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Abstract
Previous studies suggest that task-irrelevant changing-state sound interferes specifically with the processing of serial order information in the focal task (e.g., serial recall from short-term memory), whereas a deviant sound in the auditory background is supposed to divert central attention, thus producing distraction in various types of cognitive tasks. Much of the evidence for this distinction rests on the observed dissociations in auditory distraction between serial and non-serial short-term memory tasks. In this study, both the changing-state effect and the deviation effect were contrasted between serial digit recall and mental arithmetic tasks. In three experiments (two conducted online), changing-state sound was found to disrupt serial recall, but it did not lead to a general decrement in performance in different mental arithmetic tasks. In contrast, a deviant voice in the stream of irrelevant speech sounds did not cause reliable distraction in serial recall and simple addition/subtraction tasks, but it did disrupt a more demanding mental arithmetic task. Specifically, the evaluation of math equations (multiplication and addition/subtraction), which was combined with a pair-associate memory task to increase the task demand, was found to be susceptible to auditory distraction in participants who did not serially rehearse the pair-associates. Together, the results support the assumption that the interference produced by changing-state sound is highly specific to tasks that require serial-order processing, whereas auditory deviants may cause attentional capture primarily in highly demanding cognitive tasks (e.g., mental arithmetic) that cannot be solved through serial rehearsal.
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Karagiorgis AT, Chalas N, Karagianni M, Papadelis G, Vivas AB, Bamidis P, Paraskevopoulos E. Computerized Music-Reading Intervention Improves Resistance to Unisensory Distraction Within a Multisensory Task, in Young and Older Adults. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:742607. [PMID: 34566611 PMCID: PMC8461100 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.742607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Incoming information from multiple sensory channels compete for attention. Processing the relevant ones and ignoring distractors, while at the same time monitoring the environment for potential threats, is crucial for survival, throughout the lifespan. However, sensory and cognitive mechanisms often decline in aging populations, making them more susceptible to distraction. Previous interventions in older adults have successfully improved resistance to distraction, but the inclusion of multisensory integration, with its unique properties in attentional capture, in the training protocol is underexplored. Here, we studied whether, and how, a 4-week intervention, which targets audiovisual integration, affects the ability to deal with task-irrelevant unisensory deviants within a multisensory task. Musically naïve participants engaged in a computerized music reading game and were asked to detect audiovisual incongruences between the pitch of a song's melody and the position of a disk on the screen, similar to a simplistic music staff. The effects of the intervention were evaluated via behavioral and EEG measurements in young and older adults. Behavioral findings include the absence of age-related differences in distraction and the indirect improvement of performance due to the intervention, seen as an amelioration of response bias. An asymmetry between the effects of auditory and visual deviants was identified and attributed to modality dominance. The electroencephalographic results showed that both groups shared an increase in activation strength after training, when processing auditory deviants, located in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. A functional connectivity analysis revealed that only young adults improved flow of information, in a network comprised of a fronto-parietal subnetwork and a multisensory temporal area. Overall, both behavioral measures and neurophysiological findings suggest that the intervention was indirectly successful, driving a shift in response strategy in the cognitive domain and higher-level or multisensory brain areas, and leaving lower level unisensory processing unaffected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandros T Karagiorgis
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.,School of Music Studies, Faculty of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Nikolas Chalas
- Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Maria Karagianni
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Georgios Papadelis
- School of Music Studies, Faculty of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Ana B Vivas
- Department of Psychology, CITY College, University of York Europe Campus, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Panagiotis Bamidis
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Evangelos Paraskevopoulos
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.,Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
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3
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Mahajan Y, Kim J, Davis C. Does working memory protect against auditory distraction in older adults? BMC Geriatr 2020; 20:515. [PMID: 33256631 PMCID: PMC7708091 DOI: 10.1186/s12877-020-01909-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Past research indicates that when younger adults are engaged in a visual working memory task, they are less distracted by novel auditory stimuli than when engaged in a visual task that does not require working memory. The current study aimed to determine whether working memory affords the same protection to older adults. METHOD We examined behavioral and EEG responses in 16 younger and 16 older adults to distractor sounds when the listeners performed two visual tasks; one that required working memory (W1) and the other that did not (W0). Auditory distractors were presented in an oddball paradigm, participants were exposed to either standard tones (600 Hz: 80%) or various novel environmental sounds (20%). RESULTS It was found that: 1) when presented with novel vs standard sounds, older adults had faster correct response times in the W1 visual task than in the W0 task, indicating that they were less distracted by the novel sound; there was no difference in error rates. Younger adults did not show a task effect for correct response times but made slightly more errors when a novel sound was presented in the W1 task compared to the W0 task. 2) In older adults (but not the younger adults), the amplitude of N1 was smaller in the W1 condition compared to the W0 condition. 3) The working memory manipulation had no effect on MMN amplitude in older adults. 4) For the W1 compared to W0 task, the amplitude of P3a was attenuated for the older adults but not for the younger adults. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that during the working memory manipulation older adults were able to engage working memory to reduce the processing of task-irrelevant sounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yatin Mahajan
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
- The HEARing Cooperative Research Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jeesun Kim
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Chris Davis
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia.
- The HEARing Cooperative Research Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
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4
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Weizenbaum E, Torous J, Fulford D. Cognition in Context: Understanding the Everyday Predictors of Cognitive Performance in a New Era of Measurement. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2020; 8:e14328. [PMID: 32706680 PMCID: PMC7413292 DOI: 10.2196/14328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2019] [Revised: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Research suggests that variability in attention and working memory scores, as seen across time points, may be a sensitive indicator of impairment compared with a singular score at one point in time. Given that fluctuation in cognitive performance is a meaningful metric of real-world function and trajectory, it is valuable to understand the internal state-based and environmental factors that could be driving these fluctuations in performance. Objective In this viewpoint, we argue for the use of repeated mobile assessment as a way to better understand how context shapes moment-to-moment cognitive performance. To elucidate potential factors that give rise to intraindividual variability, we highlight existing literature that has linked both internal and external modifying variables to a number of cognitive domains. We identify ways in which these variables could be measured using mobile assessment to capture them in ecologically meaningful settings (ie, in daily life). Finally, we describe a number of studies that have already begun to use mobile assessment to measure changes in real time cognitive performance in people’s daily environments and the ways in which this burgeoning methodology may continue to advance the field. Methods This paper describes selected literature on contextual factors that examined how experimentally induced or self-reported contextual variables (ie, affect, motivation, time of day, environmental noise, physical activity, and social activity) related to tests of cognitive performance. We also selected papers that used mobile assessment of cognition; these papers were chosen for their use of high-frequency time-series measurement of cognition using a mobile device. Results Upon review of the relevant literature, it is evident that contextual factors have the potential to meaningfully impact cognitive performance when measured in laboratory and daily life environments. Although this research has shed light on the question of what gives rise to real-life variability in cognitive function (eg, affect and activity), many of the studies were limited by traditional methods of data collection (eg, involving retrospective recall). Furthermore, cognition has often been measured in one domain or in one age group, which does not allow us to extrapolate results to other cognitive domains and across the life span. On the basis of the literature reviewed, mobile assessment of cognition shows high levels of feasibility and validity and could be a useful method for capturing individual cognitive variability in real-world contexts via passive and active measures. Conclusions We propose that, through the use of mobile assessment, there is an opportunity to combine multiple sources of contextual and cognitive data. These data have the potential to provide individualized digital signatures that could improve diagnostic precision and lead to meaningful clinical outcomes in a wide range of psychiatric and neurological disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Weizenbaum
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - John Torous
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Daniel Fulford
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States.,Department of Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
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5
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Steffens T. [Audiometric test battery for presbycusis]. HNO 2019; 68:164-170. [PMID: 31549193 DOI: 10.1007/s00106-019-00746-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Old people often complain that they can no longer sufficiently participate in communication with spoken language. The reasons for this lie in pathophysiological processes as well as in acoustic parameters and the decline in cognitive performance that frequently occurs in old age, which together severely limit the individual benefits of speech. Age-related hearing loss consists of a variety of pathophysiological and cognitive factors. Several audiometric procedures are necessary for profound diagnostics, planning and implementation of interventions for hearing improvement as well as interventions for the individual improvement of the benefits of hearing in everyday life. In a basic test battery, the subjective and objective procedures for the primary detailed quantification and differentiation of the pathophysiological effects of presbycusis are listed, which serve as a basis for interventions to improve hearing. If necessary, audiometric procedures for more in-depth pathophysiological analyses can be used as part of the extended test battery. They are mainly used to differentiate between peripheral and retrocochlear factors of age-related hearing loss. The aim of the methods in the test battery for the evaluation of communication impairment in everyday life is the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the ability to participate in communication with spoken language under realistic acoustic everyday conditions. From the results, acoustic and cognitive factors can be identified which determine the limited benefits of speech. Thus, strategies and procedures for the improvement of speech communication can be derived which, despite the pathophysiological conditions, can lead to an improved participation in speech communication in the everyday life of the patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Steffens
- Audiologie, Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals‑, Nasen‑, Ohrenheilkunde, Universitätsklinikum Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053, Regensburg, Deutschland.
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6
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Hirst RJ, Kicks EC, Allen HA, Cragg L. Cross-modal interference-control is reduced in childhood but maintained in aging: A cohort study of stimulus- and response-interference in cross-modal and unimodal Stroop tasks. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 2019; 45:553-572. [PMID: 30945905 PMCID: PMC6484713 DOI: 10.1037/xhp0000608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Interference-control is the ability to exclude distractions and focus on a specific task or stimulus. However, it is currently unclear whether the same interference-control mechanisms underlie the ability to ignore unimodal and cross-modal distractions. In 2 experiments we assessed whether unimodal and cross-modal interference follow similar trajectories in development and aging and occur at similar processing levels. In Experiment 1, 42 children (6-11 years), 31 younger adults (18-25 years) and 32 older adults (60-84 years) identified color rectangles with either written (unimodal) or spoken (cross-modal) distractor-words. Stimuli could be congruent, incongruent but mapped to the same response (stimulus-incongruent), or incongruent and mapped to different responses (response-incongruent); thus, separating interference occurring at early (sensory) and late (response) processing levels. Unimodal interference was worst in childhood and old age; however, older adults maintained the ability to ignore cross-modal distraction. Unimodal but not cross-modal response-interference also reduced accuracy. In Experiment 2 we compared the effect of audition on vision and vice versa in 52 children (6-11 years), 30 young adults (22-33 years) and 30 older adults (60-84 years). As in Experiment 1, older adults maintained the ability to ignore cross-modal distraction arising from either modality, and neither type of cross-modal distraction limited accuracy in adults. However, cross-modal distraction still reduced accuracy in children and children were more slowed by stimulus-interference compared with adults. We conclude that; unimodal and cross-modal interference follow different life span trajectories and differences in stimulus- and response-interference may increase cross-modal distractibility in childhood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ella C Kicks
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews
| | | | - Lucy Cragg
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham
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Robinson CW, Hawthorn AM, Rahman AN. Developmental Differences in Filtering Auditory and Visual Distractors During Visual Selective Attention. Front Psychol 2019; 9:2564. [PMID: 30618983 PMCID: PMC6304370 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 11/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The current experiment examined changes in visual selective attention in young children, older children, young adults, and older adults while participants were instructed to ignore auditory and visual distractors. The aims of the study were to: (a) determine if the Perceptual Load Hypothesis (PLH) (distraction greater under low perceptual load) could predict which irrelevant stimuli would disrupt visual selective attention, and (b) if auditory to visual shifts found in modality dominance research could be extended to selective attention tasks. Overall, distractibility decreased with age, with incompatible distractors having larger costs in young and older children than adults. In regard to accuracy, visual distractibility did not differ across age nor load, whereas, auditory interference was more pronounced early in development and correlated with age. Auditory and visual distractors also slowed down responses in young and older children more than adults. Finally, the PLH did not predict performance. Rather, children often showed the opposite pattern, with visual distractors having a greater cost in the high load condition (older children) and auditory distractors having a greater cost in the high load condition (young children). These findings are consistent with research examining the development of modality dominance and shed light on changes in multisensory processing and selective attention across the lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrew M Hawthorn
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University Newark, Newark, OH, United States
| | - Arisha N Rahman
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University Newark, Newark, OH, United States
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8
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Mama Y, Fostick L, Icht M. The impact of different background noises on the Production Effect. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2018; 185:235-242. [PMID: 29559082 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2018.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2017] [Accepted: 03/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The presence of background noise has been previously shown to disrupt cognitive performance, especially memory. The amount of interference is derived from the acoustic characteristics of the noise; energetic vs. informational, steady-state vs. fluctuating. However, the literature is inconsistent concerning the effects of different types of noise on long-term memory free recall. In the present study, we tested the impact of different noises on recall of items that were learned under two conditions - silent or aloud reading, a Production Effect (PE) paradigm. As the PE represents enhanced memory for words read aloud relative to words read silently during study, we focused on the effect of noise on this robust memory phenomenon. The results showed that (a) steady-state energetic noise did not affect memory, with a recall advantage for aloud words (PE), comparable to a no-noise condition, (b) fluctuating-energetic noise and fluctuating-informational (eight-talkers babble) noise eliminated the PE, with similar recall for aloud and silent items. These results are discussed in light of their theoretical implications, stressing the role of attention in the PE. Ecological implications regarding studying in noisy environments are suggested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaniv Mama
- Department of Behavioral Sciences and Psychology, Ariel University, Israel.
| | - Leah Fostick
- Department of Communication Disorders, Ariel University, Israel
| | - Michal Icht
- Department of Communication Disorders, Ariel University, Israel
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9
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Equivalent auditory distraction in children and adults. J Exp Child Psychol 2018; 172:41-58. [PMID: 29574236 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2018.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2017] [Revised: 02/13/2018] [Accepted: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
There is an ongoing debate about whether children have more problems ignoring auditory distractors than adults. This is an important empirical question with direct implications for theories making predictions about the development of selective attention. In two experiments, the disruptive effect of to-be-ignored speech on short-term memory performance of third graders, fourth graders, fifth graders, younger adults, and older adults was examined. Three auditory conditions were compared: (a) steady state sequences in which the same distractor was repeated, (b) changing state sequences in which different distractors were presented, and (c) auditory deviant sequences in which a deviant distractor was presented in a sequence of repeated distractors. According to the attentional resource view, children should exhibit larger disruption by changing and deviant sounds due to their poorer attentional control abilities compared with adults. The duplex-mechanism account proposes that the auditory deviant effect is under attentional control, whereas the changing state effect is not, and thus predicts that children should be more susceptible to auditory deviants than adults but equally disrupted by changing state sequences. According to the renewed view of age-related distraction, there should be no age differences in cross-modal auditory distraction because some of the irrelevant auditory information can be filtered out early in the processing stream. Children and adults were equally disrupted by changing and deviant speech sounds regardless of whether task difficulty was equated between age groups or not. These results are consistent with the renewed view of age-related distraction.
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10
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Murphy DR, Bailey H, Pearson M, Albert G. The irrelevant speech effect among younger and older adults: The influence of background noises on reading comprehension. Exp Aging Res 2018; 44:162-178. [PMID: 29319421 DOI: 10.1080/0361073x.2017.1422561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Aging could exacerbate the decreases in cognitive functioning already caused by noise pollution. According to the inhibitory deficit hypothesis, older adults have more difficulty than do younger adults keeping irrelevant information from interfering with processing of relevant information. However, irrelevant speech studies typically fail to support this hypothesis. The present study aimed to quantify the effects of age and noise pollution on reading comprehension. METHODS Seventeen younger (age 21-29) and 15 older (age 62-77) adults completed a reading task (reading discourse material for a follow-up comprehension test) in the presence of six irrelevant background noise conditions. Repeated measures ANOVAs and t tests were used to analyze participant accuracy on the follow-up comprehension tests. RESULTS Contrary to the inhibitory deficit hypothesis, but congruent with previous irrelevant speech studies, younger and older adults did not have significantly different reading comprehension scores, and both groups' accuracy was greatest when asked to read in silence. Noise conditions that contained English speech, regardless of whether this background noise was spoken or sung, were most disruptive. CONCLUSION Younger and older adults appear to be equally influenced by irrelevant background material when reading. Regardless of age, reading in a distraction-free environment whenever possible is the best way to maximize reading comprehension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana R Murphy
- a Department of Psychology , Nipissing University , North Bay , ON , Canada
| | - Helen Bailey
- a Department of Psychology , Nipissing University , North Bay , ON , Canada
| | - Marlena Pearson
- a Department of Psychology , Nipissing University , North Bay , ON , Canada
| | - Graham Albert
- a Department of Psychology , Nipissing University , North Bay , ON , Canada
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11
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Wöstmann M, Obleser J. Acoustic Detail But Not Predictability of Task-Irrelevant Speech Disrupts Working Memory. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:538. [PMID: 27826235 PMCID: PMC5078496 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2016] [Accepted: 10/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Attended speech is comprehended better not only if more acoustic detail is available, but also if it is semantically highly predictable. But can more acoustic detail or higher predictability turn into disadvantages and distract a listener if the speech signal is to be ignored? Also, does the degree of distraction increase for older listeners who typically show a decline in attentional control ability? Adopting the irrelevant-speech paradigm, we tested whether younger (age 23–33 years) and older (60–78 years) listeners’ working memory for the serial order of spoken digits would be disrupted by the presentation of task-irrelevant speech varying in its acoustic detail (using noise-vocoding) and its semantic predictability (of sentence endings). More acoustic detail, but not higher predictability, of task-irrelevant speech aggravated memory interference. This pattern of results did not differ between younger and older listeners, despite generally lower performance in older listeners. Our findings suggest that the focus of attention determines how acoustics and predictability affect the processing of speech: first, as more acoustic detail is known to enhance speech comprehension and memory for speech, we here demonstrate that more acoustic detail of ignored speech enhances the degree of distraction. Second, while higher predictability of attended speech is known to also enhance speech comprehension under acoustically adverse conditions, higher predictability of ignored speech is unable to exert any distracting effect upon working memory performance in younger or older listeners. These findings suggest that features that make attended speech easier to comprehend do not necessarily enhance distraction by ignored speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malte Wöstmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck Lübeck, Germany
| | - Jonas Obleser
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck Lübeck, Germany
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12
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Kato K, Nakamura A, Kato T, Kuratsubo I, Yamagishi M, Iwata K, Ito K. Age-Related Changes in Attentional Control Using an N-Back Working Memory Paradigm. Exp Aging Res 2016; 42:390-402. [DOI: 10.1080/0361073x.2016.1191867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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13
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Van Gerven PWM, Guerreiro MJS. Selective Attention and Sensory Modality in Aging: Curses and Blessings. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:147. [PMID: 27064763 PMCID: PMC4814507 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2016] [Accepted: 03/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The notion that selective attention is compromised in older adults as a result of impaired inhibitory control is well established. Yet it is primarily based on empirical findings covering the visual modality. Auditory and especially, cross-modal selective attention are remarkably underexposed in the literature on aging. In the past 5 years, we have attempted to fill these voids by investigating performance of younger and older adults on equivalent tasks covering all four combinations of visual or auditory target, and visual or auditory distractor information. In doing so, we have demonstrated that older adults are especially impaired in auditory selective attention with visual distraction. This pattern of results was not mirrored by the results from our psychophysiological studies, however, in which both enhancement of target processing and suppression of distractor processing appeared to be age equivalent. We currently conclude that: (1) age-related differences of selective attention are modality dependent; (2) age-related differences of selective attention are limited; and (3) it remains an open question whether modality-specific age differences in selective attention are due to impaired distractor inhibition, impaired target enhancement, or both. These conclusions put the longstanding inhibitory deficit hypothesis of aging in a new perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal W M Van Gerven
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Maria J S Guerreiro
- Biological Psychology and Neuropsychology, Institute for Psychology, University of Hamburg Hamburg, Germany
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14
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Salvato G, Patai EZ, Nobre AC. Preserved memory-based orienting of attention with impaired explicit memory in healthy ageing. Cortex 2015; 74:67-78. [PMID: 26649914 PMCID: PMC4729287 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2015] [Revised: 09/08/2015] [Accepted: 10/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
It is increasingly recognised that spatial contextual long-term memory (LTM) prepares neural activity for guiding visuo-spatial attention in a proactive manner. In the current study, we investigated whether the decline in explicit memory observed in healthy ageing would compromise this mechanism. We compared the behavioural performance of younger and older participants on learning new contextual memories, on orienting visual attention based on these learnt contextual associations, and on explicit recall of contextual memories. We found a striking dissociation between older versus younger participants in the relationship between the ability to retrieve contextual memories versus the ability to use these to guide attention to enhance performance on a target-detection task. Older participants showed significant deficits in the explicit retrieval task, but their behavioural benefits from memory-based orienting of attention were equivalent to those in young participants. Furthermore, memory-based orienting correlated significantly with explicit contextual LTM in younger adults but not in older adults. These results suggest that explicit memory deficits in ageing might not compromise initial perception and encoding of events. Importantly, the results also shed light on the mechanisms of memory-guided attention, suggesting that explicit contextual memories are not necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerardo Salvato
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; NeuroMi, Milan Centre for Neuroscience, Italy
| | - Eva Z Patai
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Anna C Nobre
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
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15
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Aging increases distraction by auditory oddballs in visual, but not auditory tasks. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2014; 79:401-10. [DOI: 10.1007/s00426-014-0573-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2013] [Accepted: 04/29/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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16
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Kattner F, Ellermeier W. Irrelevant speech does not interfere with serial recall in early blind listeners. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2014; 67:2207-17. [PMID: 24796760 DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2014.910537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Phonological working memory is known be (a) inversely related to the duration of the items to be learned (word-length effect), and (b) impaired by the presence of irrelevant speech-like sounds (irrelevant-speech effect). As it is discussed controversially whether these memory disruptions are subject to attentional control, both effects were studied in sighted participants and in a sample of early blind individuals who are expected to be superior in selectively attending to auditory stimuli. Results show that, while performance depended on word length in both groups, irrelevant speech interfered with recall only in the sighted group, but not in blind participants. This suggests that blind listeners may be able to effectively prevent irrelevant sound from being encoded in the phonological store, presumably due to superior auditory processing. The occurrence of a word-length effect, however, implies that blind and sighted listeners are utilizing the same phonological rehearsal mechanism in order to maintain information in the phonological store.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Kattner
- a Institute of Psychology , Technische Universität Darmstadt , Germany
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Röer JP, Bell R, Buchner A. What determines auditory distraction? On the roles of local auditory changes and expectation violations. PLoS One 2014; 9:e84166. [PMID: 24400081 PMCID: PMC3882218 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2013] [Accepted: 11/21/2013] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Both the acoustic variability of a distractor sequence and the degree to which it violates expectations are important determinants of auditory distraction. In four experiments we examined the relative contribution of local auditory changes on the one hand and expectation violations on the other hand in the disruption of serial recall by irrelevant sound. We present evidence for a greater disruption by auditory sequences ending in unexpected steady state distractor repetitions compared to auditory sequences with expected changing state endings even though the former contained fewer local changes. This effect was demonstrated with piano melodies (Experiment 1) and speech distractors (Experiment 2). Furthermore, it was replicated when the expectation violation occurred after the encoding of the target items (Experiment 3), indicating that the items' maintenance in short-term memory was disrupted by attentional capture and not their encoding. This seems to be primarily due to the violation of a model of the specific auditory distractor sequences because the effect vanishes and even reverses when the experiment provides no opportunity to build up a specific neural model about the distractor sequence (Experiment 4). Nevertheless, the violation of abstract long-term knowledge about auditory regularities seems to cause a small and transient capture effect: Disruption decreased markedly over the course of the experiments indicating that participants habituated to the unexpected distractor repetitions across trials. The overall pattern of results adds to the growing literature that the degree to which auditory distractors violate situation-specific expectations is a more important determinant of auditory distraction than the degree to which a distractor sequence contains local auditory changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan P. Röer
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Raoul Bell
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Axel Buchner
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
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18
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Abstract
The present study examines the effects of irrelevant speech on immediate memory. Previous research led to the suggestion that auditory distractors particularly impair memory for serial order. These findings were explained by assuming that irrelevant speech disrupts the formation and maintenance of links between adjacent items in a to-be-remembered sequence, resulting in a loss of order information. Here we propose a more general explanation of these findings by claiming that the capacity to form and maintain item-context bindings is generally impaired by the presence of auditory distractors. The results of Experiment 1 show that memory for the association between an item and its background color is drastically impaired by irrelevant speech, just as memory for the association between an item and its serial position. In Experiment 2 it was examined whether the disrupting effects of irrelevant sound are limited to memory for item-context associations or whether item memory is also affected by the auditory distractors. The results revealed that irrelevant speech disrupts both item memory and item-context binding. The results suggest that the effects of irrelevant sound on immediate memory are more general than previously assumed, which has important theoretical and applied implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raoul Bell
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Germany
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Mishra J, Zanto T, Nilakantan A, Gazzaley A. Comparable mechanisms of working memory interference by auditory and visual motion in youth and aging. Neuropsychologia 2013; 51:1896-906. [PMID: 23791629 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2013] [Revised: 05/15/2013] [Accepted: 06/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Intrasensory interference during visual working memory (WM) maintenance by object stimuli (such as faces and scenes), has been shown to negatively impact WM performance, with greater detrimental impacts of interference observed in aging. Here we assessed age-related impacts by intrasensory WM interference from lower-level stimulus features such as visual and auditory motion stimuli. We consistently found that interference in the form of ignored distractions and secondary task interruptions presented during a WM maintenance period, degraded memory accuracy in both the visual and auditory domain. However, in contrast to prior studies assessing WM for visual object stimuli, feature-based interference effects were not observed to be significantly greater in older adults. Analyses of neural oscillations in the alpha frequency band further revealed preserved mechanisms of interference processing in terms of post-stimulus alpha suppression, which was observed maximally for secondary task interruptions in visual and auditory modalities in both younger and older adults. These results suggest that age-related sensitivity of WM to interference may be limited to complex object stimuli, at least at low WM loads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jyoti Mishra
- Department of Neurology, Physiology and Psychiatry, Sandler Neurosciences Center, University of California, San Francisco-Mission Bay, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
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Guerreiro MJS, Murphy DR, Van Gerven PWM. Making sense of age-related distractibility: the critical role of sensory modality. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2013; 142:184-94. [PMID: 23337081 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2012.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2012] [Revised: 10/26/2012] [Accepted: 11/14/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Older adults are known to have reduced inhibitory control and therefore to be more distractible than young adults. Recently, we have proposed that sensory modality plays a crucial role in age-related distractibility. In this study, we examined age differences in vulnerability to unimodal and cross-modal visual and auditory distraction. A group of 24 younger (mean age=21.7 years) and 22 older adults (mean age=65.4 years) performed visual and auditory n-back tasks while ignoring visual and auditory distraction. Whereas reaction time data indicated that both young and older adults are particularly affected by unimodal distraction, accuracy data revealed that older adults, but not younger adults, are vulnerable to cross-modal visual distraction. These results support the notion that age-related distractibility is modality dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria J S Guerreiro
- Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
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Lawo V, Koch I. Examining Age-Related Differences in Auditory Attention Control Using a Task-Switching Procedure. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2012. [DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbs107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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The role of habituation and attentional orienting in the disruption of short-term memory performance. Mem Cognit 2012; 39:839-50. [PMID: 21264633 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-010-0070-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
A series of experiments explored habituation and dishabituation to repeated auditory distractors. Participants memorised lists of visually presented items in silence or while ignoring continuously presented auditory distractors. No habituation could be observed, in that the size of the auditory distractor effect did not decrease during the experiment. However, there was evidence for attentional orienting when novel auditory material was presented after a long period of repetitive stimulation, in that a change of distractors was associated with a temporary decrease in recall performance. The results are most consistent with theoretical accounts that claim that the auditory distractor effect is caused primarily by automatic interference, but that still allow attention to play a limited role in the short-term maintenance of information.
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Bell R, Mund I, Buchner A. Disruption of short-term memory by distractor speech: Does content matter? Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2011; 64:146-68. [DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2010.483769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Four experiments replicate the finding that auditory distractors that are lexically identical to the visual target items dramatically increase the irrelevant-speech effect on serial recall. This effect was previously attributed to interference of incompatible order cues. The present results suggest that a different interpretation of this effect is required. Experiment 2 replicates the order congruence effect observed by Hughes and Jones (2005), but shows that this effect is most likely due to an attenuation of interference that is caused by strategic attention shifts to the nominally irrelevant material. Experiments 3 and 4 show that the between-stream similarity effect generalizes to a condition in which the distractor items were drawn from the same category as the targets, but were not identical to them. By showing that nonacoustic distractor features can increase interference in serial recall of lists of supposedly “meaningless” items such as digits or consonants, the results are most consistent with models that postulate an integration of short-term and long-term memory such as the embedded-processes model and the feature model and are inconsistent with classical structural accounts of memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raoul Bell
- Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Iris Mund
- Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Axel Buchner
- Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Klatte M, Lachmann T, Schlittmeier S, Hellbrück J. The irrelevant sound effect in short-term memory: Is there developmental change? ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1080/09541440903378250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Van Gerven PWM, Murphy DR. Aging and Distraction by Irrelevant Speech: Does Emotional Valence Matter? J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2010; 65:667-70. [DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbq048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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27
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Abstract
The irrelevant sound effect refers to a decrement in serial-recall performance when auditory distractors are played during encoding or retention of the to-be-remembered items. We examined the event-related brain potentials (ERPs) that were elicited in response to the auditory distractors during encoding and retention of visually presented target sequences. Changing-state distractor sequences that consisted of several different distractor items interfered more with serial recall than steady-state sequences that consisted of repetitions of a single distractor item. The ERP responses that were elicited in response to the distractors comprised the exogenous N1 component and were further characterized by a subsequent positive wave, and a late negativity. The changing-state effect was associated with an increased N1 and a P3a. The results support the attention-capture account of the irrelevant sound effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raoul Bell
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
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Van Gerven PWM, Vos H, Van Boxtel MPJ, Janssen SA, Miedema HME. Annoyance from environmental noise across the lifespan. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2009; 126:187-194. [PMID: 19603876 DOI: 10.1121/1.3147510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Curvilinear effects of age on self-reported annoyance from environmental noise were investigated in a pooled international and a Dutch sample of in total 62,983 individuals aged between 15 and 102 years. All respondents were frequently exposed to varying levels of transportation noise (i.e., aircraft, road traffic, and railway noise). Results reveal an inverted U-shaped pattern, where the largest number of highly annoyed individuals was found in the middle-aged segment of the sample (peaking around 45 years) while the lowest number was found in the youngest and oldest age segments. This pattern was independent of noise exposure level and self-reported noise sensitivity. The inverted U-shape explains the absence of linear age effects in previous studies. The results are discussed in light of theories predicting an age-related vulnerability to noise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal W M Van Gerven
- Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
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