Hearing and cognitive decline in aging differentially impact neural tracking of context-supported versus random speech across linguistic timescales.

ABSTRACT: Cognitive decline and hearing loss are common in older adults and often co-occur while investigated separately, affecting the neural processing of speech. This study investigated the interaction between cognitive decline, hearing loss, and contextual cues in speech processing. Participants aged 60 years and older were assessed for cognitive decline using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and for hearing ability using a four-frequency pure tone average. They listened to in-house-designed matrix-style sentences that either provided supportive context or were random, while we recorded their electroencephalography. Neurophysiological responses were analyzed through auditory evoked potentials and speech tracking at different linguistic timescales (i.e., phrase, word, syllable and phoneme rate)

SUBMITTER: Bolt E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11623803 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature