Internal Cognitive Load Differentially Influences Acoustic and Lexical Context Effects in Speech Perception: Evidence From a Population With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Hadeer Derawi, Eva Reinisch, Yafit Gabay

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: To overcome variability in spoken language, listeners utilize various types of context information for disambiguating speech sounds. Context effects have been shown to be affected by cognitive load. However, previous results are mixed regarding the influence of cognitive load on the use of context information in speech perception. Purpose: We tested a population characterized by an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to better understand the relationship between attention (or internal cognitive load) and context effects. Method: The use of acoustic versus lexical properties of the surrounding signal to disambiguate speech sounds was examined in listeners with ADHD and neu-rotypical listeners. Results: Compared to neurotypicals, individuals with ADHD relied more strongly on lexical context for speech perception; however, reliance on acoustic context information from speech rate did not differ. Conclusion: These findings confirm that cognitive load impacts the use of high-level but not low-level context information in speech and imply that speech recognition deficits in ADHD likely arise due to impaired higher order cognitive processes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3721-3734
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
Volume66
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - 4 Oct 2023
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Funding

This research was supported by grants from the National Institute of Psychobiology in Israel and from the Israel Science Foundation (734/22) awarded to Yafit Gabay.

FundersFunder number
National Institute of Psychobiology in Israel
Israel Science Foundation734/22

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Internal Cognitive Load Differentially Influences Acoustic and Lexical Context Effects in Speech Perception: Evidence From a Population With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this