Aging and working memory modulate the ability to benefit from visible speech and iconic gestures during speech-in-noise comprehension.

ABSTRACT: When comprehending speech-in-noise (SiN), younger and older adults benefit from seeing the speaker's mouth, i.e. visible speech. Younger adults additionally benefit from manual iconic co-speech gestures. Here, we investigate to what extent younger and older adults benefit from perceiving both visual articulators while comprehending SiN, and whether this is modulated by working memory and inhibitory control. Twenty-eight younger and 28 older adults performed a word recognition task in three visual contexts: mouth blurred (speech-only), visible speech, or visible speech + iconic gesture. The speech signal was either clear or embedded in multitalker babble. Additionally, there were two visual-only conditions (visible speech, visible speech + gesture). Accuracy levels for both age groups were

SUBMITTER: Schubotz L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8289811 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature