The development of auditory temporal processing during the first year of life

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.31234/osf.io/s6b8e ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Laurianne Cabrera ◽

Bonnie K. Lau

Keyword(s):

Temporal Processing ◽

Temporal Structure ◽

Temporal Information ◽

First Year ◽

Auditory Temporal Processing ◽

Speech Stimuli ◽

Temporal Cues ◽

Neurophysiological Studies ◽

Psychophysical Studies ◽

First Year Of Life

The processing of auditory temporal information is important for the extraction of voice pitch, linguistic information, as well as the overall temporal structure of speech. However, many aspects regarding its early development remains not well understood. This paper reviews the development of different aspects of auditory temporal processing during the first year of life when infants are acquiring their native language. First, potential mechanisms of neural immaturity are discussed in the context of neurophysiological studies. Next, what is known about infant auditory capabilities is considered with a focus on psychophysical studies involving non-speech stimuli to investigate the perception of temporal fine structure and envelope cues. This is followed by a review of studies involving speech stimuli, including those that present vocoded signals as a method of degrading the spectro-temporal information available to infant listeners. Finally, we highlight key findings from the cochlear implant literature that illustrate the importance of temporal cues in speech perception.

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Performance on auditory temporal‐processing tasks for speech and non‐speech stimuli by young and elderly listeners

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America ◽

10.1121/1.2935161 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 123 (5) ◽

pp. 3716-3716

Author(s):

Diane Kewley‐Port ◽

Larry Humes ◽

Daniel Fogerty ◽

Dana Kinney

Keyword(s):

Temporal Processing ◽

Auditory Temporal Processing ◽

Speech Stimuli

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Age-Related Temporal Processing Deficits in Word Segments in Adult Cochlear-Implant Users

Trends in Hearing ◽

10.1177/2331216519886688 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 23 ◽

pp. 233121651988668 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Zilong Xie ◽

Casey R. Gaskins ◽

Maureen J. Shader ◽

Sandra Gordon-Salant ◽

Samira Anderson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cochlear Implant ◽

Temporal Processing ◽

Word Identification ◽

Speech Understanding ◽

Potential Mechanism ◽

Auditory Temporal Processing ◽

Categorization Task ◽

Performance Differences ◽

Temporal Cues ◽

Age Related

Aging may limit speech understanding outcomes in cochlear-implant (CI) users. Here, we examined age-related declines in auditory temporal processing as a potential mechanism that underlies speech understanding deficits associated with aging in CI users. Auditory temporal processing was assessed with a categorization task for the words dish and ditch (i.e., identify each token as the word dish or ditch) on a continuum of speech tokens with varying silence duration (0 to 60 ms) prior to the final fricative. In Experiments 1 and 2, younger CI (YCI), middle-aged CI (MCI), and older CI (OCI) users participated in the categorization task across a range of presentation levels (25 to 85 dB). Relative to YCI, OCI required longer silence durations to identify ditch and exhibited reduced ability to distinguish the words dish and ditch (shallower slopes in the categorization function). Critically, we observed age-related performance differences only at higher presentation levels. This contrasted with findings from normal-hearing listeners in Experiment 3 that demonstrated age-related performance differences independent of presentation level. In summary, aging in CI users appears to degrade the ability to utilize brief temporal cues in word identification, particularly at high levels. Age-specific CI programming may potentially improve clinical outcomes for speech understanding performance by older CI listeners.

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Infant perception of audiovisual synchrony in fluent speech

Seeing and Perceiving ◽

10.1163/187847612x646587 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 25 (0) ◽

pp. 36

Author(s):

Ferran Pons ◽

David J. Lewkowicz

Keyword(s):

Temporal Processing ◽

Video Clip ◽

First Year ◽

Temporal Relations ◽

Fluent Speech ◽

Native Speech ◽

First Year Of Life ◽

Speech Events ◽

Perceptual Narrowing ◽

Do So

It is known that perception of audio–visual (A–V) temporal relations is affected by the type of stimulus used. This includes differences in A–V temporal processing of speech and non-speech events and of native vs. non-native speech. Similar differences have been found early in life, but no studies have investigated infant response to A–V temporal relations in fluent speech. Extant studies (Lewkowicz, 2010) investigating infant response to isolated syllables have found that infants can detect an A–V asynchrony (auditory leading visual) of 666 ms but not lower. Here, we investigated infant response to A–V asynchrony in fluent speech and whether linguistic experience plays a role in responsiveness. To do so, we tested 24 monolingual Spanish-learning and 24 monolingual Catalan-learning 8-month-old infants. First, we habituated the infants to an audiovisually synchronous video clip of a person speaking in Spanish and then tested them in separate test trials for detection of different degrees of A–V asynchrony (audio preceding video by 366, 500 or 666 ms). We found that infants detected A–V asynchronies of 666 and 500 ms and that they did so regardless of linguistic background. Thus, compared to previous results from infant studies with isolated audiovisual syllables, here we found that infants are more sensitive to A–V temporal relations inherent in fluent speech. Furthermore, given that responsiveness to non-native speech narrows during the first year of life, the absence of a language effect suggests that perceptual narrowing of A–V synchrony detection has not completed by 8 months of age.

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Auditory Temporal Processing in Dancers

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.1177/00315125211021210 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 003151252110212

Author(s):

Erika Skoe ◽

Erica V. Scarpati ◽

Allison McVeety

Keyword(s):

Temporal Resolution ◽

Temporal Processing ◽

Early Life ◽

Detection Task ◽

Gap Detection ◽

Auditory Temporal Processing ◽

Dance Training ◽

Temporal Cues ◽

Auditory Plasticity ◽

Auditory Skills

While many studies have examined the auditory abilities of musicians, this study uniquely asks whether dance training, a similar yet understudied type of early-life training, also benefits auditory abilities. We focused this investigation on temporal resolution, given the importance of subtle temporal cues in synchronizing movement. We found that, compared to untrained controls, novice adult dancers who have trained continuously since childhood had enhanced temporal resolution, measured with a gap detection task. In an analysis involving current and former dancers, total years of training was a significant predictor of temporal resolution thresholds. The association between dance experience and improved auditory skills has implications for current theories of experience-dependent auditory plasticity and the design of sound-based educational and rehabilitation activities.

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Ahead of Maturation: Enhanced Speech Envelope Training Boosts Rise Time Discrimination in Pre-Readers at Cognitive Risk for Dyslexia

10.1101/2021.04.12.439411 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Shauni Van Herck ◽

Femke Vanden Bempt ◽

Maria Economou ◽

Jolijn Vanderauwera ◽

Toivo Glatz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Speech Perception ◽

Temporal Processing ◽

Auditory Processing ◽

Rise Time ◽

Temporal Structure ◽

First Grade ◽

Auditory Temporal Processing ◽

Time Discrimination ◽

Cognitive Risk ◽

Speech Envelope

Dyslexia has frequently been related to atypical auditory temporal processing and speech perception. Results of studies emphasizing speech onset cues and reinforcing the temporal structure of the speech envelope, i.e. envelope enhancement, demonstrated reduced speech perception deficits in individuals with dyslexia. The use of this strategy as an auditory intervention might thus reduce some of the deficits related to dyslexia. Importantly, interventions are most effective when they are provided during kindergarten and first grade. Hence, we provided a tablet-based 12-week preventive auditory and phonics-based intervention to pre-readers at cognitive risk for dyslexia and investigated the effect on auditory temporal processing with a rise time discrimination task. Ninety-one pre-readers at cognitive risk for dyslexia (aged 5-6) were assigned to two groups receiving a phonics-based intervention and playing a story listening game either with (n = 31) or without (n = 31) envelope enhancement or a third group playing control games and listening to non-enhanced stories (n = 29). Rise time discrimination was measured directly before, directly after and one year after the intervention. While the groups listening to non-enhanced stories mainly improved after the intervention during first grade, the group listening to enhanced stories improved during the intervention in kindergarten and subsequently remained stable during first grade. Hence, an envelope enhancement intervention improves auditory processing skills important for the development of phonological skills. This occurred before the onset of reading instruction, preceding the maturational improvement of these skills, hence giving at risk children a head start when learning to read.

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The Development of Swallowing Respiratory Coordination

Perspectives on Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia) ◽

10.1044/sasd18.1.19 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 19-24

Author(s):

Maggie-Lee Huckabee

Keyword(s):

Cortical Activation ◽

First Year ◽

Healthy Children ◽

Nasal Airflow ◽

Single Session ◽

Primary Finding ◽

Patterns Of Behavior ◽

Cortical Modulation ◽

First Year Of Life ◽

Swallowing Apnea

Abstract Research exists that evaluates the mechanics of swallowing respiratory coordination in healthy children and adults as well and individuals with swallowing impairment. The research program summarized in this article represents a systematic examination of swallowing respiratory coordination across the lifespan as a means of behaviorally investigating mechanisms of cortical modulation. Using time-locked recordings of submental surface electromyography, nasal airflow, and thyroid acoustics, three conditions of swallowing were evaluated in 20 adults in a single session and 10 infants in 10 sessions across the first year of life. The three swallowing conditions were selected to represent a continuum of volitional through nonvolitional swallowing control on the basis of a decreasing level of cortical activation. Our primary finding is that, across the lifespan, brainstem control strongly dictates the duration of swallowing apnea and is heavily involved in organizing the integration of swallowing and respiration, even in very early infancy. However, there is evidence that cortical modulation increases across the first 12 months of life to approximate more adult-like patterns of behavior. This modulation influences primarily conditions of volitional swallowing; sleep and naïve swallows appear to not be easily adapted by cortical regulation. Thus, it is attention, not arousal that engages cortical mechanisms.

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