Visual-neural correlate of speechreading ability in normal-hearing adults

Significant product-moment correlations ranging from -0.90 to -0.91 were computed between a selected peak-latency in average visual electroencephalic responses and speechreading scores. Subjects were 20 adults with normal hearing and assumed normal vision who had had no formal training in the speechreading process. The negative peak selected as this study's measure of visual-neural firing time occurs at an average of 130 msec from stimulus-onset in average visual electronencephalic responses evoked from either the right or left side of the head of normal adults. Speechreading measures included word and sentence scores obtained using a videotape of a female speaker presenting the 31 sentences that appear in the Utley Sentence Test of Lipreading Ability, Form B.