scholarly journals Effect of within- and between-talker variability on word identification in noise by younger and older adults

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiwen Goy ◽  
Kathleen Pichora-Fuller ◽  
Pascal van Lieshout ◽  
Gurjit Singh ◽  
Bruce Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Talker Variability

scholarly journals Auditory word recognition across the lifespan

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 119-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrike K. Blumenfeld ◽  
Scott R. Schroeder ◽  
Susan C. Bobb ◽  
Max R. Freeman ◽  
Viorica Marian
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Auditory Word ◽  
Auditory Word Recognition ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Age Related Changes

Abstract Recent research suggests that bilingual experience reconfigures linguistic and nonlinguistic cognitive processes. We examined the relationship between linguistic competition resolution and nonlinguistic cognitive control in younger and older adults who were either bilingual or monolingual. Participants heard words in English and identified the referent among four pictures while eye-movements were recorded. Target pictures (e.g., cab) appeared with a phonological competitor picture (e.g., cat) and two filler pictures. After each eye-tracking trial, priming probes assessed residual activation and inhibition of target and competitor words. When accounting for processing speed, results revealed that age-related changes in activation and inhibition are smaller in bilinguals than in monolinguals. Moreover, younger and older bilinguals, but not monolinguals, recruited similar inhibition mechanisms during word identification and during a nonlinguistic Stroop task. Results suggest that, during lexical access, bilinguals show more consistent competition resolution and recruitment of cognitive control across the lifespan than monolinguals.

Lexical and Sublexical Components of Age-related Changes in Neural Activation during Visual Word Identification

2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wythe L. Whiting ◽  
David J. Madden ◽  
Linda K. Langley ◽  
Laura L. Denny ◽  
Timothy G. Turkington ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Word Frequency ◽  
Word Length ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Visual Word ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Visual Word Identification

Positron emission tomography data (Madden, Langley, et al., 2002) were analyzed to investigate adult age differences in the relation between neural activation and the lexical (word frequency) and sublexical (word length) components of visual word identification. The differential influence of these components on reaction time (RT) for word/nonword discrimination (lexical decision) was generally similar for the two age groups, with word frequency accounting for a greater proportion of lexical decision RT variance relative to word length. The influence of word length on RT, however, was relatively greater for older adults. Activation in regions of the ventral occipito-temporal cortex was related to the RT changes associated with word frequency and length for older adults, but not for younger adults. Specifically, older adults' frequency effects were related to activation in both anterior (Brodmann's area [BA] 37) and posterior (BAs 17 and 18) regions of the occipito-temporal pathway, whereas word length effects were only associated with posterior activation (BA 17). We conclude that aging affects the neural mechanisms supporting word identification performance although behavioral measures of this ability are generally constant as a function of age.

scholarly journals Talker Differences in Clear and Conversational Speech: Vowel Intelligibility for Older Adults With Hearing Loss

2012 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 779-790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Hargus Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing Loss ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing ◽  
Conversational Speech ◽  
Clear Speech ◽  
Talker Variability ◽  
Speaking Style

Purpose To establish the range of talker variability for vowel intelligibility in clear versus conversational speech for older adults with hearing loss and to determine whether talkers who produced a clear speech benefit for young listeners with normal hearing also did so for older adults with hearing loss. Method Clear and conversational vowels in /bVd/ context produced by 41 talkers were presented in noise for identification by 40 older (ages 65–87 years) adults with sloping sensorineural hearing loss. Results Vowel intelligibility within each speaking style and the size of the clear speech benefit varied widely among talkers. The clear speech benefit was equivalent to that enjoyed by young listeners with normal hearing in an earlier study. Most talkers who had produced a clear speech benefit for young listeners with normal hearing also did so for the older listeners with hearing loss in the present study. However, effects of talker gender differed between listeners with normal hearing and listeners with hearing loss. Conclusion The clear speech vowel intelligibility benefit generated for listeners with hearing loss varied considerably among talkers. Most talkers who produced a clear speech benefit for normal-hearing listeners also produced a benefit for listeners with hearing loss.

scholarly journals The role of temporal cues in word identification by younger and older adults: Effects of sentence context

2008 ◽  
Vol 124 (5) ◽  
pp. 3249-3260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Gordon-Salant ◽  
Grace Yeni-Komshian ◽  
Peter Fitzgibbons
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Sentence Context ◽  
Temporal Cues

scholarly journals Ageing and the misperception of words: Evidence from eye movements during reading

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kayleigh L Warrington ◽  
Sarah J White ◽  
Kevin B Paterson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Sentence Context ◽  
Age Difference ◽  
Adult Age ◽  
Adult Lifespan ◽  
Prior Context ◽  
Eye Movements During Reading

Research with lexical neighbours (words that differ by a single letter while the number and order of letters are preserved) indicates that readers frequently misperceive a word as its higher frequency neighbour (HFN) even during normal reading. But how this lexical influence on word identification changes across the adult lifespan is largely unknown, although slower lexical processing and reduced visual abilities in later adulthood may lead to an increased incidence of word misperception errors. In particular, older adults may be more likely than younger adults to misidentify a word as its HFN, especially when the HFN is congruent with prior sentence context, although this has not been investigated. Accordingly, to address this issue, young and older adults read sentences containing target words with and without an HFN, where the HFN was either congruent with prior sentence context or not. Consistent with previous findings for young adults, eye movements were disrupted more for words with than without an HFN, especially when the HFN was congruent with prior context. Crucially, however, there was no indication of an adult age difference in this word misperception effect. We discuss these findings in relation to the nature of misperception effects in older age.

scholarly journals A modulating circle reduces listening effort and improves spoken word recognition in older adults

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Violet Aurora Brown ◽  
Julia Feld Strand ◽  
Kristin J. Van Engen
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Spoken Word ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Listening Effort ◽  
Dual Task Paradigm

Objectives. Perceiving spoken language in noise can be a cognitively demanding task, particularly for older adults and those with hearing impairment. The current research assessed whether an abstract visual stimulus—a circle that modulates with the acoustic amplitude envelope of the speech—can affect speech processing in older adults. We hypothesized that, in line with recent research on younger adults, the circle would reduce listening effort during a word identification task. Given that older adults have slower processing speeds and poorer auditory temporal sensitivity than young adults, we expected that the abstract visual stimulus may have additional benefits for older adults, as it provides another source of information to compensate for limitations in auditory processing. Thus, we further hypothesized that, in contrast to the results from research on young adults, the circle would also improve word identification in noise for older adults.Design. Sixty-five older adults ages 65 to 83 (M = 71.11; SD = 4.01) with age-appropriate hearing completed four blocks of trials: two blocks (one with the modulating circle, one without) with a word identification task in two-talker babble, followed by two more word identification blocks that also included a simultaneous dual-task paradigm to assess listening effort.Results. Relative to an audio-only condition, the presence of the modulating circle substantially reduced listening effort (as indicated by faster responses to the secondary task in the dual-task paradigm) and also moderately improved spoken word intelligibility. Conclusions. Seeing the face of the talker substantially improves spoken word identification, but this is the first demonstration that another form of visual input—an abstract modulating circle—can also provide modest intelligibility benefits and substantial reductions in listening effort. These findings could have clinical or practical applications, as the modulating circle can be generated in real time to accompany speech in noisy situations, thereby improving speech intelligibility and reducing effort or fatigue for individuals who may have particular difficulty recognizing speech in background noise.

scholarly journals The roles of cognitive abilities and hearing acuity in older adults’ recognition of words taken from fast and spectrally reduced speech

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Esther Janse ◽  
Sible J. Andringa
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Word Recognition ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Identification Accuracy ◽  
Hearing Sensitivity

Abstract Previous literature has identified several cognitive abilities as predictors of individual differences in speech perception. Working memory was chief among them, but effects have also been found for processing speed. Most research has been conducted on speech in noise, but fast and unclear articulation also makes listening challenging, particularly for older listeners. As a first step toward specifying the cognitive mechanisms underlying spoken word recognition, we set up this study to determine which factors explain unique variation in word identification accuracy in fast speech, and the extent to which this was affected by further degradation of the speech signal. To that end, 105 older adults were tested on identification accuracy of fast words in unaltered and degraded conditions in which the speech stimuli were low-pass filtered. They were also tested on processing speed, memory, vocabulary knowledge, and hearing sensitivity. A structural equation analysis showed that only memory and hearing sensitivity explained unique variance in word recognition in both listening conditions. Working memory was more strongly associated with performance in the unfiltered than in the filtered condition. These results suggest that memory skills, rather than speed, facilitate the mapping of single words onto stored lexical representations, particularly in conditions of medium difficulty.

Cognitive control constrains memory attributions

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen M. Kelley ◽  
Larry L. Jacoby
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Cognitive Control

Abstract Cognitive control constrains retrieval processing and so restricts what comes to mind as input to the attribution system. We review evidence that older adults, patients with Alzheimer's disease, and people with traumatic brain injury exert less cognitive control during retrieval, and so are susceptible to memory misattributions in the form of dramatic levels of false remembering.

Cognitive Load Affects Speech Motor Performance Differently in Older and Younger Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1258-1277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan K. MacPherson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Incongruent Condition ◽  
Sentence Production ◽  
Movement Duration ◽  
Production Task ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Speech Motor

PurposeThe aim of this study was to determine the impact of cognitive load imposed by a speech production task on the speech motor performance of healthy older and younger adults. Response inhibition, selective attention, and working memory were the primary cognitive processes of interest.MethodTwelve healthy older and 12 healthy younger adults produced multiple repetitions of 4 sentences containing an embedded Stroop task in 2 cognitive load conditions: congruent and incongruent. The incongruent condition, which required participants to suppress orthographic information to say the font colors in which color words were written, represented an increase in cognitive load relative to the congruent condition in which word text and font color matched. Kinematic measures of articulatory coordination variability and movement duration as well as a behavioral measure of sentence production accuracy were compared between groups and conditions and across 3 sentence segments (pre-, during-, and post-Stroop).ResultsIncreased cognitive load in the incongruent condition was associated with increased articulatory coordination variability and movement duration, compared to the congruent Stroop condition, for both age groups. Overall, the effect of increased cognitive load was greater for older adults than younger adults and was greatest in the portion of the sentence in which cognitive load was manipulated (during-Stroop), followed by the pre-Stroop segment. Sentence production accuracy was reduced for older adults in the incongruent condition.ConclusionsIncreased cognitive load involving response inhibition, selective attention, and working memory processes within a speech production task disrupted both the stability and timing with which speech was produced by both age groups. Older adults' speech motor performance may have been more affected due to age-related changes in cognitive and motoric functions that result in altered motor cognition.

Effects of Aging on the Subcortical Encoding of Stop Consonants

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-403
Author(s):  
Dania Rishiq ◽  
Ashley Harkrider ◽  
Cary Springer ◽  
Mark Hedrick
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Auditory Brainstem ◽  
Auditory Brainstem Responses ◽  
Aging Effects ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Place Of Articulation ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
Effects Of Aging

Purpose The main purpose of this study was to evaluate aging effects on the predominantly subcortical (brainstem) encoding of the second-formant frequency transition, an essential acoustic cue for perceiving place of articulation. Method Synthetic consonant–vowel syllables varying in second-formant onset frequency (i.e., /ba/, /da/, and /ga/ stimuli) were used to elicit speech-evoked auditory brainstem responses (speech-ABRs) in 16 young adults ( M age = 21 years) and 11 older adults ( M age = 59 years). Repeated-measures mixed-model analyses of variance were performed on the latencies and amplitudes of the speech-ABR peaks. Fixed factors were phoneme (repeated measures on three levels: /b/ vs. /d/ vs. /g/) and age (two levels: young vs. older). Results Speech-ABR differences were observed between the two groups (young vs. older adults). Specifically, older listeners showed generalized amplitude reductions for onset and major peaks. Significant Phoneme × Group interactions were not observed. Conclusions Results showed aging effects in speech-ABR amplitudes that may reflect diminished subcortical encoding of consonants in older listeners. These aging effects were not phoneme dependent as observed using the statistical methods of this study.

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