Differences in achievement on tests of perceptual abilities in lower and upper elementary school grade students involved in the process of determining the psychophysical state

This paper investigates whether there are differences in the results achieved during the assessment of visual and auditory perceptual abilities in students (N = 166) of upper and lower elementary school grades who are involved in the process of determining the psychophysical condition. Adequate assessment is important not only because of the prediction of students’ academic success, but also as a basis for the development of individualized curricula that will enable the selection of adequate forms and content of educational support for each student. The Acadia developmental ability test was used to assess students’ perceptual abilities. In data processing, in addition to calculating frequencies and arithmetic means by groups, in order to determine the deviation of the observed frequencies from the expected frequencies, the χ2-test was used. The results indicate the existence of significant differences in student achievement on the subtests of visual and auditory memory and visual differentiation. It turned out that lower results in all three tests were achieved by lower elementary school grade students. The pedagogical implications of this study indicate the need for more intensive educational monitoring of students from the beginning of their education.

Correction of Impaired Sound Pronunciation in Senior Preschoolers with Phonetic-Phonemic Speech Underdevelopment

The research featured senior preschoolers with phonetic-phonemic speech underdevelopment. The authors described the peculiarities of speech development in such children and analyzed related publications. As a rule, impaired sound pronunciation includes low tempo and weak voluntary regulation. The study featured substitutions, distortion, or absence of various sounds. The authors tested a set of measures aimed at correcting speech disorders in senior preschool children with phonetic-phonemic speech underdevelopment. The experiment revealed a combination of incorrect pronunciation with sounds that were partially consistent in a certain context. Cognitive parameters included difficulties in memorizing verbal information and poor auditory memory. The subjects failed active speech tests and could not remember oral information. The article also introduces data on the specifics of speech therapy of phonemic hearing.

Surgery versus intervention in congenital heart disease as a risk factor for executive dysfunction: a case control study

Background Improving surgical and interventional modalities for treating congenital heart disease increased these children's living expectancy, a leading cause of cognitive and behavioral problems. This study compared executive functions among surgically, interventionally treated congenital heart disease, and aged match control. Methods This was a retrospective cross-sectional study. We enrolled thirty children treated with surgery, 30 interventionally treated patients and 30 healthy controls. We compared these participants in the executive functions domains by Stroop test, trail making test, cancellation test, visual and auditory memory span test, and behavioral problems using the parent form strength and difficulty questionnaire. Executive performance in memory span and sustained attention was lower in the surgical group than in the intervention group (P˂0.05). Results Both groups of patients had lower flexibility, memory recall, simple and complex working memory, visual attention, and simple and complex selective attention performance (P < 0.05). The effect of behavioral problems on daily life was higher in surgical patients than in the intervention group (P˂0.0001). Both groups of patients had higher emotional problems, conduct problems, and communication problems than the normal group (P˂0.0001). Conclusion Interventionaly treated patients had better performance in comparison to surgically-treated patients. Regardless of the severity of the disease or treatment, patients with congenital heart malformations had poor performance compared to normal subjects and suffered from behavioral disorders affecting their daily lives. It is essential to include diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in treating these patients' executive function and behavioral problems.

The Relationship Between Self-Perceived Hearing Ability and Binaural Speech-in-Noise Performance in Adults With Normal Pure-Tone Hearing

Purpose This study examined the relationship between self-perceived hearing abilities and binaural speech-in-noise performance in young to middle-age adults with normal pure-tone hearing. Method Sixty-six adults with normal hearing (thresholds ≤ 25 dB HL at 250–8000 Hz) participated. Self-perceived hearing abilities were assessed using the Adult Auditory Performance Scale (AAPS). The AAPS provides a single global score of self-perceived hearing abilities and individual subscale scores for six listening conditions, namely, Quiet, Ideal, Noise, Multiple Inputs, Auditory Memory, and Auditory Attention. Binaural speech-in-noise performance was measured with the Listening in Spatialized Noise–Sentences Test (LiSN-S). Results Results revealed significant correlations between the AAPS and the LiSN-S. Listeners who scored higher on the AAPS (greater self-perceived hearing difficulty) performed poorer on the LiSN-S. The strongest correlations were observed between the AAPS Noise subscale score and the LiSN-S low- and high-cue conditions. Age was significantly correlated with both pure-tone hearing and the LiSN-S spatial advantage, with older participants exhibiting poorer thresholds and smaller spatial advantages. Pure-tone hearing was also significantly correlated with binaural speech-in-noise performance. Listeners with poorer thresholds performed poorer across multiple LiSN-S conditions. Linear regression revealed that a significant amount of the variance in LiSN-S performance was accounted for by pure-tone hearing as well as the AAPS global score and Noise subscale score. Conclusions Results demonstrate a clear relationship between an individual's self-perceived hearing ability and their binaural speech-in-noise performance. In addition, minimal threshold elevation within the normal range and age (i.e., middle adulthood) had a negative impact on binaural speech-in-noise performance. The results support the inclusion of speech-in-noise testing for all patients, even those whose pure-tone hearing falls within the traditional normal range.

Bilingualism and Cognitive and Auditory Processing: A Comprehensive Review

Objectives: Bilingualism and multilingualism are on the rise in many parts of the world. Learning and using other languages, in addition to the expected impact on language domains, can affect non-linguistic fields such as attention, working memory, cognitive control, and auditory processing. The objective of this study was a comprehensive review of the bilingual advantage and disadvantages with emphasis on its effect on the cognitive process and its relationship with auditory processing. Methods: A total of 133 articles were initially found in this field. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the review, 84 related articles were entered into this study. Then we searched articles published 2005-2020 in Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, and PubMed databases. Keyword and MeSH terms were used in the search process: “bilingualism”, “cognitive process”, “auditory process”, and “auditory attention”. Results: Studies showed that bilingualism not only has advantages in the linguistic domain but also affects the cognitive domain, especially auditory attention, auditory memory capacity, and inhibitory control. Also, it has a protective effect against cognitive decline in aging. Structural changes in the brain in bilinguals support these effects. Most studies reported that enhanced attentional requests of bilingual exchange amplify connectivity among cognitive functions like attentional rein and auditory processing. These effects create more constancy in the auditory evoked response in bilinguals. Discussion: Learning foreign languages could provoke the autonomic sound processing capability of the auditory organ and make it highly efficient in challenging listening conditions. It also affects other cognitive processes such as auditory memory. However, a comprehensive framework for this relationship is still unknown, and further research is needed, especially to support neurophysiological evidence.

Effect of musical training on auditory memory

Background Musical practice leads to cognitive development, requiring the activation of several processing mechanisms that are based on encoding and storing sounds through memory. The objective was to evaluate the auditory memory (ability to recognize tonal patterns) in musicians and non-musicians, comparing their performance. Methods Two groups with normal hearing and aged between 17 and 18 years old were compared, one of musicians (N = 14, with average of 8 years of musical training) and a control group (N = 14). Pure tone audiogram and an auditory working memory/pattern recognition test of non-verbal sounds (tonal) were performed. The participant heard 2 consecutive sequences of 6 tonal sounds each and had to say whether they were the same or different from each other. In total 30 pairs of sequences are presented (binaurally). Results The mean of percentage of correct responses in the memory/pattern recognition test was higher in musician’s group than in control group with statistically significant differences between groups (P = 0.002). The difference between the mean of percentage of correct responses in each group was 11.44%. Conclusions The musicians present better auditory memory/recognition of non-verbal (tonal) sounds in relation to the non-musicians, which points to the effectiveness of musical practice in the cognitive development of working memory and recognition of sound patterns. This study, according to others in the field, shows that musical training improves memory and auditory skills, which are known to be fundamental to the academic success of young people in this age group.

Relation Between the Screening Checklist for Auditory Processing in Adults and Diagnostic Auditory Processing Test Performance

Purpose The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between the Screening Checklist for Auditory Processing in Adults and the performance of older adults on a battery of diagnostic tests for auditory processing. This was done for two versions of the checklist, one answered by older individuals at risk for auditory processing disorder (APD) and the other by the family of the older adults. Method Forty-nine older adults and 34 of their family members were initially tested with the screening checklist, each being tested with the version developed for them. Approximately half of the older adults had normal pure-tone thresholds, while the others had mild–moderate hearing loss above 2 kHz. The older adults were administered tests of auditory separation/closure, auditory integration, temporal resolution, temporal patterning, and auditory memory and sequencing. Results Most of the older adults and their family members reported of the presence of auditory processing difficulties on the screening checklist. On the diagnostic test battery, many of the older adults, irrespective of their high-frequency hearing sensitivity, failed the tests measuring temporal resolution and auditory integration. The sensitivity and specificity of the checklist answered by the older individuals were 69.05% and 71.43%, respectively. On the other hand, for the checklist answered by the family members, it was 77.78% and 33.33%, respectively. The test–retest reliability of the two versions of the checklist was found to be good. Conclusions As the specificity of the checklist answered by the family members was considerably lower than that answered by the older adults, the use of the version for the latter group is recommended. However, the checklist answered by the caregivers could be used to complement information obtained from the older adults at risk for APD when the older adults are unable to give valid responses.

Investigating Auditory and Visual Memory and Sequencing- Exploring Strengthening Therapeutics for Alzheimer's Patients

In modern society, the inherent differences found between females and males are a sensitive topic of debate. It is common for people to associate females with the possession of stronger and more profound visual and auditory memory in comparison to males. This research explored the variances between the sexes by examining and comparing the auditory and visual memories of a population of females and a population of males. The auditory and visual memories of the different sexes will be analyzed through a variety of tasks that will measure their memory capabilities. Participants of the experiment took two pre-designed tests, a different test for each type of memory. The auditory test included four distinct sounds that played in a specific pattern and challenged the participants’ memory capacities. Through the use of MATLAB, a program developed by MathWorks, and by using coding language, a visual memory game was developed for the visual test. This test contained four different colors that illuminated in a specific sequence. Each participant completed two trials for each type of test to allow them the opportunity to achieve their maximum potential. The analysis of the results contradicted stereotypical beliefs embedded in societal norms. Males collectively demonstrated a higher capacity for memory than females. Notably, both sexes improved their memory performance on the visual tests more than the auditory tests. An application of these results could be used as therapeutic exercises to help strengthen the memory of patients who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and other memory loss.