Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Oct 19, 2024; 14(10): 1547-1557
Published online Oct 19, 2024. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i10.1547
Brain networks in newborns and infants with and without sensorineural hearing loss: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study
Juan Tan, Qian-Mei Hou, Fen Zhang, Xu Duan, Yan-Long Zhang, Yu-Jun Lee, Hao Yan
Juan Tan, Qian-Mei Hou, Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637000, Sichuan Province, China
Fen Zhang, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Province of East Flanders, Belgium
Xu Duan, Yan-Long Zhang, Hao Yan, Key Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Neuroscience of Language, Xi’an International Studies University, Xi’an 710128, Shaanxi Province, China
Yu-Jun Lee, Department of English, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637100, Sichuan Province, China
Yu-Jun Lee, School of Graduate, Xi’an International Studies University, Xi’an 710128, Shaanxi Province, China
Co-first authors: Juan Tan and Qian-Mei Hou.
Co-corresponding authors: Yu-Jun Lee and Hao Yan.
Author contributions: Tan J, Hou QM, Zhang F, Lee YJ designed the research and reviewed the manuscript; Tan J, Hou QM, Duan X, Zhang YL collected and analyzed the data; Lee YJ, Yan H provided guidance for statistical analysis; Tan J, Hou QM wrote the manuscript; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the National Social Science Foundation, No. 18BY0911.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of North Sichuan Medical College, No. 2023015.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: The study does not involve any animal experiments.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yu-Jun Lee, PhD, Professor, Department of English, North Sichuan Medical College, No. 55 Dongshun Road, Nanchong 637100, Sichuan Province, China. sammyleee@163.com
Received: March 25, 2024
Revised: August 24, 2024
Accepted: September 11, 2024
Published online: October 19, 2024
Processing time: 205 Days and 23.4 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Understanding the impact of early sensory deficits on brain development is essential for understanding developmental processes and developing potential interventions. While previous studies have looked into the impact of prenatal experiences on language development, there is a lack of research on how these experiences affect early language and brain function development in individuals with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).

AIM

To investigate SNHL effects on early brain development and connectivity in 4-month-olds vs healthy newborns and controls.

METHODS

The research involved analyzing the functional brain networks of 65 infants, categorized into three groups: 28 healthy newborns, 22 4-month-old participants with SNHL, and 15 age-matched healthy participants. The resting-state functional connectivity was measured and compared between the groups using functional near-infrared spectroscopy and graph theory to assess the brain network properties.

RESULTS

Significant differences were found in resting-state functional connectivity between participants with SNHL and age-matched controls, indicating a developmental lag in brain connectivity for those with SNHL. Surprisingly, SNHL participants showed better connectivity development compared to healthy newborns, with connectivity strengths of 0.13 ± 0.04 for SNHL, 0.16 ± 0.08 for controls, and 0.098 ± 0.04 for newborns. Graph theory analysis revealed enhanced global brain network properties for the SNHL group, suggesting higher communication efficiency at 4 months. No significant differences were noted in network properties between 4-month-old SNHL participants and neonates. A unique pattern of central hubs was observed in the SNHL group, with 2 hubs in the left hemisphere compared to 6 in controls.

CONCLUSION

4-month-old infants with SNHL have a distinct brain network pattern with efficient long-distance information transmission but less effective local communication compared to age-matched controls.

Keywords: Early brain development; Sensory hearing loss; Language development; Graph theory; Functional connectivity

Core Tip: This study reveals that 4-month-old infants with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) exhibit distinctive brain network patterns, characterized by enhanced global connectivity and efficient long-distance information transmission compared to age-matched healthy controls. Despite these advantages, SNHL infants display less effective local communication and delayed developmental connectivity compared to their hearing peers. This suggests that while SNHL may drive certain adaptive changes in brain connectivity, it also highlights areas where developmental support could be beneficial.