Download PDF
CC BY 4.0 · Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2025; 83(01): s00451801844
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1801844
Original Article

Auditory pathway abnormalities in Parkinson's disease

Rafaela Valiengo de Souza 
1   Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Fisioterapia, Fonoaudiologia e Terapia Ocupacional, São Paulo SP, Brazil.
,
Liliane Aparecida Fagundes Silva 
1   Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Fisioterapia, Fonoaudiologia e Terapia Ocupacional, São Paulo SP, Brazil.
,
Carla Gentile Matas 
1   Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Fisioterapia, Fonoaudiologia e Terapia Ocupacional, São Paulo SP, Brazil.
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
Also available at
   Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Background Parkinson's disease (PD) is a degenerative, progressive, chronic disease that mainly affects the central nervous system, caused by dopamine deficiency. One of the ways to evaluate the central nervous system is with auditory evoked potentials (AEP).

Objective To characterize the audiometric responses, and the auditory brainstem response (ABR), and cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEP) in individuals with PD.

Methods Thirty-two patients aged between 40 and 81 of both sexes were assessed, 16 with PD (study group [SG]) and 16 without PD (control group [CG]) matched for sex and age. The subjects were assessed using pure tone audiometry, ABR with click stimuli, and CAEP using the oddball paradigm with tone burst and speech stimuli. The results were compared between the groups using a repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) test.

Results In pure-tone audiometry, significantly higher hearing thresholds were found in the SG at 6 and 8 kHz. For the ABR, no differences were observed between groups. The CAEP analysis did not find statistical differences in the latencies between the groups, however, the SG presented smaller amplitudes of P1-N1, P2-N2, and N2-P3 than the CG.

Conclusion The results of this study showed a significantly higher threshold in higher frequencies in PD. Although no differences were observed at the brainstem level, the decrease in amplitude of all components in patients with PD in the CAEP suggests a deficit in both automatic and attentional cortical processing of acoustic stimuli.

Keywords

Auditory Cortex - Parkinson Disease - Hearing Loss - Evoked Potentials, Auditory - Event-Related Potentials, P300

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.


Authors' Contributions

RVS: data curation, formal analysis, investigation, writing – original draft; LAFS: formal analysis, investigation, methodology, validation, visualization, writing – review & editing; CGM: conceptualization, formal analysis, methodology, project administration, software, supervision, writing – review & editing.


Editor-in-Chief: Hélio A. G. Teive.


Associate Editor: Laura Silveira-Moriyama.




Publication History

Received: 05 April 2024

Accepted: 26 October 2024

Article published online:
06 February 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda.
Rua do Matoso 170, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20270-135, Brazil

Bibliographical Record
Rafaela Valiengo de Souza, Liliane Aparecida Fagundes Silva, Carla Gentile Matas. Auditory pathway abnormalities in Parkinson's disease. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2025; 83: s00451801844.
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1801844
 

  • References

  • 1 Schramm JMA, Oliveira AF, Leite IC. et al. Epidemiological transition and the study of burden of disease in Brazil. Cien Saude Colet 2004; 9 (04) 897-908
    Search in Google Scholar
  • 2 de Lau LM, Breteler MM. Epidemiology of Parkinson's disease. Lancet Neurol 2006; 5 (06) 525-535
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 3 Pineroli JCA, Campos DS, Wiemes GR, Meneses MS, Mocellin M. Auditory central avaliation in Parkinson Disease with BERA and P300. Braz J Otorhinolaryngol 2002; 68 (04) 462-466
    CrossrefSearch in Google Scholar
  • 4 Parkinson J. An essay on the shaking palsy. 1817. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2002; 14 (02) 223-236 , discussion 222.
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 5 Dias AE, Limongi JCP. Tratamento dos distúrbios da voz na doença de Parkinson: o método Lee Silverman. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2003; 61 (01) 61-66
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 6 Poewe W. Non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease. Eur J Neurol 2008; 15 (1, Suppl 1) 14-20
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 7 Chaudhuri KR, Schapira AHV. Non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease: dopaminergic pathophysiology and treatment. Lancet Neurol 2009; 8 (05) 464-474
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 8 Krishnan S, Sarma G, Sarma S, Kishore A. Do nonmotor symptoms in Parkinson's disease differ from normal aging?. Mov Disord 2011; 26 (11) 2110-2113
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 9 Braak H, Ghebremedhin E, Rüb U, Bratzke H, Del Tredici K. Stages in the development of Parkinson's disease-related pathology. Cell Tissue Res 2004; 318 (01) 121-134
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 10 Pisani V, Sisto R, Moleti A. et al. An investigation of hearing impairment in de-novo Parkinson's disease patients: A preliminary study. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2015; 21 (08) 987-991
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 11 Livingston G, Huntley J, Sommerlad A. et al. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission. Lancet 2020; 396 (10248): 413-446 Erratum in: Lancet. 2023 Sep 30;402(10408):1132. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02043-3
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 12 Vitale C, Marcelli V, Allocca R. et al. Hearing impairment in Parkinson's disease: expanding the nonmotor phenotype. Mov Disord 2012; 27 (12) 1530-1535
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 13 Rabelo MB, Lopes MS, Corona AP, Araújo RPC. Alterações auditivas em indivíduos com doença de Parkinson. Rev Ciênc Méd Biol 2014; 13 (03) 319-324
    Search in Google Scholar
  • 14 Vitale C, Marcelli V, Abate T. et al. Speech discrimination is impaired in parkinsonian patients: Expanding the audiologic findings of Parkinson's disease. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2016; 22 (1, Suppl 1) S138-S143
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 15 Leme MS. Função coclear na doença de Parkinson. Dissertação (Mestrado em Ciências da Reabilitação) - Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de São Paulo; São Paulo: 2021
    Search in Google Scholar
  • 16 Jones CRG, Malone TJL, Dirnberger G, Edwards M, Jahanshahi M. Basal ganglia, dopamine and temporal processing: performance on three timing tasks on and off medication in Parkinson's disease. Brain Cogn 2008; 68 (01) 30-41
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 17 Geiser E, Kaelin-Lang A. The function of dopaminergic neural signal transmission in auditory pulse perception: evidence from dopaminergic treatment in Parkinson's patients. Behav Brain Res 2011; 225 (01) 270-275
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 18 Hall J. New handbook of auditory evoked responses. Boston: Allyn & Bacon; 2006
    Search in Google Scholar
  • 19 Lopes MS, Rabelo M, Corona AP, Nobrega AC, Araújo RPC. Potenciais evocados auditivos do tronco encefálico na doença de Parkinson: revisão sistemática. Rev Ciênc Méd Biol 2013; 12 (04) 492-500
    CrossrefSearch in Google Scholar
  • 20 Jerger J. Clinical experience with impedance audiometry. Arch Otolaryngol 1970; 92 (04) 311-324
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 21 Silman S, Silverman CA. Basic Audiológic Testing. In: Silman S, Silverman CA. Auditory Diagnosis: principles and applications. San Diego: Singular Publishing Group; 1997: 44-52 ; 1997.
    Search in Google Scholar
  • 22 Ferraz HB. Tratamento da Doença de Parkinson. Rev Neurocienc 1999; 7 (01) 6-12
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 23 Clementino ACCR, Ferreira NCP, Borges NMS. et al. Epidemiological profile of people with Parkinson's disease. BJS 2021; 7 (12) 115963-115975
    CrossrefSearch in Google Scholar
  • 24 Yýlmaz S, Karalý E, Tokmak A, Güçlü E, Koçer A, Oztürk O. Auditory evaluation in Parkinsonian patients. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2009; 266 (05) 669-671
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 25 Sisto R, Viziano A, Stefani A. et al. Lateralization of cochlear dysfunction as a specific biomarker of Parkinson's disease. Brain Commun 2020; 2 (02) fcaa144
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 26 Garasto E, Stefani A, Pierantozzi M. et al. Association between hearing sensitivity and dopamine transporter availability in Parkinson's disease. Brain Commun 2023; 5 (02) fcad075
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 27 Shetty K, Krishnan S, Thulaseedharan JV, Mohan M, Kishore A. Asymptomatic Hearing Impairment Frequently Occurs in Early-Onset Parkinson's Disease. J Mov Disord 2019; 12 (02) 84-90
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 28 Scarpa A, Cassandro C, Vitale C. et al. A comparison of auditory and vestibular dysfunction in Parkinson's disease and Multiple System Atrophy. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2020; 71: 51-57
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 29 Maison SF, Liu XP, Eatock RA, Sibley DR, Grandy DK, Liberman MC. Dopaminergic signaling in the cochlea: receptor expression patterns and deletion phenotypes. J Neurosci 2012; 32 (01) 344-355
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 30 Podoshin L, Ben-David J, Fradis M, Pratt H. Brainstem auditory evoked potentials with and without increased stimulus rate as diagnostic tool in brainstem minor transient changes. ORL J Otorhinolaryngol Relat Spec 1987; 49 (06) 287-293
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 31 Fradis M, Samet A, Ben-David J. et al. Brainstem auditory evoked potentials to different stimulus rates in parkinsonian patients. Eur Neurol 1988; 28 (04) 181-186
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 32 Tachibana H, Takeda M, Sugita M. Short-latency somatosensory and brainstem auditory evoked potentials in patients with Parkinson's disease. Int J Neurosci 1989; 44 (3-4): 321-326
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 33 Liu C, Zhang Y, Tang W, Wang B, Wang B, He S. Evoked potential changes in patients with Parkinson's disease. Brain Behav 2017; 7 (05) e00703
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 34 Shalash AS, Hassan DM, Elrassas HH. et al. Auditory-and Vestibular-Evoked Potencials Correlate with Motor and Nom-Motor Features of Parkinson's Disease. Front Neurol 2017; 8: 55
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 35 Schomaker J, Berendse HW, Foncke EM. et al. Novelty processing and memory formation in Parkinson's disease. Neuropsychologia 2014; 62: 124-136
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 36 Solís-Vivanco R, Rodríguez-Violante M, Rodríguez-Agudelo Y, Schilmann A, Rodríguez-Ortiz U, Ricardo-Garcell J. The P3a wave: A reliable neurophysiological measure of Parkinson's disease duration and severity. Clin Neurophysiol 2015; 126 (11) 2142-2149
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 37 Pauletti C, Mannarelli D, Locuratolo N, Currà A, Marinelli L, Fattapposta F. Central fatigue and attentional processing in Parkinson's disease: An event-related potentials study. Clin Neurophysiol 2019; 130 (05) 692-700
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 38 Jafari Z, Kolb BE, Mohajerani MH. Auditory Dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease. Mov Disord 2020; 35 (04) 537-550
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 39 Georgiev D, Jahanshahi M, Dreo J, Čuš A, Pirtošek Z, Repovš G. Dopaminergic medication alters auditory distractor processing in Parkinson's disease. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2015; 156: 45-56
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 40 Galhardo MMAMC, Amaral AKFJ, Vieira ACC. Characterizing cognitive disorders in Parkinson's disease. Rev CEFAC 2009; 11 (02) 251-257
    CrossrefSearch in Google Scholar