Temporal Dynamics of Electroencephalography Microstates Reveal Altered Attention Processing in Individuals With Prelingual Deafness.

Purpose: Brain network dysfunction is associated with many diseases. Electroencephalography (EEG) microstates provide valuable insights into brain dynamics and the connection between abnormal brain activity and cognitive functions. However, few studies have examined the relationship between microstate patterns and attentional functions in deaf individuals. This study explores how hearing loss and sign language experience influence attentional processing in deaf individuals using EEG microstates.

Method: Thirty-nine prelingual deaf signers, 39 hearing nonsigners, and 27 hearing signers participated. Resting-state EEG and Attention Network Test data were collected. Using an improved k-means clustering method, microstate time series were generated, and microstate parameters were compared across the groups. Regression analyses assessed correlations between microstate features and attentional functions.

Results: Deaf and hearing signers showed similar alerting variability, significantly more stable than hearing nonsigners. Hearing signers activated Microstate C (salience network) more frequently and relied less on Microstate A (auditory network), suggesting that sign language experience influences alerting. Deaf signers displayed lower executive control than both hearing nonsigners and hearing signers, with no significant difference between the latter two groups. Furthermore, deaf signers had reduced activation in Microstate D (attention network), and microstate parameters significantly predicted executive control variability. This suggests that hearing loss disrupts executive control efficiency. However, all three groups performed similarly on orienting functions and Microstate B (visual network), indicating that these functions are unaffected by auditory deprivation or sign language experience.

Conclusions: The results suggest that salience network plasticity from sign language experience helps mitigate alerting deficits, while auditory deprivation causes dysfunction in attention networks and executive functions. EEG microstates offer insights into the neurophysiological mechanisms behind sensory deprivation.