Altered brain network topology in children with auditory processing disorder: A resting-state multi-echo fMRI study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Audiology

Background:

• Auditory processing disorder (APD) affects children's hearing in noise, with debated origins in sensory or cognitive processing.
• The impact of APD on functional brain network topology remains largely unknown.
• Understanding neural network alterations is crucial for diagnosing and treating APD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate functional brain network organization in children with APD using resting-state fMRI.
• To compare network topology, integration, segregation, and hub architecture between children with APD and healthy controls.
• To identify specific brain regions and networks associated with APD-related listening difficulties.

Main Methods:

• Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from 57 children (8-14 years) with APD (n=28) and healthy controls (HC; n=29).
• Complex network analysis using graph theory to assess whole-brain functional network properties.
• Evaluation of global network metrics, modular organization, hub architecture, and nodal properties like participation coefficient (PC).

Main Results:

• Children with APD and HC exhibited similar global network properties and modular organization.
• Significant differences in hub architecture were observed in APD across default mode, ventral attention, somatomotor, and frontoparietal-dorsal attention modules.
• APD group showed decreased PC in auditory cortical regions (superior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus) and other areas (temporo-occipital cortices, intraparietal sulcus, insular cortex).

Conclusions:

• Findings provide evidence for altered functional brain network organization in children with APD, specifically within auditory networks.
• Decreased connectivity diversity (PC) in key auditory regions may underlie listening difficulties in children with APD.
• This study offers insights into the neural systems involved in auditory perception and processing challenges in APD.