Audiotactile cues can enhance speech perception in noise, yet the neural mechanisms underlying vibrotactile speech processing remain poorly understood, particularly in individuals with single-sided deafness (SSD). The present study investigated how adults with acquired SSD process a complex amplitude-modulated speech-derived vibrotactile stimulus compared to simple periodic vibration, and how these responses differ...
No actionable change for clinical practice yet — this fMRI study reveals audiotactile speech processing mechanisms in single-sided deafness that are exploratory and not ready to guide rehabilitation or device fitting decisions.
These findings open a potential non-implant pathway for sensory substitution in single-sided deafness, and may inform future design of vibrotactile hearing assistive devices or multimodal rehabilitation strategies.
- 01fMRI study shows speech-like vibrotactile (touch-based vibration) stimulation boosts brain activity in hearing/speech regions in single-sided deaf individuals.
- 02Enhanced cortical activation suggests cross-modal (touch-to-hearing) brain plasticity in single-sided deafness.
- 03Findings illuminate the brain's ability to use touch information as a partial substitute for sound.
- 04Vibrotactile stimulation delivered in a speech-like pattern was key to eliciting enhanced responses.
- 05Results are mechanistic/exploratory; no clinical device or intervention is tested.
Speech-like vibrotactile stimulation is associated with enhanced cortical activations in individuals with single-sided deafness compared to controls or non-speech vibrotactile patterns.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42175576
- DOI
- 10.1111/ejn.70544.
- Journal
- European Journal of Neuroscience
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- Individuals with single-sided deafness
- Intervention
- Speech-like vibrotactile stimulation
Primary outcomes
Cortical activation patterns measured via fMRI; Audiotactile speech processing