Our purpose is to study rapid speech processing and memory in elderly adults. In ordinary conversation, speech typically arrives at between 140 to 180 words per minute, while a radio or TV newsreader working from a prepared script can speak at average rates far in excess of this. The rate at which speech must be processed, and its meaningful elements organized for comprehension and memory, can severely challange the elderly adult listener. In a variety of cognitive activities, speed of processing and effective organization of new information are among the most vulnerable to the aging process. We propose to examine young and elderly adults' abilities and strategies in processing rapid speech, and the way in which contextual constraints can be used in ameliorate what might otherwise be quite severe processing deficits. We will also study the effects of the information load of a heard message, and the way speech-rate, overall structure of the message, and the listener's acquisition strategies will influence the later recall of both the detailed content of the message and the general coherence (""""""""gist"""""""") of the utterance. Among our goals is to explore how communicative strategies of the speaker may be altered to the elderly listener's best advantage.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award (R37)
Project #
5R37AG004517-08
Application #
3480064
Study Section
Human Development and Aging Subcommittee 3 (HUD)
Project Start
1984-04-01
Project End
1992-03-31
Budget Start
1991-04-01
Budget End
1992-03-31
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
1991
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Brandeis University
Department
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
616845814
City
Waltham
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02454
Peelle, Jonathan E; Troiani, Vanessa; Wingfield, Arthur et al. (2010) Neural processing during older adults' comprehension of spoken sentences: age differences in resource allocation and connectivity. Cereb Cortex 20:773-82
Hoyte, Ken J; Brownell, Hiram; Wingfield, Arthur (2009) Components of speech prosody and their use in detection of syntactic structure by older adults. Exp Aging Res 35:129-51
Golomb, Julie D; Peelle, Jonathan E; Addis, Kelly M et al. (2008) Effects of adult aging on utilization of temporal and semantic associations during free and serial recall. Mem Cognit 36:947-56
Tun, Patricia A; Lachman, Margie E (2008) Age differences in reaction time and attention in a national telephone sample of adults: education, sex, and task complexity matter. Dev Psychol 44:1421-9
Wingfield, Arthur; Tun, Patricia A (2007) Cognitive supports and cognitive constraints on comprehension of spoken language. J Am Acad Audiol 18:548-58
Golomb, Julie D; Peelle, Jonathan E; Wingfield, Arthur (2007) Effects of stimulus variability and adult aging on adaptation to time-compressed speech. J Acoust Soc Am 121:1701-8
Miller, Lisa M Soederberg; Cohen, Jason A; Wingfield, Arthur (2006) Contextual knowledge reduces demands on working memory during reading. Mem Cognit 34:1355-67
Wingfield, Arthur; Grossman, Murray (2006) Language and the aging brain: patterns of neural compensation revealed by functional brain imaging. J Neurophysiol 96:2830-9
Titone, Debra A; Koh, Christine K; Kjelgaard, Margaret M et al. (2006) Age-related impairments in the revision of syntactic misanalyses: effects of prosody. Lang Speech 49:75-99
Fallon, Marianne; Peelle, Jonathan E; Wingfield, Arthur (2006) Spoken sentence processing in young and older adults modulated by task demands: evidence from self-paced listening. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 61:P10-7

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