Hearing Acuity, Cognitive Aging, and Memory for Speech

听力敏锐度、认知老化和言语记忆

• 批准号: 6785883
• 负责人: Arthur Wingfield
• 金额: $ 25.58万
• 依托单位: BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-09-15 至 2007-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6785883
• 关键词: age difference; audiometry; auditory stimulus; behavioral /social science research tag; clinical research; data collection methodology /evaluation; hearing disorders; hearing tests; human old age (65+); human subject; neural information processing; perception disorder; presbycusis; sensorineural hearing loss; sound perception; speech; speech recognition; young adult human (21-34)

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Although many adults maintain good hearing into older adulthood, large numbers of older adults manifest age-related hearing declines that significantly interfere with comprehension and memory for speech. Few issues are as important to the quality of life of older adults as the ability to recall heard information, whether it is instructions from medical care providers, verbal instructions on how to complete forms, or the latest news of family and friends. Natural speech is rapid, ranging from 90 words per minute (wpm) for thoughtful conversation, to rates far in excess of 200 wpm. Added to this high input rate is the fact that speech is very often accompanied by background distraction. Both factors are known to be especially disruptive to older adults. This application centers on an interdisciplinary approach combining expertise from cognitive psychology and audiology to the understanding of how age-related cognitive factors interact with agerelated hearing loss (presbycusis) in memory for speech. In order to separate the effects of cognitive aging and hearing acuity, four groups of adults will be tested: older adults with age-related hearing loss, older adults with good hearing in the speech range, young adults with hearing loss in the speech range similar to that of the older adults, and a young adult group with good hearing. The research will focus on (1) the effects of rapid speech and auditory distraction on memory for spoken messages, (2) how the features of the spoken messages interact with age and hearing loss, and (3) the extent to which the use of context can be flexibly employed by older adults with poor hearing as distinct from reflecting an enduring perceptual "style" that may not always be appropriate. On the theoretical level one of the goals will be to test the hypothesis that the extra effort expended on lower level perception of speech can draw resources that would ordinarily be available for "down-stream" processes such as memory encoding for later recall. On the applied level, the data obtained will be valuable for developing guidelines for tests of hearing that are sensitive to the special needs of older adults.

描述（由申请人提供）：尽管许多成年人在成年期间保持良好的听力，但大量老年人表现出与年龄相关的听力下降，这显着干扰了言语的理解和记忆。对于老年人的生活质量，很少有问题像回想起听到信息的能力一样重要，无论是医疗服务提供者的指示，有关如何完成表格的口头指示，还是家人和朋友的最新消息。自然语音很快，从每分钟90个单词（WPM）进行周到的对话，到超过200 wpm的评分。在这个高输入率中加上，语音经常伴随着背景干扰。已知这两个因素对老年人都特别破坏。 该应用集中在一种跨学科方法中，该方法结合了从认知心理学和听力学到对年龄相关的认知因素如何与衰老的听力损失（Presbycusis）相互作用的专业知识。为了区分认知衰老和听力敏锐度的影响，将测试四组成年人：与年龄相关的听力损失的老年人，在语音范围内有良好听力的老年人，与老年人相似的年轻人听力损失的年轻人，以及一个年轻的成年人群体。该研究将重点放在（1）迅速的语音和听觉分散注意力对口语消息的记忆的影响，（2）口语消息的特征如何与年龄和听力损失相互作用，以及（3）在听力较差的老年人可以灵活地使用上下文的程度，这与反映持久的“风格”可能并非适当的“样式”不同。在理论层面上，目标之一将是检验以下假设：较低级别的语音感知所花费的额外努力可以吸收通常可用于“下游”过程的资源，例如记忆编码，以供以后召回。在应用水平上，获得的数据对于制定对老年人特殊需求敏感的听力测试准则很有价值。