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Microstructural and GABAergic maturation underlying speech-in-noise processing across pubertal ages
Poster Session D, Thursday, October 1, 4:30 - 6:30 pm, Wangari Maathai
Marta Puertollano1,2, Joseph Francois Johnson1,2, Francesca Cavicchiolo1,2, Luna Prud’homme1,2, Antonin Rovai1,3, Simon Dobri4, Xavier De Tiège1,2,3, Axelle Calcus1,2; 1UNI – ULB Neuroscience Institute, H.U.B. – ULB University Hospital, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 2CRCN – Center for Research in Cognition and Neuroscience, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 3Laboratoire de Neuroanatomie et Neuroimagerie translationnelles, H.U.B., Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 4Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
Adolescence represents an extended period of neuroplasticity that promotes experience-driven adaptations across brain regions and networks supporting the cognitive and behavioural capacities required in dynamic social environments. During this developmental phase, adolescents increasingly engage with larger peer groups. However, their ability to parse concurrent streams and track a target voice in the presence of interfering speech keeps maturing well into adolescence. Adolescence begins with puberty onset, which is associated with changes in sex-steroid hormones that contribute to the maturation of brain regions involved in speech-in-noise processing (SiN). Within the SensationaHL pubertal cohort, we investigate the neuroplastic and microstructural brain mechanisms linked to pubertal progression in brain regions serving complex cognitive and auditory skills. We hypothesize that neurite density trajectories correlate with pubertal progression. We also predict puberty-associated increases in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations, a key modulator of neuroplasticity, in SiN regions of interest: the left pars triangularis and left Heschl’s gyrus. To address these aims, we collected neuroimaging data corresponding to the first wave of a two-years longitudinal cohort of 132 participants, assessing pubertal stage transition surrounding puberty onset and offset. Pubertal hormone levels and stage assessments will be collected in the two timepoints, in addition to cognitive and auditory speech-perception tasks. Multimodal neuroimaging including single-voxel spectroscopy and diffusion imaging have been used at baseline and will be used again after two years to evaluate GABA concentrations and microstructural changes, thus inferring upon the mechanisms of neuroplasticity involved. Results from the complete cross-sectional MRI dataset corresponding to the first wave will be presented, in relationship with SiN performance. Preliminary findings (n ≈ 50) suggest an increase in neurite density throughout adolescence, but stable orientation dispersion as well as stable GABA concentration values within the targeted regions across age and pubertal status. Preliminary findings also point to correlations between SiN performance and microstructural NODDI-derived parameters within the SiN regions of interest, whereas no clear association with GABA concentrations has been observed so far. Findings will be discussed with respect to the neurobiological triggers of heightened auditory plasticity during adolescence and the relationship between puberty, cognitive and auditory development in noisy environments. By linking pubertal stages to structural and functional network neuroplasticity, this study aims to advance our understanding of how puberty shapes cognitive and auditory development during this period.
Topic Areas: Speech Perception,