An optimal dichotic-listening paradigm for the assessment of hemispheric dominance for speech processing

Abstract

Dichotic-listening paradigms are widely accepted as non-invasive tests of hemispheric dominance for language processing and represent a standard diagnostic tool for the assessment of developmental auditory and language disorders. Despite its popularity in research and clinical settings, dichotic paradigms show comparatively low reliability, significantly threatening the validity of conclusions drawn from the results. Thus, the aim of the present work was to design and evaluate a novel, highly reliable dichotic-listening paradigm for the assessment of hemispheric differences. Based on an extensive literature review, the paradigm was optimized to account for the main experimental variables which are known to systematically bias task performance or affect random error variance. The main design principle was to minimize the relevance of higher cognitive functions on task performance in order to obtain stimulus-driven laterality estimates. To this end, the key design features of the paradigm were the use of stop-consonant vowel (CV) syllables as stimulus material, a single stimulus pair per trial presentation mode, and a free recall (single) response instruction. Evaluating a verbal and manual response-format version of the paradigm in a sample of N = 50 healthy participants, we yielded test-retest intra-class correlations of r ICC = .91 and .93 for the two response format versions. These excellent reliability estimates suggest that the optimal paradigm may offer an effective and efficient alternative to currently used paradigms both in research and diagnostic.

Assessing a Sensory-Motor-Cognition Triad in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment With Dichotic Listening While Walking: A Dual-Task Paradigm

“…Based on the above, it is plausible that implementation of another DL paradigm relying on the use of meaningful words may promote asymmetric effects as those seen in healthy controls. Therefore, future studies evaluating individuals with MCI should apply DL paradigms involving regular or familiar words for easier recognition (Westerhausen and Samuelsen, 2020) and confirmation of the present findings such as simple numbers (Klichowski and Kroliczak, 2017) or sentences like the "Dichotic sentence identification test" (Jerger et al, 1994).…”

Combined fMRI Region- and Network-Analysis Reveal New Insights of Top-Down Modulation of Bottom-Up Processes in Auditory Laterality

“…Dichotic listening (DL) has been a standard method for the study of perceptual laterality in the auditory domain, both in healthy subjects and clinical populations. Although a variety of paradigms has been applied over the years, a commonly used paradigm is the consonant-vowel (CV) syllables paradigm (see Bryden, 1988 ; Tervaniemi and Hugdahl, 2003 ; Hugdahl et al, 2009 ; Beste et al, 2018 ; Westerhausen and Samuelsen, 2020 ). This involves presentation through headphones of two CV syllables, one delivered to the right ear and the other simultaneously delivered to the left ear.…”

The neural correlates of Spanish whistle language: An exploratory EEG study

“…The neuronal mechanism of the linguistic system is grounded in an interconnected, hierarchically, and parallel organized frontotemporal network [3,4]: the left hemisphere is dominant in the fast temporal processing of semantic and syntactic aspects of auditory language perception, while the right hemisphere is dominant in processing non-verbal, slow temporal facets of auditory input such as prosody and pitch changes [2,4]. Functional hemispheric asymmetries within this network have been repeatedly investigated using a validated, replicated, and non-invasive paradigm with high diagnostic and clinical value: the dichotic listening task (DLT) [2,5,10,11]. Speech perception of simultaneous monosyllabic consonant-vowels (CV) in both ears is captured on the behavioural level, exalting a right-ear advantage (REA), in both right-and left-handers showing a clear left-hemispheric dominance for speech stimuli [2,10,12].…”

“…Functional hemispheric asymmetries within this network have been repeatedly investigated using a validated, replicated, and non-invasive paradigm with high diagnostic and clinical value: the dichotic listening task (DLT) [2,5,10,11]. Speech perception of simultaneous monosyllabic consonant-vowels (CV) in both ears is captured on the behavioural level, exalting a right-ear advantage (REA), in both right-and left-handers showing a clear left-hemispheric dominance for speech stimuli [2,10,12]. The effect of REA, which is a direct consequence of the phonetic features of speech sound, depends on the linguistic importance of the voicing categories (voiced: /ba/, /da/, /ga/; unvoiced: /pa/, /ta/, /ka/) in the language under study [12].…”

“…Following previous language studies [2,[4][5][6][7][8]10,12,34], it is important to start with valid paradigms to understand similarities and differences in functional and eventually structural asymmetries between spoken and whistle languages. The study on whistled Turkish has implications on the behavioural level (DLT) [22,24], resulting in atypical hemispheric asymmetry as postulated by the "absence of cerebral asymmetries" hypothesis for this form of communication.…”