| Sound segregation, the ability to hear out a target sound from distracter sounds, is an essential function of the auditory system. For older adults sound segregation can become an increasingly challenging perceptual feat, as evidenced by the difficulty they often experience understanding speech in the presence of other competing speech and environmental noise. The generally poorer performance of older adults that is reported on such tasks has been attributed to multiple factors associated with reduced hearing sensitivity (Rooji & Plomp 1991, Humes Watson Christensen Cokely and Halling, 1994) and cognitive function (Guerriero et al 2010, Inglis and Caird 1963, Craik 1965). Studies propose two general explanations for the poorer performance of older adults' on speech recognition in noise tasks and the vast individual differences. The first attributes these outcomes to the use of different less effectual segregation cues compared to younger adults (Stine & Wingfield 1987); the second to less effective use of the same segregation (Murphy, Danman, Schenider 2006). The goal of the current project is to determine (1) if older adults enlist a different, less effective, sound segregation strategy than young adults, (2) if these effects vary with cognitive load, (3) if cognitive load simulates the age related decrease in performance, and (4) if individual differences in performance can be explained by differential segregation strategies and/or measures of cognitive function. |
