Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Psychological and Brain Sciences Building, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA; Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Psychological and Brain Sciences Building, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA; Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA; Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Center, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA; Department of Linguistics, University of Iowa, Phillips Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
Cognition. 2023 Nov;240:105588. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105588. Epub 2023 Aug 14.
Spoken word recognition is a critical hub during language processing, linking hearing and perception to meaning and syntax. Words must be recognized quickly and efficiently as speech unfolds to be successfully integrated into conversation. This makes word recognition a computationally challenging process even for young, normal hearing adults. Older adults often experience declines in hearing and cognition, which could be linked by age-related declines in the cognitive processes specific to word recognition. However, it is unclear whether changes in word recognition across the lifespan can be accounted for by hearing or domain-general cognition. Participants (N = 107) responded to spoken words in a Visual World Paradigm task while their eyes were tracked to assess the real-time dynamics of word recognition. We examined several indices of word recognition from early adolescence through older adulthood (ages 11-78). The timing and proportion of eye fixations to target and competitor images reveals that spoken word recognition became more efficient through age 25 and began to slow in middle age, accompanied by declines in the ability to resolve competition (e.g., suppressing sandwich to recognize sandal). There was a unique effect of age even after accounting for differences in inhibitory control, processing speed, and hearing thresholds. This suggests a limited age range where listeners are peak performers.
口语识别是语言处理过程中的一个关键环节，它将听觉和感知与意义和语法联系起来。为了成功地融入对话，必须快速有效地识别单词。即使是年轻、听力正常的成年人，口语识别也是一个具有计算挑战性的过程。老年人经常会出现听力和认知能力下降的情况，这可能与特定于单词识别的认知过程的年龄相关下降有关。然而，尚不清楚在整个生命周期中，单词识别的变化是否可以归因于听力或领域一般性认知。参与者（N=107）在视觉世界范式任务中对口语单词做出反应，同时跟踪他们的眼睛以评估单词识别的实时动态。我们从青少年早期到老年（11-78 岁）检查了几个单词识别指标。目标和竞争图像的眼动注视时间和比例揭示了口语识别在 25 岁之前变得更加高效，并且从中年开始放缓，同时识别竞争的能力下降（例如，抑制“sandwich”来识别“sandal”）。即使考虑到抑制控制、处理速度和听力阈值的差异，年龄仍有独特的影响。这表明听众在一定的年龄范围内表现最佳。
