Journal article
The contribution of short-term memory for sound features to speech-in-noise perception and cognition
Hearing research, Vol.451, 109081
09/15/2024
DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2024.109081
PMID: 39004015
Abstract
•Auditory abilities and general cognition decline with age.•Auditory memory is needed to account for the perception of sentences in noise.•Auditory memory for temporal features is also needed to account for general cognitive ability.•Further work can elucidate if auditory memory can predict cognitive decline in neurodegenerative disease.
Speech-in-noise (SIN) perception is a fundamental ability that declines with aging, as does general cognition. We assess whether auditory cognitive ability, in particular short-term memory for sound features, contributes to both. We examined how auditory memory for fundamental sound features, the carrier frequency and amplitude modulation rate of modulated white noise, contributes to SIN perception. We assessed SIN in 153 healthy participants with varying degrees of hearing loss using measures that require single-digit perception (the Digits-in-Noise, DIN) and sentence perception (Speech-in-Babble, SIB). Independent variables were auditory memory and a range of other factors including the Pure Tone Audiogram (PTA), a measure of dichotic pitch-in-noise perception (Huggins pitch), and demographic variables including age and sex. Multiple linear regression models were compared using Bayesian Model Comparison. The best predictor model for DIN included PTA and Huggins pitch (r2 = 0.32, p < 0.001), whereas the model for SIB included the addition of auditory memory for sound features (r2 = 0.24, p < 0.001). Further analysis demonstrated that auditory memory also explained a significant portion of the variance (28 %) in scores for a screening cognitive test for dementia. Auditory memory for non-speech sounds may therefore provide an important predictor of both SIN and cognitive ability.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The contribution of short-term memory for sound features to speech-in-noise perception and cognition
- Creators
- Meher Lad - Newcastle UniversityJohn-Paul Taylor - Newcastle UniversityTimothy D Griffiths - Newcastle University
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Hearing research, Vol.451, 109081
- Publisher
- Elsevier B.V
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.heares.2024.109081
- PMID
- 39004015
- ISSN
- 0378-5955
- eISSN
- 1878-5891
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 09/15/2024
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences
- Record Identifier
- 9984658327102771
Metrics
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