Temporal masking and speech recognition in the aging auditory system: US-Brazil

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究将与博士合作完成。Denise Menezes和Silvana Griz在巴西累西腓的伯南布哥联邦大学（“伯南布哥联邦大学”），作为NIH拨款号的延伸。R01DC001507, 9-20-2008至8-31-2013。听力正常的听众通常会发现，在调节的背景下，语音识别比在整体水平相同的稳定背景下更容易。这种调制的好处-或掩蔽释放-通常在年轻听众中比年长听众更明显。本项目的目的是评估时间加工中的中央缺陷对这种与年龄相关的掩蔽释放减少的贡献。具体目标1考察了语音识别在调制噪声和时间掩蔽性能之间的关系，作为年龄的函数，控制可听性。美国英语和巴西葡萄牙语的屏蔽释放将被测量。目标是评估掩码波峰的前向和后向掩码在多大程度上模糊了掩码波谷中的语音信息，从而限制了调制效益。前向掩蔽的年龄效应问题本身尚未得到发展，关于老年听众是否表现出加剧的前向掩蔽，研究结果是混合的。具体目标2的目的是将前向掩蔽的心理物理和电生理测量作为年龄的函数联系起来，以澄清这个问题。对掩蔽效应的关注将特别采用与言语相关的刺激。总之，这两个相互交织的目标将促进我们对正常衰老过程如何损害时间掩蔽的理解-特别是当它与波动背景下的语音识别相关时。通过使用两种语言（美式英语和巴西葡萄牙语）在两个国家（美国和巴西）同时进行调查，这种理解将“全球化”。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This research will be done in collaboration with Drs. Denise Menezes and Silvana Griz at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco ('Federal University of Pernambuco') in Recife, Brazil, as an extension of NIH Grant No. R01DC001507, 9-20-2008 to 8-31-2013. Listeners with normal hearing usually find speech recognition easier in a modulated background than in a steady background that has the same overall level. This modulation benefit - or masking release - is typically more pronounced in younger listeners than older listeners. The purpose of this project is to assess the contribution of central deficits in temporal processing to this age-related reduction in masking release. Specific Aim 1 examines the relationship between speech recognition in modulated noise and temporal masking performance as a function of age, controlling for audibility. Masking release for both American English and Brazilian Portuguese will be measured. The goal is to assess the extent to which forward and backward masking by the masker peaks obscures speech information in the masker troughs, thereby limiting modulation benefit. The issue of age effects in forward masking is itself undeveloped, and findings are mixed as to whether older listeners exhibit exacerbated forward masking. The purpose of Specific Aim 2 is to relate psychophysical and electrophysiological measures of forward masking as a function of age in order to clarify this issue. The focus on masking effects will specifically employ speech-relevant stimuli. Jointly, these two interwoven aims will advance our understanding of how the normal aging process compromises temporal masking - particularly as it relates to speech recognition in fluctuating backgrounds. This understanding will be 'globalized' by undertaking the investigation simultaneously in two countries (U.S. and Brazil) using two languages (American English and Brazilian Portuguese).