Nonspeech Tasks Research Articles

Tongue reflex for speech posture control

Although there is no doubt from an empirical viewpoint that reflex mechanisms can contribute to tongue motor control in humans, there is limited neurophysiological evidence to support this idea. Previous results failing to observe any tonic stretch reflex in the tongue had reduced the likelihood of a reflex contribution in tongue motor control. The current study presents experimental evidence of a human tongue reflex in response to a sudden stretch while holding a posture for speech. The latency was relatively long (50 ms), which is possibly mediated through cortical-arc. The activation peak in a speech task was greater than in a non-speech task while background activation levels were similar in both tasks, and the peak amplitude in a speech task was not modulated by the additional task to react voluntarily to the perturbation. Computer simulations with a simplified linear mass-spring-damper model showed that the recorded muscle activation response is suited for the generation of tongue movement responses that were observed in a previous study with the appropriate timing when taking into account a possible physiological delay between reflex muscle activation and the corresponding force. Our results evidenced clearly that reflex mechanisms contribute to tongue posture stabilization for speech production.

Portable automated rapid testing: Validation of automated testing on older listeners from India

Portable automated rapid testing (PART) is an iPad application (https://braingamecenter.ucr.edu/games/p-a-r-t/) capable of measuring various psychoacoustic thresholds in an automated and rapid format using commercially available headphones. The app has been validated previously in native speakers of English and an adapted version of the app has been validated in young normal hearing listeners from Mexico. Previous research from our labs indicated that the thresholds obtained using non-speech tasks did not differ significantly between the native and the non-native speakers of English while the native speakers of English had significantly better thresholds in the speech task. However, there was no significant difference in the amount of spatial release from masking between the groups. Here, we present psychoacoustic threshold data for a large cohort of older listeners from India with various English proficiencies. The thresholds obtained from this group will be compared against previously published thresholds based on native speakers of English. It is hypothesized that the results would be similar to what was found earlier with younger listeners from India. These results will give us the evidence to start using this app to measure thresholds of various central auditory processing measures in non-native speakers of English.

Comparative analysis of speech assessment tools for individuals with dysarthria in Chile and worldwide

Introduction: dysarthria assessment tools should be tailored to the speech characteristics and impairments. Currently, there are many different tools in clinical practice, mainly perceptual and motor. However, this speech impairment is associated with loss of functionality, limitations in activities of daily living, and restriction in social and occupational participation. This research compares the assessment procedures of several speech assessment tools commonly used in clinical practice for individuals with dysarthria in Chile and worldwide. Methods: a cross-sectional documentary analysis was conducted on various speech assessment tools for individuals with dysarthria. A purposive sampling was used based on the research conducted by Altaher et al.(1) Results: the content analysis shows that all tools have procedures for assessing speech subsystems and non-speech tasks. However, the assessment of the functional characteristics of speech, mainly considering intelligibility, is scarcely addressed. Some tools incorporate tasks that assess different aspects of speech, highlighting that this complementary information can be relevant to the diagnostic process. Conclusions: there is a lack of a standardized speech assessment and the need to incorporate tasks that allow for functional assessment to understand the performance of subsystems and the needs of individuals and their interlocutors to set baselines

Specificity of Motor Contributions to Auditory Statistical Learning.

Statistical learning is the ability to extract patterned information from continuous sensory signals. Recent evidence suggests that auditory-motor mechanisms play an important role in auditory statistical learning from speech signals. The question remains whether auditory-motor mechanisms support such learning generally or in a domain-specific manner. In Experiment 1, we tested the specificity of motor processes contributing to learning patterns from speech sequences. Participants either whispered or clapped their hands while listening to structured speech. In Experiment 2, we focused on auditory specificity, testing whether whispering equally affects learning patterns from speech and non-speech sequences. Finally, in Experiment 3, we examined whether learning patterns from speech and non-speech sequences are correlated. Whispering had a stronger effect than clapping on learning patterns from speech sequences in Experiment 1. Moreover, whispering impaired statistical learning more strongly from speech than non-speech sequences in Experiment 2. Interestingly, while participants in the non-speech tasks spontaneously synchronized their motor movements with the auditory stream more than participants in the speech tasks, the effect of the motor movements on learning was stronger in the speech domain. Finally, no correlation between speech and non-speech learning was observed. Overall, our findings support the idea that learning statistical patterns from speech versus non-speech relies on segregated mechanisms, and that the speech motor system contributes to auditory statistical learning in a highly specific manner.

Neural oscillatory activity and connectivity in children who stutter during a non-speech motor task

BackgroundNeural motor control rests on the dynamic interaction of cortical and subcortical regions, which is reflected in the modulation of oscillatory activity and connectivity in multiple frequency bands. Motor control is thought to be compromised in developmental stuttering, particularly involving circuits in the left hemisphere that support speech, movement initiation, and timing control. However, to date, evidence comes from adult studies, with a limited understanding of motor processes in childhood, closer to the onset of stuttering.MethodsWe investigated the neural control of movement initiation in children who stutter and children who do not stutter by evaluating transient changes in EEG oscillatory activity (power, phase locking to button press) and connectivity (phase synchronization) during a simple button press motor task. We compared temporal changes in these oscillatory dynamics between the left and right hemispheres and between children who stutter and children who do not stutter, using mixed-model analysis of variance.ResultsWe found reduced modulation of left hemisphere oscillatory power, phase locking to button press and phase connectivity in children who stutter compared to children who do not stutter, consistent with previous findings of dysfunction within the left sensorimotor circuits. Interhemispheric connectivity was weaker at lower frequencies (delta, theta) and stronger in the beta band in children who stutter than in children who do not stutter.ConclusionsTaken together, these findings indicate weaker engagement of the contralateral left motor network in children who stutter even during low-demand non-speech tasks, and suggest that the right hemisphere might be recruited to support sensorimotor processing in childhood stuttering. Differences in oscillatory dynamics occurred despite comparable task performance between groups, indicating that an altered balance of cortical activity might be a core aspect of stuttering, observable during normal motor behavior.

3D Video Tracking Technology in the Assessment of Orofacial Impairments in Neurological Disease: Clinical Validation.

This study sought to determine whether clinically interpretable kinematic features extracted automatically from three-dimensional (3D) videos were correlated with corresponding perceptual clinical orofacial ratings in individuals with orofacial impairments due to neurological disorders. 45 participants (19 diagnosed with motor neuron diseases [MNDs] and 26 poststroke) performed two nonspeech tasks (mouth opening and lip spreading) and one speech task (repetition of a sentence "Buy Bobby a Puppy") while being video-recorded in a standardized lab setting. The color video recordings of participants were assessed by an expert clinician-a speech language pathologist-on the severity of three orofacial measures: symmetry, range of motion (ROM), and speed. Clinically interpretable 3D kinematic features, linked to symmetry, ROM, and speed, were automatically extracted from video recordings, using a deep facial landmark detection and tracking algorithm for each of the three tasks. Spearman correlations were used to identify features that were significantly correlated (p value < .05) with their corresponding clinical scores. Clinically significant kinematic features were then used in the subsequent multivariate regression models to predict the overall orofacial impairment severity score. Several kinematic features extracted from 3D video recordings were associated with their corresponding perceptual clinical scores, indicating clinical validity of these automatically derived measures. Different patterns of significant features were observed between MND and poststroke groups; these differences were aligned with clinical expectations in both cases. The results show that kinematic features extracted automatically from simple clinical tasks can capture characteristics used by clinicians during assessments. These findings support the clinical validity of video-based automatic extraction of kinematic features.

Development and validation of a Spanish-language spatial release from masking task in a Mexican population.

This study validates a new Spanish-language version of the Coordinate Response Measure (CRM) corpus using a well-established measure of spatial release from masking (SRM). Participants were 96 Spanish-speaking young adults without hearing complaints in Mexico City. To present the Spanish-language SRM test, we created new recordings of the CRM with Spanish-language Translations and updated the freely available app (PART; https://ucrbraingamecenter.github.io/PART_Utilities/) to present materials in Spanish. In addition to SRM, we collected baseline data on a battery of non-speech auditory assessments, including detection of frequency modulations, temporal gaps, and modulated broadband noise in the temporal, spectral, and spectrotemporal domains. Data demonstrate that the newly developed speech and non-speech tasks show similar reliability to an earlier report in English-speaking populations. This study demonstrates an approach by which auditory assessment for clinical and basic research can be extended to Spanish-speaking populations for whom testing platforms are not currently available.

Cultural Competency in Voice Evaluation: Considerations of Normative Standards for Sociolinguistically Diverse Voices

Significant differences exist in anatomical, acoustic, and aerodynamic parameters for nonspeech tasks between culturally and linguistically diverse sample populations. There is a need for expansion of the normative acoustic data to include sociolinguistically diverse groups to ensure that clinical objective measurements are accurately classifying the voice quality of all individuals. This study examined objective measures of voice quality assessment of monolingual speakers of Standard American English (SAE) with sequential bilingual, native (L1) French and Spanish speakers on perturbation, noise, spectral/cepstral analyses, and compared ratings on auditory-perceptual assessment with acoustic data secondary to degree of accentedness. Thirty speakers with normal voice quality were rated on the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice scale. Voice quality measures were analyzed using the Multi-Dimensional Voice Program and Analysis of Dysphonia in Speech and Voice. A measure of accentedness of SAE was calculated using an informal task by two evaluators. Objective acoustic measures of jitter and all-voiced cepstral peak prominence were statistically significant between SAE speakers and L1 Spanish and French speakers. SAE speakers demonstrated significantly higher group mean cepstral peak prominence for the all-voiced sentence ("We were away a year ago.") than native French and Spanish speakers. There were no significant differences in perception of voice quality and acoustic measures secondary to degree of accentedness of the non-native SAE speakers. It is important to engage and strengthen voice diagnostic measures to support culturally competent service delivery for the diversifying clinical population. Normative databases established on SAE speakers should reflect the statistically significant differences evidenced between diverse sociolinguistic populations in anatomical, auditory-perceptual, aerodynamic, and acoustical parameters.

Sympathetic Nervous System Activity in Preschoolers Who Stutter.

BackgroundIn our Dynamic Pathways, account, we hypothesized that childhood stuttering reflects an impairment in speech sensorimotor control that is conditioned by cognitive, linguistic, and emotional factors. The purpose of this study was to investigate potential differences in levels of sympathetic arousal during performance of speech and non-speech tasks between children who do and do not stutter.MethodsSeventy-two preschool-aged children participated in the study, 47 children who stutter (CWS; 38 boys) and 25 children who do not stutter (CWNS; 18 boys). We recorded skin conductance and blood pulse volume (BPV) signals, indices of sympathetic arousal, during higher/lower load speech tasks (structured sentence production and picture description) and non-speech tasks (jaw wagging and forceful blowing). We included a measure that reflects children’s attitudes about their communication skills and a parent-report assessment of temperament.ResultsWe found no significant differences between preschool CWS and CWNS in phasic skin conductance response amplitude or frequency, BPV, and pulse rate for any of the experimental tasks. However, compared to CWNS, CWS had, on average, significantly higher skin conductance levels (SCL), indexing slowly changing tonic sympathetic activity, across both speech and non-speech experimental conditions. We found distinctive task-related profiles of sympathetic arousal in both groups of preschool children. Most children produced the highest levels of sympathetic arousal in the physically demanding blowing task rather than in speech, as seen in previous studies of adults. We did not find differences in temperament between the two groups of preschool children nor a relationship among behavioral indices of temperament and communication attitude and physiological measures of sympathetic arousal.ConclusionWe did not find that atypically high, speech-related sympathetic arousal is a significant factor in early childhood stuttering. Rather, CWS had higher, on average, task-related tonic SCLs across speech and non-speech tasks. A relationship among behavioral measures of temperament and physiological measures of sympathetic arousal was not confirmed. Key questions for future experiments are how the typical coupling of sympathetic and speech sensorimotor systems develops over childhood and adolescence and whether task related developmental profiles follow a different course in children who continue to stutter.

Perception of lexical stress cued by low-frequency pitch and insights into speech perception in noise for cochlear implant users and normal hearing adults.

Cochlear implant (CI) users show great difficulty for understanding speech in noise and this fact may partly stem from their poor low-frequency (LF) pitch perception and temporal fine structure (TFS) processing. Clinical assessment of pitch perception is usually based on non-speech tasks. However, linguistically relevant contexts such as lexical stress may better reflect the role of pitch in speech perception, especially for everyday speech where background noise is inevitable. Hence, the study aimed to assess perception of lexical stress cued by LF pitch and TFS cues for CI and normal hearing (NH) listeners, and to investigate relationships with speech perception in noise. The low-pass-filtered Word Stress Pattern (WSP-LPF) test was used to evaluate perception of lexical stress cued by LF pitch. Speech perception was assessed with the sentence test with adaptive randomized roving level (STARR) test which presented everyday sentences at low, medium, and high levels in a fluctuating noise to estimate a Speech Reception Threshold. This new test intended to give a realistic estimate for real-world listening. Median WSP-LPF scores in NH (N = 18) and CI listeners (N = 18) were 12.0Hz and 67.0Hz, respectively. The corresponding STARR scores were - 9.1dB and 17.3dB. Group differences were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Analysis showed significant positive correlations for NH (rs = 0.50) and CI listeners (rs = 0.60). Present findings reveal stronger correlations than previous studies using non-speech materials, supporting that CI listeners' poor speech perception in noise might be strongly associated with their inability for LF pitch perception and TFS processing.

The perception and interpretation of sentence types by L1 Spanish–L2 English speakers

AbstractWhile the L2 perception of segmentals has been investigated, our knowledge of the L2 perception of intonation is limited. Moreover, it is unclear how context affects L1 transfer. This study investigates the perception of English sentence types by adult L1 Spanish speakers across tasks varying in contextual information. In Task 1, participants heard low-pass filtered utterances and identified them as statements, questions or exclamations. Task 2 was similar, but consisted of unaltered utterances. In Task 3, participants heard a scenario and three options (absolute question, declarative question, statement), and selected the best one. Accuracy and reaction times were measured. Learners had the most difficulty in Task 3, but were target-like in the others, confirming previous findings. Namely, L2 speakers perform better in tasks lacking contextual information versus contextualized ones. Thus, while learners maintain their auditory resolution to intonation cues in non-speech tasks, they cannot relate contours to appropriate L2 meanings.

Investigating the Use of a Nonspeech Task to Measure Tongue-Jaw Differentiation: Findings Across Typical Development.

Clinically, a task of alternating tongue lateralization has been used to evaluate the ability to independently control the tongue and jaw, with jaw movement interpreted as a sign of poor tongue-jaw differentiation. However, there is a lack of normative data regarding jaw movement during this task and whether this changes over the course of development. This study quantified relative tongue and jaw movement during alternating tongue lateralization for typical speakers across age ranges and examined whether degree of jaw movement varies as a function of age. Participants were 39 typical children, adolescents, and adults ranging from 6 to 29 years old. A motion capture system was used to track tongue and jaw movement during an alternating tongue lateralization task, and the average relative contribution of the jaw to tongue lateralization was determined for each participant. Age did not correlate significantly with the average relative contribution of the jaw to tongue lateralization. Typical children, adolescents, and adults exhibited wide variability in the degree of jaw movement during this task. Variability among typical speakers in alternating tongue lateralization performance makes it challenging to determine if/when performance should be considered atypical. Clinical findings from this task must be interpreted with caution. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.6626222.

The feasibility of assessing speech and non-speech function of the speech apparatus in adults with cerebral palsy

ABSTRACTThis short note reports on observations concerning the feasibility of a set of speech and non-speech assessment tasks in an investigation of dysarthria in 21 adults (15 males/6 females; median 23 years) with cerebral palsy and concomitant cognitive impairment. The participants were assessed with nine tasks representing standard components of clinical dysarthria assessment (i.e. six speech and three non-speech tasks). The tasks were evaluated for their feasibility on the basis of common clinical criteria. Our results indicated that, overall, speech tasks were more feasible than non-speech tasks. Several participants showed signs of dysexecutive behaviour on some of the non-speech tasks, but not on the speech tasks. The current note provides tentative clues regarding the impact of cognitive deficits on the feasibility of assessment tasks in the diagnosis of dysarthria.

Impact of Motor Speech Intervention on Neural Activity in Children with Speech Sound Disorders: Use of Magnetoencephalography

We present the novel use of a neuroimaging technique, magnetoenceph-alography (MEG), for examining therapy-related changes in neural activity during a speech and a non-speech motor task in children with speech sound disorders (SSD). Nine children (mean age = 4.2 years) with SSD were scanned in the MEG before and after an eight-week course of intensive motor speech therapy. MEG tasks involved an oromotor and a syllable production task. MEG analyses identified significant post-therapy changes in brain regions related to oromotor control and speech production. Behavioral assessments showed significant improvements on measures of motor speech skills and articulation following intervention. This is the first demonstration of the ability of MEG to: 1) capture brain activations resulting from oromotor movements and simple syllable production in young children, and 2) capture brain changes related to speech therapy. As the findings from this study are promising, we discuss directions for the design of future studies to further examine specific neural dysfunctions in speech sound disorders.

Allocation of attention to real-time visual speech feedback in a digital mirror

The role of sensory feedback in speech motor control is typically investigated by observing the behavioral and/or neurological response to experimental feedback perturbation. The function of feedback and its use in typical control is therefore inferred from responses under atypical conditions. The present study avoided perturbation, using eye tracking and a digital mirror (continuous video relay from a webcam) to examine how speakers attend to real-time visual feedback across normal speech and non-speech tasks. Fixation locations and durations were recorded during a period of rest prior to task onset (no-task condition), a recitation of the ABC’s, a re-telling of a popular children’s story (Goldilocks and the Three Bears), and parallel clear speech versions of the latter two tasks. Analysis of gaze showed that participants overall seemed to avoid fixating on their self-image, and that avoidance increased during speech tasks compared to non-speech “rest.” Across the two content areas (ABC’s vs. storytelling), participants’ self-gaze was concentrated more heavily on speech-relevant areas during storytelling, and no differences in gaze were observed between casual and clear speech. These data suggest an increased role for sensory feedback during complex linguistic tasks, as well as indicating an overall aversion towards realistic visual self-feedback.

Shifted dynamic interactions between subcortical nuclei and inferior frontal gyri during response preparation in persistent developmental stuttering

Persistent developmental stuttering is associated with basal ganglia dysfunction or dopamine dysregulation. Here, we studied whole-brain functional connectivity to test how basal ganglia structures coordinate and reorganize sensorimotor brain networks in stuttering. To this end, adults who stutter and fluent speakers (control participants) performed a response anticipation paradigm in the MRI scanner. The preparation of a manual Go/No-Go response reliably produced activity in the basal ganglia and thalamus and particularly in the substantia nigra. Strikingly, in adults who stutter, substantia nigra activity correlated positively with stuttering severity. Furthermore, functional connectivity analyses yielded altered task-related network formations in adults who stutter compared to fluent speakers. Specifically, in adults who stutter, the globus pallidus and the thalamus showed increased network synchronization with the inferior frontal gyrus. This implies dynamic shifts in the response preparation-related network organization through the basal ganglia in the context of a non-speech motor task in stuttering. Here we discuss current findings in the traditional framework of how D1 and D2 receptor activity shapes focused movement selection, thereby suggesting a disproportional involvement of the direct and the indirect pathway in stuttering.

Application of Learning Theory to Aphasia Intervention

Event Abstract Back to Event Application of Learning Theory to Aphasia Intervention Erica L. Middleton1* 1 Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, United States Whereas a vast literature indicates interventions for aphasia can bring about positive clinical outcomes, research is limited on how to prioritize, schedule, and combine different kinds of treatment experiences for maximal benefit. By elaborating fundamental principles that govern change in the intact and damaged language system, learning theory can play a research-directing role towards explication of how and why language interventions work, how to alter the interventions to increase their efficiency and potency, and to provide prescriptions for use with specific populations. The symposium includes five speakers whose work collectively spans the translational pipeline, from recent developments in the science of learning and language use, to the application of learning theory in different domains of aphasia treatment. 1. Implicit learning as a mechanism of change in language production Gary S. Dell, Nathaniel D. Anderson, & Amanda C. Kelley—University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign The presentation explores whether learning in various domains of language production is inherently associative or cognitive, the former characterized by automatic, gradual change with experience, the latter by fast change, suggestive of rule-governed behavior. The implications for the treatment of aphasia are discussed. 2. Principles of motor learning in treatment for apraxia of speech Edwin Maas--Temple University A large literature has explored the differential potency of certain practice conditions (e.g., random versus blocked practice) to inform general principles of motor learning. However, such studies have almost exclusively focused on nonspeech tasks. This presentation discusses recent evidence regarding the applicability of principles of motor learning to treatment for apraxia of speech. 3. Retrieval practice principles: A theory of learning for naming rehabilitation Erica L. Middleton—Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute The presentation reviews progress towards a theory of learning for oral naming rehabilitation in aphasia based on the principles that (1) practice retrieving names for pictures from long-term memory (i.e., retrieval practice) benefits future naming, particularly when effortful; (2) spacing repeated training trials for to-be-treated vocabulary over time confers superior learning compared to massing trials close in time. Individual differences in response to these principles is discussed. 4. Examining the relationship between language and learning: Insights from the serial reaction time task Sofia Vallila Rohter—MGH Institute of Health Professions Limitations in our understanding of how learning is affected in aphasia is a barrier to developing efficacious patient-centered treatments. This research examines learning ability in aphasia within frameworks of implicit and explicit learning to provide a foundation for understanding how to conform treatment in light of possible learning deficits. 5. Spacing and timing: Maximizing learning and retention in aphasia treatment Brenda Rapp & Robert Wiley—Johns Hopkins University While research has shown that the spacing and timing of training trials have important consequences for learning and retention, their role in aphasia treatment has received scant attention. This work examines the spacing and timing of training trials in individuals who underwent dysgraphia treatment, finding greater accuracy for distributed compared to clustered trial spacing, and that longer retention intervals require longer intervals between training trials. Future research directions will be discussed. Keywords: Language production, apraxia of speech, retrieval practice, implicit learning, Lexical impairment Conference: Academy of Aphasia 55th Annual Meeting , Baltimore, United States, 5 Nov - 7 Nov, 2017. Presentation Type: symposium Topic: Aphasia Citation: Middleton EL (2019). Application of Learning Theory to Aphasia Intervention. Conference Abstract: Academy of Aphasia 55th Annual Meeting . doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2017.223.00079 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 18 Apr 2017; Published Online: 25 Jan 2019. * Correspondence: PhD. Erica L Middleton, Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, Elkins Park, United States, middleer@gmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Erica L Middleton Google Erica L Middleton Google Scholar Erica L Middleton PubMed Erica L Middleton Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. 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Principles of motor learning in treatment for apraxia of speech

Principles of motor learning in treatment for apraxia of speech

Dissociating oral motor capabilities: Evidence from patients with movement disorders

Abnormal articulation rate is a frequent symptom in neurogenic speech disorders. Performance rates in speech-like or nonspeech tasks involving the vocal motor apparatus are commonly accepted predictors of speech motor function in general and of articulation rate in particular. However, theoretical arguments and behavioral observations in populations with disordered speech indicate that different oral motor behaviors may be governed by distinct mechanisms. The objective of the present study was to expand our knowledge of the relationship between speech movements, on the one hand, and speech-like and nonspeech oral motor behaviors, on the other, by using a rate paradigm. 130 patients with neurological movement disorders of different origins and 130 neurologically healthy subjects participated in the study. Rate data was collected in a speech task (oral reading/repetition), in speech-like tasks (rapid syllable repetitions), and in nonspeech tasks (rapid single articulator movements of the tongue/lips). The main analyses involved a multiple single-case method, by which we tested for differences among each patient's performance rates on the three task types. The results disclosed statistically significant (classical and strong) dissociations between movement rates obtained from the speech task and those obtained from speech-like and nonspeech oral motor tasks in a number of patients. The findings can be interpreted as reflecting major differences in task demands and underlying control mechanisms. The validity of diagnostic indices for speech obtained from speech-like or nonspeech tasks must thus be called into question.

KSZTAŁCENIE MUZYCZNE SŁUCHU WSPOMAGA PROCESY PRZETWARZANIA CZASOWEGO

BackgroundA link between musical expertise and auditory temporal processing abilities was examined.Material and MethodsTrained musicians (n=13) and non-musicians (n=12) were tested on speech tasks (phonetic identification, speech recognition in noise) and non-speech tasks (temporal gap detection).ResultsResults indicated musicians had shorter between-channel gap detection thresholds and sharper phonetic identification functions, suggesting that perceptual reorganization following musical training assists basic temporal auditory processes.ConclusionsIn general, our results provide a conceptual advance in understanding how musical training influences speech processing, an ability which, when impaired, can affect speech and reading competency.