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Updated: Jun 2, 2026
06:34
Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Late maturation of auditory perceptual learning
Julia Jones Huyck1, Beverly A Wright
1Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208-3550, USA.
Developmental Science
|April 12, 2011
Summary
Perceptual learning, the ability to improve task performance with training, continues developing into adolescence. Even with extensive training, younger adolescents showed limited improvement in auditory temporal-interval discrimination.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Auditory Perception
Background:
- Adults demonstrate significant improvements in perceptual tasks through training.
- The developmental trajectory of perceptual learning into adolescence is not well understood.
- Auditory temporal-interval discrimination is a key perceptual skill.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine when the brain's response to perceptual training matures.
- To investigate age-related differences in auditory perceptual learning.
- To examine the efficacy of a standard training regimen across age groups.
Main Methods:
- A multi-session training regimen was administered to 11-year-olds, 14-year-olds, and adults.
- Participants were trained on a temporal-interval discrimination auditory task.
- Performance was assessed across multiple training sessions.
Main Results:
- Adults showed consistent improvement, reaching peak performance.
- None of the 11-year-olds and only half of the 14-year-olds improved with training.
- Adolescent performance, including those who improved, deteriorated within sessions, unlike adults.
Conclusions:
- Perceptual learning processes continue to mature throughout adolescence.
- Age significantly impacts the ability to benefit from perceptual training.
- Developmental changes in the brain influence learning and performance stability.
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