The effects of task difficulty, background noise and noise reduction on recall

Micula, Andreea; Ng, Elaine Hoi Ning; El-Azm, Fares; Rönnberg, Jerker

doi:10.1080/14992027.2020.1771441

Cited by 8 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 55 publications

(109 reference statements)

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“…Several measures have been used to capture the effects of adverse listening conditions and task demands on resource allocation ( Peelle 2018 ). In the current study, we combined the Sentence-Final Word Identification and Recall (SWIR) test ( Ng et al 2013 , 2015 ; Micula et al 2020 ) with pupillometry ( Wendt et al 2017 ; Ohlenforst et al 2018 ; Zhang et al 2021 ; Bönitz et al 2021 ), which are described individually in the following sections.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, this study investigated the effects of task difficulty by varying the list length and task difficulty predictability. Micula et al (2020 ) included a group of participants who were informed about the length of the upcoming list (predictable task difficulty) and a group of participants who were not informed about list length in advance (unpredictable task difficulty), although the participants knew that it could vary. The authors considered unpredictable task difficulty to be more ecologically valid because utterance length is essentially unknown in real life dialog.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although knowledge about list length does not seem to influence overall recall performance, participants cannot choose a strategy based on task difficulty when list length is unknown ( Grenfell-Essam & Ward 2012 ). This suggests that task difficulty predictability may have an effect on cognitive processes other than resource allocation, such as the strategy used to encode words ( Micula et al 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The current study was designed to build on the findings by Micula et al (2020 ) by complementing the SWIR test outcomes with pupillometry outcomes. The findings from studies using the SWIR test and studies combining pupillometry with speech recognition tasks highlight the importance of measuring resource allocation in addition to speech intelligibility performance, as some of the potential benefits of hearing aid signal processing cannot be captured by the latter measure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effects of Task Difficulty Predictability and Noise Reduction on Recall Performance and Pupil Dilation Responses

et al. 2021

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Objectives: Communication requires cognitive processes which are not captured by traditional speech understanding tests. Under challenging listening situations, more working memory resources are needed to process speech, leaving fewer resources available for storage. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of task difficulty predictability, that is, knowing versus not knowing task difficulty in advance, and the effect of noise reduction on working memory resource allocation to processing and storage of speech heard in background noise. For this purpose, an “offline” behavioral measure, the Sentence-Final Word Identification and Recall (SWIR) test, and an “online” physiological measure, pupillometry, were combined. Moreover, the outcomes of the two measures were compared to investigate whether they reflect the same processes related to resource allocation. Design: Twenty-four experienced hearing aid users with moderate to moderately severe hearing loss participated in this study. The SWIR test and pupillometry were measured simultaneously with noise reduction in the test hearing aids activated and deactivated in a background noise composed of four-talker babble. The task of the SWIR test is to listen to lists of sentences, repeat the last word immediately after each sentence and recall the repeated words when the list is finished. The sentence baseline dilation, which is defined as the mean pupil dilation before each sentence, and task-evoked peak pupil dilation (PPD) were analyzed over the course of the lists. The task difficulty predictability was manipulated by including lists of three, five, and seven sentences. The test was conducted over two sessions, one during which the participants were informed about list length before each list (predictable task difficulty) and one during which they were not (unpredictable task difficulty). Results: The sentence baseline dilation was higher when task difficulty was unpredictable compared to predictable, except at the start of the list, where there was no difference. The PPD tended to be higher at the beginning of the list, this pattern being more prominent when task difficulty was unpredictable. Recall performance was better and sentence baseline dilation was higher when noise reduction was on, especially toward the end of longer lists. There was no effect of noise reduction on PPD. Conclusions: Task difficulty predictability did not have an effect on resource allocation, since recall performance was similar independently of whether task difficulty was predictable or unpredictable. The higher sentence baseline dilation when task difficulty was unpredictable likely reflected a difference in the recall strategy or higher degree of task engagement/alertness or arousal. Hence, pupillometry captured processes which the SWIR test does not capture. Noise reduction frees up resources to be used for storage of speech, which was reflected in the better recal...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effects of Task Difficulty Predictability and Noise Reduction on Recall Performance and Pupil Dilation Responses

et al. 2021

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“…Ongoing investigations focus on whether the SWIR test can be further modified by varying the task difficulty, which is the working memory demands, so that it is adaptive to individual cognitive capacity. As a first step, Micula et al (2020) examined whether the positive benefit of NR processing on recall performance is dependent on task difficulty. This was done by introducing varying list lengths.…”

Section: The Swir Test—a Working Memory Paradigmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three New Outcome Measures That Tap Into Cognitive Processes Required for Real-Life Communication

et al. 2020

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To increase the ecological validity of outcomes from laboratory evaluations of hearing and hearing devices, it is desirable to introduce more realistic outcome measures in the laboratory. This article presents and discusses three outcome measures that have been designed to go beyond traditional speech-in-noise measures to better reflect realistic everyday challenges. The outcome measures reviewed are: the Sentence-final Word Identification and Recall (SWIR) test that measures working memory performance while listening to speech in noise at ceiling performance; a neural tracking method that produces a quantitative measure of selective speech attention in noise; and pupillometry that measures changes in pupil dilation to assess listening effort while listening to speech in noise. According to evaluation data, the SWIR test provides a sensitive measure in situations where speech perception performance might be unaffected. Similarly, pupil dilation has also shown sensitivity in situations where traditional speech-in-noise measures are insensitive. Changes in working memory capacity and effort mobilization were found at positive signal-to-noise ratios (SNR), that is, at SNRs that might reflect everyday situations. Using stimulus reconstruction, it has been demonstrated that neural tracking is a robust method at determining to what degree a listener is attending to a specific talker in a typical cocktail party situation. Using both established and commercially available noise reduction schemes, data have further shown that all three measures are sensitive to variation in SNR. In summary, the new outcome measures seem suitable for testing hearing and hearing devices under more realistic and demanding everyday conditions than traditional speech-in-noise tests.

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Cognitive Hearing Science: Three Memory Systems, Two Approaches, and the Ease of Language Understanding Model

Rönnberg

Holmer

Rudner

2021

J Speech Lang Hear Res

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Purpose The purpose of this study was to conceptualize the subtle balancing act between language input and prediction (cognitive priming of future input) to achieve understanding of communicated content. When understanding fails, reconstructive postdiction is initiated. Three memory systems play important roles: working memory (WM), episodic long-term memory (ELTM), and semantic long-term memory (SLTM). The axiom of the Ease of Language Understanding (ELU) model is that explicit WM resources are invoked by a mismatch between language input—in the form of rapid automatic multimodal binding of phonology—and multimodal phonological and lexical representations in SLTM. However, if there is a match between rapid automatic multimodal binding of phonology output and SLTM/ELTM representations, language processing continues rapidly and implicitly. Method and Results In our first ELU approach, we focused on experimental manipulations of signal processing in hearing aids and background noise to cause a mismatch with LTM representations; both resulted in increased dependence on WM. Our second—and main approach relevant for this review article—focuses on the relative effects of age-related hearing loss on the three memory systems. According to the ELU, WM is predicted to be frequently occupied with reconstruction of what was actually heard, resulting in a relative disuse of phonological/lexical representations in the ELTM and SLTM systems. The prediction and results do not depend on test modality per se but rather on the particular memory system. This will be further discussed. Conclusions Related to the literature on ELTM decline as precursors of dementia and the fact that the risk for Alzheimer's disease increases substantially over time due to hearing loss, there is a possibility that lowered ELTM due to hearing loss and disuse may be part of the causal chain linking hearing loss and dementia. Future ELU research will focus on this possibility.

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The effects of task difficulty, background noise and noise reduction on recall

Cited by 8 publications

References 55 publications

The Effects of Task Difficulty Predictability and Noise Reduction on Recall Performance and Pupil Dilation Responses

The Effects of Task Difficulty Predictability and Noise Reduction on Recall Performance and Pupil Dilation Responses

Three New Outcome Measures That Tap Into Cognitive Processes Required for Real-Life Communication

Cognitive Hearing Science: Three Memory Systems, Two Approaches, and the Ease of Language Understanding Model

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