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Age-related differences in Voice-Onset-Time in Polish language users: An ERP study
Anna Oron1, Elzbieta Szelag1, Kamila Nowak1
1Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of Polish Academy of Sciences, 3 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland.
Acta Psychologica
|December 24, 2018
Summary
This study shows that older Polish speakers have a reduced ability to distinguish speech sounds based on voice onset time. This age-related decline in auditory processing may affect speech perception in the elderly.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psycholinguistics
- Auditory Neuroscience
Background:
- The Mismatch Negativity (MMN) paradigm is a sensitive electroencephalography (EEG) measure for detecting automatic auditory change detection.
- Voice-Onset-Time (VOT) is a crucial acoustic cue for distinguishing voiced and voiceless consonants in many languages.
- Slavic languages, like Polish, present unique phonetic features that may influence auditory processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age-related differences in cortical responses to consonant-vowel (CV) syllables varying in VOT in native Polish speakers.
- To analyze event-related potential (ERP) components, including MMN, P1, N1, N1', P2, and N2, in response to different VOT stimuli.
- To explore how the specific phonetic characteristics of Polish affect ERP morphology compared to other language groups.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Mismatch Negativity (MMN) paradigm with native Polish speakers.
- Presented participants with sequences of voiced (/do/) and voiceless (/to/) CV syllables differing in VOT.
- Analyzed ERP components (MMN, P1, N1, N1', P2, N2) in young (20-30 years) and elderly (60-68 years) age groups.
Main Results:
- An age-related decline in voicing perception was observed across all tested ERP components.
- Elderly participants exhibited diminished responses in MMN and other ERPs compared to younger participants.
- Specific features of Slavic languages influenced ERP morphology differently than reported for aspirating languages.
Conclusions:
- Advancing age is associated with a decline in the neural processing of VOT cues, impacting speech perception.
- Slower neural processing and potential difficulties in temporal- and spectral-information processing contribute to age-related auditory decline.
- The phonetic structure of Slavic languages interacts with age-related changes in auditory processing, highlighting language-specific effects.
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