Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2025

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment
Published on: June 25, 2019
An Investigation of Non-Auditory Lexical Language Skills in Relation to Hearing Ability and Second Language Use in
1School of Psychology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Abstract:
This study explored how age-related hearing loss and second language use relate to non-auditory lexical language abilities in 74 older adults (mean age 63; range 50-73). Participants completed a cognitive task (backwards digit span) and two lexical tasks: a verbal fluency task, which has a stronger cognitive component, and a vocabulary task, which has a lesser cognitive component. Our findings suggest that fundamental language skills are distinct from perceptual difficulties - at least in a lexical task with a lesser cognitive component. In the lexical task with a stronger cognitive component, we found evidence for a complex relation between age-related hearing loss and the frequency of second language use.
Related Concept Videos
Language and Cognition
Cognitive Development During Adulthood
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
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...
Learning Disabilities
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a...
Language
Corballis and Suddendorf (2007) and Tomasello and Rakoczy (2003) highlight the role of language in...

