Abstract
We examined context-dependent encoding of speech in children with
and without developmental dyslexia by measuring auditory brainstem
responses to a speech syllable presented in a repetitive or variable
context. Typically developing children showed enhanced brainstem
representation of features related to voice pitch in the repetitive
context, relative to the variable context. In contrast, children
with developmental dyslexia exhibited impairment in their ability
to modify representation in predictable contexts. From a functional
perspective, we found that the extent of context-dependent encoding
in the auditory brainstem correlated positively with behavioral indices
of speech perception in noise. The ability to sharpen representation
of repeating elements is crucial to speech perception in noise, since
it allows superior "tagging" of voice pitch, an important cue for
segregating sound streams in background noise. The disruption of
this mechanism contributes to a critical deficit in noise-exclusion,
a hallmark symptom in developmental dyslexia.
- acoustic
- acoustics,speech
- masking,perceptual
- masking:
- perception,auditory
- perception,speech
- perception:
- physiology
- physiology,brain
- physiology,psychological,psychological:
- physiology,reading,sound
- physiopathology,child,dyslexia,dyslexia:
- physiopathology,female,humans,male,neuropsychological
- spectrography,speech,speech
- stem,brain
- stem:
- stimulation,adaptation,adolescent,auditory
- tests,noise,perceptual
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