Glutamatergic dysfunction has been implicated in sensory integration deficits in schizophrenia, yet how glutamatergic function contributes to behavioural impairments and neural activities of sensory integration remains unknown.

Fifty schizophrenia patients and 43 healthy controls completed behavioural assessments for sensory integration and underwent magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) for measuring the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) glutamate levels. The correlation between glutamate levels and behavioural sensory integration deficits was examined in each group. A subsample of 20 pairs of patients and controls further completed an audiovisual sensory integration functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task. Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) activation and task-dependent functional connectivity (FC) were assessed based on fMRI data. Full factorial analyses were performed to examine the Group-by-Glutamate Level interaction effects on fMRI measurements (group differences in correlation between glutamate levels and fMRI measurements) and the correlation between glutamate levels and fMRI measurements within each group.

We found that schizophrenia patients exhibited impaired sensory integration which was positively correlated with ACC glutamate levels. Multimodal analyses showed significantly Group-by-Glutamate Level interaction effects on BOLD activation as well as task-dependent FC in a ‘cortico-subcortical-cortical’ network (including medial frontal gyrus, precuneus, ACC, middle cingulate gyrus, thalamus and caudate) with positive correlations in patients and negative in controls.

Our findings indicate that ACC glutamate influences neural activities in a large-scale network during sensory integration, but the effects have opposite directionality between schizophrenia patients and healthy people. This implicates the crucial role of glutamatergic system in sensory integration processing in schizophrenia.

To study the effectiveness of unilateral cochlear implantation, binaural-bimodal hearing devices, and bilateral cochlear implantation in children with inner-ear malformation.

This study comprised 261 patients who were allocated to inner-ear malformation or control groups. Twenty-four months after surgery, aided sound-field thresholds were tested, and the Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale, Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale, Meaningful Use of Speech Scale, Categories of Auditory Performance scale and Speech Intelligibility Rating test were completed.

Aided sound-field thresholds were significantly better for bilateral cochlear implantation patients than for unilateral cochlear implantation or binaural-bimodal hearing device patients. There was no significant difference in Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale, Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale, or Categories of Auditory Performance scores among the three groups. The binaural-bimodal hearing device patients outperformed unilateral cochlear implantation patients on both Meaningful Use of Speech Scale and Speech Intelligibility Rating scores. No statistical difference was observed between the two subgroups.

Children who received bilateral cochlear implants have the best auditory awareness in a quiet environment. Children with binaural-bimodal hearing devices have better voice control and verbal skills than unilateral cochlear implantation patients, and people are more likely to understand them. Children with inner-ear malformations benefit from cochlear implantation.

Emerging evidence suggests low vision may be a modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline. We examined effects of baseline visual acuity (VA) on level of, and change in, cognitive test performance over 9 years.

A population-based sample of 1,621 participants (average age 77 years) completed a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation and VA testing at baseline and reassessed at nine subsequent annual visits. Linear regression modeled the association between baseline VA and concurrent cognitive test performance. Joint modeling of a longitudinal sub-model and a survival sub-model to adjust for attrition were used to examine associations between baseline VA and repeated cognitive test performance over time.

Better baseline VA was associated cross-sectionally with younger age, male sex, greater than high school education, and higher baseline neuropsychological test scores on both vision-dependent (B coefficient range −0.163 to −0.375, p = .006 to <.001) and vision-independent tests (−0.187 to −0.215, p = .003 to .002). In longitudinal modeling, better baseline VA was associated with slower decline in vision-dependent tests (B coefficient range −0.092 to 0.111, p = .005 to <.001) and vision-independent tests (−0.107 to 0.067, p = .007 to <.001).

Higher VA is associated with higher concurrent cognitive abilities and slower rates of decline over 9 years in both vision-dependent and vision-independent tests of memory, language, and executive functioning. Findings are consistent with emerging literature supporting vision impairment in aging as a potentially modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline. Clinicians should encourage patient utilization of vision assessment and correction with the added aim of protecting cognition.