Brandeis University, Department of Psychology, Waltham, MA, USA.
Brandeis University, Department of Psychology, Waltham, MA, USA.
Neurobiol Aging. 2022 Nov;119:22-35. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2022.06.010. Epub 2022 Jul 1.
Voice prosody measures have been linked with Alzheimer's disease (AD), but it is unclear whether they are associated with normal cognitive aging. We assessed relationships between voice measures and 10-year cognitive changes in the MIDUS national sample of middle-aged and older adults ages 42-92, with a mean age of 64.09 (standard deviation = 11.23) at the second wave. Seven cognitive tests were assessed in 2003-2004 (Wave 2) and 2013-2014 (Wave 3). Voice measures were collected at Wave 3 (N = 2585) from audio recordings of the cognitive interviews. Analyses controlled for age, education, depressive symptoms, and health. As predicted, higher jitter was associated with greater declines in episodic memory, verbal fluency, and attention switching. Lower pulse was related to greater decline in episodic memory, and fewer voice breaks were related to greater declines in episodic memory and verbal fluency, although the direction of these effects was contrary to hypotheses. Findings suggest that voice biomarkers may offer a promising approach for early detection of risk factors for cognitive impairment or AD.
语音韵律测量与阿尔茨海默病（AD）有关，但尚不清楚它们是否与正常的认知衰老有关。我们评估了声音测量与 MIDUS 全国中年和老年人样本认知变化的关系，该样本年龄在 42-92 岁之间，第二次波时的平均年龄为 64.09（标准差=11.23）。在 2003-2004 年（第 2 波）和 2013-2014 年（第 3 波）评估了七项认知测试。在第 3 波（N=2585）时从认知访谈的音频记录中收集了声音测量数据。分析控制了年龄、教育程度、抑郁症状和健康状况。正如预测的那样，较高的抖动与情节记忆、语言流畅性和注意力转换的更大下降有关。较低的脉冲与情节记忆的更大下降有关，较少的语音停顿与情节记忆和语言流畅性的更大下降有关，尽管这些效应的方向与假设相反。研究结果表明，语音生物标志物可能为早期发现认知障碍或 AD 的风险因素提供一种有前途的方法。
