Resting-state functional connectivity in deaf and hearing individuals and its link to executive processing

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Sensory Processing

Background:

• Sensory experiences significantly shape brain structure and function.
• The organization of functional brain networks, including those for cognitive processing, is influenced by sensory input.
• Early sensory deprivation, such as deafness, may alter brain network organization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of early deafness on the organization of resting-state brain networks.
• To examine the relationship between altered network organization and executive processing in deaf individuals.
• To compare resting-state connectivity in deaf and hearing individuals across multiple functional networks.

Main Methods:

• Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to compare connectivity.
• Connectivity was analyzed across 18 functional networks and 400 regions of interest (ROIs).
• Behavioral performance on executive function tasks (working memory, inhibition, switching) was assessed.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in connectivity were observed between auditory network seeds and large-scale brain networks in deaf versus hearing individuals.
• Specific network differences were noted in the somatomotor and salience/ventral attention networks.
• Group differences in resting-state fMRI connectivity correlated with executive function task performance, particularly in association networks like the salience/ventral attention and default-mode networks.

Conclusions:

• Sensory experience, including early deafness, profoundly influences the organization of both sensory and association brain networks.
• Altered functional brain organization in deaf individuals impacts cognitive functions such as executive processing.
• The adult brain can utilize diverse developmental pathways and functional organizations to support executive processing.