Effects of attention on dichotic listening in elderly and patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type

• Published in: Brain and cognition Vol. 76; no. 2; pp. 286 - 293
• Main Authors: Bouma, Anke, Gootjes, Liselotte
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.07.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Aging - physiology; Alzheimer Disease - physiopathology; Alzheimers Disease; Alzheimer’s disease; Attention; Attention - physiology; Attention Control; Auditory Perception; Auditory Perception - physiology; Auditory processing; Brain Hemisphere Functions; Corpus callosum; Dementia; Dichotic listening; Dichotic Listening Tests; Executive function; Functional Laterality - physiology; Human Body; Humans; Language Processing; Lateral Dominance; Laterality; Listening Skills; MEG; MRI; Older Adults; Patients; Executive function; Alzheimer’s disease; MRI; Attention; Aging; Laterality; Dichotic listening; Auditory processing; Corpus callosum; MEG
• ISSN: 0278-2626; 1090-2147
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2011.02.008

► Dichotic listening is an excellent method for measuring language lateralization. ► We studied attention effects on ear asymmetry in elderly and Alzheimer patients. ► Both groups showed particularly difficulties focusing attention on the left ear. ► This result may be due to a breakdown of the cortical attentional network. ► Also callosal atrophy and subcortical white matter lesions contribute to this finding. This article presents an overview of our studies in elderly and Alzheimer patients employing Kimura’s dichotic digits paradigm as a measure for left hemispheric predominance for processing language stimuli. In addition to structural brain mechanisms, we demonstrated that attention modulates the direction and degree of ear asymmetry in dichotic listening. Elderly showed increasingly more difficulties focusing attention on the left ear (LE) with advancing age. Alzheimer patients showed severe deficits to allocate attention to the LE, which could result in a right ear advantage. These results may be attributed to a breakdown of the cortical attentional network which is mediated by frontal (inhibitory control of attention) and parietal regions (spatial attention and ‘disengagement processes’). Both interhemispheric disconnectivity (callosal atrophy) and intrahemispheric disconnectivity (subcortical white matter lesions) appear to be important factors contributing to these findings.