Auditory processing factors in dichotic CV tasks

Abstract

The use of dichotic measures has been principally directed, especially in pathological populations, to the investigation of ear effects. It is also possible to use dichotic tasks as measures of auditory processing by considering such aspects of performance as the total correct score and the number of double‐correct responses. The auditory processing abilities of three groups of subjects were investigated in this context. CV stimuli were presented under simultaneous and 90‐msec lag conditions to 10 adults with multiple sclerosis, 16 persons with presbycusis, and 15 children with learning disabilities. The results were compared to those of 15 normal controls as well as to the normative data reported in the literature. Overall, the dichotic measures did differentiate the pathological populations from normals. Furthermore, performance in terms of the double‐correct responses shows differences in the auditory processing abilities between each of the pathological populations. It is concluded that the investigation of double‐correct responses as an index of auditory processing capacity should be a valuable addition to the use of dichotic measures in pathological populations, with interesting implications for the mechanisms involved in the disruption of dichotic listening abilities.