The Contribution of Age, Working Memory Capacity, and Inhibitory Control on Speech Recognition in Noise in Young and Older Adult Listeners

Author(s):  
Victoria Stenbäck ◽  
Erik Marsja ◽  
Mathias Hällgren ◽  
Björn Lyxell ◽  
Birgitta Larsby

Purpose The study aimed to investigate the relationship between speech recognition in noise, age, hearing ability, self-rated listening effort, inhibitory control (measured with the Swedish Hayling task), and working memory capacity (WMC; measured with the Reading Span test). Two different speech materials were used: the Hagerman test with low semantic context and Hearing in Noise Test sentences with high semantic context, masked with either energetic or informational maskers. Method A mixed design was used. Twenty-four young normally hearing ( M age = 25.6 years) and 24 older, for their age, normally hearing individuals ( M age = 60.6 years) participated in the study. Speech recognition in noise in both speech materials and self-rated effort in all four background maskers were correlated with inhibitory control and WMC. A linear mixed-effects model was set up to assess differences between the two different speech materials, the four different maskers used in the study, and if age and hearing ability affected performance in the speech materials or the various background noises. Results Results showed that high WMC was related to lower scores of self-rated listening effort for informational maskers, as well as better performance in speech recognition in noise when informational maskers were used. The linear mixed-effects model revealed differences in performance between the low-context and the high-context speech materials, and the various maskers used. Lastly, inhibitory control had some impact on performance in the low-context speech material when masked with an informational masker. Conclusion Different background noises, especially informational maskers, affect speech recognition and self-rated listening effort differently depending on age, hearing ability, and individual variation in WMC and inhibitory control.

Author(s):  
Gertjan Dingemanse ◽  
André Goedegebure

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of speech recognition performance, working memory capacity (WMC), and a noise reduction algorithm (NRA) on listening effort as measured with pupillometry in cochlear implant (CI) users while listening to speech in noise. Method: Speech recognition and pupil responses (peak dilation, peak latency, and release of dilation) were measured during a speech recognition task at three speech-to-noise ratios (SNRs) with an NRA in both on and off conditions. WMC was measured with a reading span task. Twenty experienced CI users participated in this study. Results: With increasing SNR and speech recognition performance, (a) the peak pupil dilation decreased by only a small amount, (b) the peak latency decreased, and (c) the release of dilation after the sentences increased. The NRA had no effect on speech recognition in noise or on the peak or latency values of the pupil response but caused less release of dilation after the end of the sentences. A lower reading span score was associated with higher peak pupil dilation but was not associated with peak latency, release of dilation, or speech recognition in noise. Conclusions: In CI users, speech perception is effortful, even at higher speech recognition scores and high SNRs, indicating that CI users are in a chronic state of increased effort in communication situations. The application of a clinically used NRA did not improve speech perception, nor did it reduce listening effort. Participants with a relatively low WMC exerted relatively more listening effort but did not have better speech reception thresholds in noise.


2014 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 233121651455868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine H. N. Ng ◽  
Elisabet Classon ◽  
Birgitta Larsby ◽  
Stig Arlinger ◽  
Thomas Lunner ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2455
Author(s):  
Mi Jin Kim ◽  
Jae Suk Baek ◽  
Jung A Kim ◽  
Seul Gi Cha ◽  
Jeong Jin Yu

BACKGROUND: We investigated preoperative cerebral (ScO2) and abdominal (StO2) regional oxygen saturations according to cardiac diagnosis in neonates with critical CHD, their time trends, and the clinical and biochemical parameters associated with them. METHODS: Thirty-seven neonates with a prenatal diagnosis of CHD were included. ScO2 and StO2 values were continuously evaluated using near-infrared spectroscopy. Measurements were obtained hourly before surgery. A linear mixed effects model was used to assess the effects of time and cardiac diagnosis on regional oxygenation and to explore the contributing factors. RESULTS: Regional oxygenation differed according to cardiac diagnosis (p < 0.001). ScO2 was lowest in the patients with severe atrioventricular valvar regurgitation (AVVR) (48.1 ± 8.0%). StO2 tended to be lower than ScO2, and both worsened gradually during the period between birth and surgery. There was also a significant interaction between cardiac diagnosis and time. The factors related to ScO2 were hemoglobin and arterial saturation, whereas no factor was associated with StO2. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative ScO2 and StO2 in critical CHD differed according to cardiac diagnosis. ScO2 in the patients with severe AVVR was very low, which may imply cerebral hypoxia. ScO2 gradually decreased, suggesting that the longer the time to surgery, the higher the risk of hypoxic brain injury.


2021 ◽  
pp. 136700692199680
Author(s):  
Michael Gradoville ◽  
Mark Waltermire ◽  
Avizia Long

Aims and objectives: While previous research has shown that phonetic variation in language contact situations is affected by whether a word has a cognate in the contact language, this paper aims to show that such an effect is not monotonic. According to the usage-based model, items in memory are organized according to similarity, thus we anticipated that formally more similar cognates would show a stronger cognate effect. Methodology: This variationist sociophonetic study investigates the relationship between cognate similarity and phonetic realization. We examined this relationship in the bilingual community of Rivera, Uruguay, in which both Portuguese and Spanish are spoken with regularity. Specifically, we focused on intervocalic /d/, which in monolingual Spanish is realized as an approximant [ð̞] or phonetic zero, but in monolingual Brazilian Portuguese is produced as a stop [d] or, in most varieties, an affricate [ʤ] before [i]. Data and analysis: We analyzed a corpus of sociolinguistic interviews of the Spanish spoken in Rivera. Acoustic measurements were taken from approximately 60 tokens each from 40 different speakers. Using a linear mixed-effects model, we examined the relationship between several predictors and the degree of constriction of intervocalic /d/. Findings/conclusions: While there is an overall frequency effect whereby more frequent words exhibit less constriction of intervocalic /d/, as both frequency and cognate similarity increase, less constriction of intervocalic /d/ obtains. Therefore, frequent cognates in Portuguese that have very similar forms affect the production of intervocalic /d/ more so than other cognates. Originality: No previous study has demonstrated that the cognate effect on phonetic variation in a situation of language contact is regulated by form similarity between cognate pairs. Significance/implications: The data support the usage-based model in that similar cognates have more lexical connections and can therefore show greater influence on phonetic realization than can cognates that share less phonetic material.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoonhee Kim ◽  
Eun Ha Park ◽  
Chris Fook Sheng Ng ◽  
Yeonseung Chung ◽  
Kunio Hashimoto ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The differential effects of PM2.5 fractions on children’s lung function remain inconclusive. This study aimed to examine whether lung function in asthmatic children was associated with increased PM2.5 fractions in urban areas in Nagasaki prefecture, Japan, where the air pollution level is relatively low but influenced by transboundary air pollution. Methods We conducted a multiyear panel study of 73 asthmatic children (boys, 60.3%; mean age, 8.2 years) spanning spring 2014–2016 in two cities. We collected self-measured peak expiratory flow (PEF) twice a day and daily time-series data for PM2.5 total mass and its chemical species. We fitted a linear mixed effects model to examine short-term associations between PEF and PM2.5, adjusting for individual and time-varying confounders. A generalized linear mixed effects model was also used to estimate the association for worsening asthma defined by severe PEF decline. Back-trajectory and cluster analyses were used to investigate the long-range transboundary PM2.5 in the study areas. Results We found that morning PEFs were adversely associated with higher levels of sulfate (− 1.61 L/min; 95% CI: − 3.07, − 0.15) in Nagasaki city and organic carbon (OC) (− 1.02 L/min; 95% CI: − 1.94, − 0.09) in Isahaya city, per interquartile range (IQR) increase at lag1. In addition, we observed consistent findings for worsening asthma, with higher odds of severe PEF decline in the morning for sulfate (odds ratio (OR) = 2.31; 95% CI: 1.12, 4.77) and ammonium (OR = 1.73; 95% CI: 1.06, 2.84) in Nagasaki city and OC (OR = 1.51; 95% CI: 1.06, 2.15) in Isahaya city, per IQR increase at lag1. The significant chemical species were higher on days that could be largely attributed to the path of Northeast China origin (for sulfate and ammonium) or both the same path and local sources (for OC) than by other clusters. Conclusions This study provides evidence of the differential effects of PM2.5 fractions on lung function among asthmatic children in urban areas, where the Japanese national standards of air quality have been nearly met. Continuous efforts to promote mitigation actions and public awareness of hazardous transboundary air pollution are needed to protect susceptible children with asthma.


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