Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 29, 2026

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment
Published on: June 25, 2019
Sentence recognition with modulation-filtered speech segments for younger and older adults: Effects of hearing
Daniel Fogerty1, Jayne B Ahlstrom2, Judy R Dubno2
1Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA.
Abstract:
This study investigated word recognition for sentences temporally filtered within and across acoustic-phonetic segments providing primarily vocalic or consonantal cues. Amplitude modulation was filtered at syllabic (0-8 Hz) or slow phonemic (8-16 Hz) rates. Sentence-level modulation properties were also varied by amplifying or attenuating segments. Participants were older adults with normal or impaired hearing. Older adult speech recognition was compared to groups of younger normal-hearing adults who heard speech unmodified or spectrally shaped with and without threshold matching noise that matched audibility to hearing-impaired thresholds. Participants also completed cognitive and speech recognition measures. Overall, results confirm the primary contribution of syllabic speech modulations to recognition and demonstrate the importance of these modulations across vowel and consonant segments. Group differences demonstrated a hearing loss-related impairment in processing modulation-filtered speech, particularly at 8-16 Hz. This impairment could not be fully explained by age or poorer audibility. Principal components analysis identified a single factor score that summarized speech recognition across modulation-filtered conditions; analysis of individual differences explained 81% of the variance in this summary factor among the older adults with hearing loss. These results suggest that a combination of cognitive abilities and speech glimpsing abilities contribute to speech recognition in this group.
Related Concept Videos
Perception of Sound Waves
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...
The Effect of Aging on Tissues
Larynx
Anatomy of the Larynx
The larynx consists of various components, including cartilage, muscles, and vocal cords. Its structure includes three large unpaired cartilages—the thyroid, cricoid, and epiglottis—and three smaller paired cartilages—the arytenoids, corniculates, and...
Language Development
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
Interference and Decay
Interference occurs when competing memories hinder the retrieval of particular information. It can be classified into two types: proactive and retroactive interference. Proactive...
Cognitive Development During Adulthood

