hearing-in-noise test, twenty-seven HIV+ individuals were divided into a group with speech-in-noise perception abnormalities (HIV+SPabnl, 38.2 ± 6.8 years; 11 males and 2 females) and one without (HIV+SPnl 34.4 ± 8.8 years; 14 males). An HIV- group with normal speech-in-noise perception (HIV-, 31.3 ± 5.2 years; 9 males and 3 females) was also enrolled. All of these younger and middle-aged adults had normal peripheral hearing determined by audiometry. Participants were studied using resting-state fMRI. Independent component analysis was applied to identify the AN. Group differences in the AN were identified using statistical parametric mapping. RESULTS: Both HIV+ groups had increased functional connectivity (FC) in parts of the AN including the superior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, and Rolandic operculum compared to the HIV- group. Compared with the HIV+SPnl group, the HIV+SPabnl group showed greater FC in parts of the AN including the middle frontal and inferior frontal gyri. CONCLUSIONS: The classical auditory areas in the temporal lobe are affected by HIV regardless of speech perception ability. Increased temporal FC in HIV+ individuals might reflect functional compensation to achieve normal primary auditory perception. Furthermore, increased frontal FC in the HIV+SPabnl group compared with the HIV+SPnl group suggest that speech-in-noise perception difficulties in HIV-infected adults also affect areas involved in higher-level cognition, providing imaging evidence consistent with the hypothesis that HIV-related neurocognitive deficits can include central auditory processing deficits. Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.