Speech Perception and High Cognitive Demand Study for Older Adults
This study is looking at a new type of training called an "auditory-cognitive training paradigm" to help older adults (ages 65-85) who have normal hearing but struggle to understand speech in noisy places. This training involves focusing on one speaker while ignoring another. Researchers want to see if this training can improve your ability to understand speech in noise. They will measure changes in your speech understanding, eye responses (pupillary response), and brain activity (magnetoencephalography or MEG) before and after the training. You can join if you are 65-85, have normal hearing and vision, speak American English, and have a high school diploma or higher education. The study aims to enroll 100 participants.
- Study design
- This is an interventional study with a planned enrollment of 100 participants. Participants will be assigned to one of three training groups.
- What's involved
- You will undergo assessments at Week 1-2 (pretest) and Week 5-6 (posttest). The study involves participating in training sessions.
- Compensation
- Not stated in the trial record.
- Follow-up
- Your progress will be measured at Week 1-2 (pretest) and Week 5-6 (posttest).
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Speech Perception and High Cognitive Demand
At a glance
Conditions
NCT04997577
Where you'd take part
This study runs at 2 sites. They're the same protocol — you choose where, and that choice sets who your contact draft is addressed to.
Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences
College Park, Marylandno site contact published
Recruiting
Maryland Neuroimaging Center
College Park, Marylandno site contact published
Recruiting
Sites open and close at different times, so the status above is per site — it can differ from the study's overall status.
Study leadership
- Samira B Anderson, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · University of Maryland, College Park
- Jonathan Z Simon, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · University of Maryland, College Park
- Stefanie E Kuchinsky, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Who to contact
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Inclusion
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What this trial measures
- Change in speech-in-noise perceptionWeek 1-2 (pretest) and Week 5-6 (posttest)
In the Quick Speech-in-noise task (QSIN). Participants listen to a target female speaker in babble across six sentences (i.e., one list) presented at different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Each sentence has five target words that participants are asked to repeat at the end of each sentence. Within each list, the first sentence is played with a 25 dB SNR and SNR decreases as the list progresses in increments of 5 dB., with the final sentence played at 0 dB. The average SNR score is calculated across several lists. The average SNR score is calculated across several lists. Scores range from -4.5 to 25.5 dB. Higher scores indicate greater SNR loss (i.e., worse hearing).
- Audiobook - Change in pupillary responseWeek 1-2 (pretest) and Week 5-6 (posttest)
During an audiobook listening task, pupil dilations are recorded as an objective measure of listening effort, with larger pupil dilations indicating increased listening effort. Change in pupil dilations at pre and posttest (before and after training, respectively) will be measured. In the audiobook listening task, audiobook segments will be presented to participants at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of quiet, 0 dB, -6 dB, and in babble (with four background speakers). Participants listen to each audiobook segment three times.
- Audiobook - Change in magnetoencephalography (MEG) temporal response functionWeek 1-2 (pretest) and Week 5-6 (posttest)
During an audiobook listening task, MEG neural activity will be recorded. The investigators will evaluate change in the temporal response function (TRF). The TRF relates how the brain responds to acoustic stimuli and can be viewed as evoked responses to the continuous speech. Audiobook segments will be presented to participants at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of quiet, 0 dB, -6 dB, and in babble (with four background speakers). Participants listen to each audiobook segment three times.
- Change in Magnetoencephalography (MEG) stimulus reconstruction accuracies and integration window analysisWeek 1-2 (pretest) and Week 5-6 (posttest)
During an audiobook listening task, MEG neural activity will be recorded. The investigators will measure how far the neural response tracks the speech stimulus by stimulus reconstruction accuracies and how the stimulus reconstruction accuracy builds up over time by integration window analysis. Audiobook segments will be presented to participants at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of quiet, 0 dB, -6 dB, and in babble (with four background speakers). Participants listen to each audiobook segment three times.
- Audiobook - Change in frequency following response (FFR)Week 1-2 (pretest) and Week 5-6 (posttest)
During an audiobook listening task, MEG neural activity will be recorded. The investigators will measure change in the FFR. The FFR is a measure of neural activity in response to a sound and serves as a measure of neural sound encoding. Larger FFR amplitudes indicate greater representations of an auditory stimulus. Audiobook segments will be presented to participants at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of quiet, 0 dB, -6 dB, and in babble (with four background speakers). Participants listen to each audiobook segment three times and after each repetition.
- Audiobook - Change in Magnetoencephalography (MEG) network localized granger causalityWeek 1-2 (pretest) and Week 5-6 (posttest)
During an audiobook listening task MEG neural activity will be recorded. The investigators will measure the network localized granger causality (NLGC) to measure the networked activity of the cortex. Audiobook segments will be presented to participants at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of quiet, 0 dB, -6 dB, and in babble (with four background speakers). Participants listen to each audiobook segment three times and after each repetition.