Auditory temporal processes, speech perception and aging

该项目提出了一个在言语感知和听觉心理物理学的研究计划，以检查 这一假设认为，许多主要的困难，在言语理解的老年听众有关， 听觉时间处理的潜在问题在观察到的许多退化语言形式中， 对于老年听众来说，那些涉及改变语速的声音似乎产生最大的声音。 与年龄相关的认知缺陷。语音速率的改变可以被视为时间上的退化的形式。 语音段线索和语音韵律方面，这些类型的失真是调查的重点 在下一个项目期间。此外，心理声学的结果表明，大的年龄相关的困难， 时间加工存在于听觉克里思和节奏特征的感知中。 刺激模式大脑处理困难可能归因于外围和/或中央处理 机制，以及各种认知因素，包括对韵律特征的熟悉程度， 不同的母语。该项目研究了周围性听力障碍的相对贡献， 刺激的时间复杂性和认知需求对时间段和韵律加工的影响 言语和非言语刺激模式中的线索。该项目包括四个调查阶段， 由一系列语音和非语音辨别和识别任务组成。第一阶段和第二阶段调查 不同年龄段语音识别时间敏感性差异的来源， 非语音片段呈现为孤立的目标刺激或嵌入序列刺激模式。阶段3 测量了听者年龄对区分不同韵律特征的时间线索的影响 语言第四阶段将检查时间处理的心理声学模型，并确定刺激参数 导致了对口音英语理解的年龄差异。该项目的参与者将包括 年龄和听力敏感度不同的受试者组。

The project proposes a program of studies in speech perception and auditory psychophysics to examine the hypothesis that many of the predominant difficulties in speech understanding for elderly listeners are related to underlying problems in auditory temporal processing. Of the many forms of degraded speech observed to be difficult for elderly listeners, those that involve an alteration of speech rate appear to produce the largest age-related recognition deficits. Alterations of speech rate may be viewed as a form of degradation in temporal aspects of speech segmental cues and speech prosody, and these types of distortions are the focus of investigation in the next project period. Moreover, psychoacoustic results demonstrate that large age-related difficulties in temporal processing exist for the perception of auditory tempo and rhythmic characteristics of sequential stimulus patterns. Listener processing difficulty could be attributed to peripheral and/or central processing mechanisms, as well as various cognitive factors, including the degree of familiarity with prosodic features of different native languages. The project examines the relative contribution of peripheral hearing impairment, type of stimulus temporal complexity and cognitive demand on the processing of temporal segmental and prosodic cues in speech and non-speech stimulus patterns. The project comprises four stages of investigation, each consisting of a series of speech and non-speech discrimination and recognition tasks. Stages 1 and 2 investigate the sources of age-related differences in temporal sensitivity for discriminationand identification of speech and non-speech segments presented as isolated target stimuli or as embedded in sequential stimulus patterns. Stage 3 measures the influences of listener age on discrimination of temporal cues for prosody that characterize different languages. Stage 4 will examine psychoacoustic models of temporal processing and identify stimulus parameters contributing to age-related differences in understanding accented English. Participants in the project will include groups of subjects that differ by age and hearing sensitivity.