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PubMed2001

The intelligibility of time-domain-edited esophageal speech.

The intelligibility of esophageal speech has been shown to be significantly lower than that of normal laryngeal speech. The current study investigated the possibility of enhancing the intelligibility of esophageal speech by manipulating samples in the time domain. Specifically, injection noises and nonphrasal pauses were digitally edited from the speech samples of 5 esophageal talkers. Twenty-five sentences were selected and edited in the time domain and presented to 15 naive listeners who were instructed to write down the words that they heard. The percentage of correct words heard for each sentence was determined and compared across listeners, sentences, and talkers. The overall effect of the editing was a small but significant gain in the intelligibility of the esophageal speech. The improvement in intelligibility, however, depended on the individual talker, the speech material, and the number of editing changes made to a particular sample.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Consistency of sentence intelligibility across difficult listening situations.

PURPOSE: The extent to which a sentence retains its level of spoken intelligibility relative to other sentences in a list under a variety of difficult listening situations was examined. METHOD: The strength of this sentence effect was studied using the Central Institute for the Deaf Everyday Speech sentences and both generalizability analysis (Experiments 1 and 2) and correlation (Analyses 1 and 2). RESULTS: Experiments 1 and 2 indicated the presence of a prominent sentence effect (substantial variance accounted for) across a large range of group mean intelligibilities (Experiment 1) and different spectral contents (Experiment 2). In Correlation Analysis 1, individual sentence scores were found to be correlated across listeners in each group producing widely ranging levels of performance. The sentence effect accounted for over half of the variance between listener-ability groups. In Correlation Analysis 2, correlations accounted for an average of 42% of the variance across a variety of listening conditions. However, when the auditory data were compared to speech-reading data, the cross-modal correlations were quite low. CONCLUSIONS: The stability of relative sentence intelligibility (the sentence effect) appears across a wide range of mean intelligibilities, across different spectral compositions, and across different listener performance levels, but not across sensory modalities.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Impairment of speech intelligibility in men with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Speech intelligibility was studied in a group of 25 male patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The object of the study was to determine the phonetic impairments underlying the speech intelligibility deficits that frequently accompany ALS. Analyses with a word intelligibility test indicated that the most disrupted phonetic features involved phonatory (voicing contrast) function, velopharyngeal valving, place and manner of articulation for lingual consonants, and regulation of tongue height for vowels. The mean error proportion for the five most severely affected features correlated highly (0.97) with the intelligibility score (percent correct). The phonetic feature analyses are one index of bulbar muscle impairment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and also may help to direct the speech management in these individuals.

Adult↗

PubMed1980

A comparison of speech intelligibility between esophageal and normal speakers via three modes of presentation.

This study compared intelligibility scores obtained for sentences read by good-to-superior esophageal speakers with scores obtained for sentences read by normal speakers via three modes of presentation: visual, auditory and auditory-visual combined. Statistical analysis showed significant differences between intelligibility scores for esophageal speakers and for normal speakers in the auditory and in the combined conditions. No significant difference was found between the scores for the two groups in the visual condition. Further analysis showed that the esophageal speakers' intelligibility scores improved significantly from the auditory to the combined auditory-visual condition where they most closely approximated, but never equaled, the highest intelligibility scores for normal speakers. Implications of the findings for rehabilitation of esophageal speakers are discussed.

Audiovisual Aids↗

PubMed1981

Construct validity of direct magnitude estimation and interval scaling of speech intelligibility: evidence from a study of the hearing impaired.

The appropriateness of direct magnitude estimation and interval scaling procedures for assessing the speech intelligibility of hearing-impaired adults was investigated by determining whether the continuum of the talkers' intelligibility was prothetic or metathetic. The intelligibility of 20 hearing-impaired talkers was scaled by 20 listeners using direct magnitude estimation and by 20 listeners using interval scaling. The two sets of scaling data were related in the curvilinear fashion that is typical of prothetic continua, indicating better construct validity for direct magnitude estimation than for interval scaling of speech intelligibility.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed1985

Speaking clearly for the hard of hearing I: Intelligibility differences between clear and conversational speech.

This paper is concerned with variations in the intelligibility of speech produced for hearing-impaired listeners under two conditions. Estimates were made of the magnitude of the intelligibility differences between attempts to speak clearly and attempts to speak conversationally. Five listeners with sensorineural hearing losses were tested on groups of nonsense sentences spoken clearly and conversationally by three male talkers as a function of level and frequency-gain characteristic. The average intelligibility difference between clear and conversational speech averaged across talker was found to be 17 percentage points. To a first approximation, this difference was independent of the listener, level, and frequency-gain characteristic. Analysis of segmental-level errors was only possible for two listeners and indicated that improvements in intelligibility occurred across all phoneme classes.

Adult↗

PubMed1985

Acoustic dimensions of hearing-impaired speakers' intelligibility.

Regression and principal components analyses were employed to study the relationship between three measures of speech intelligibility and 12 segmental, prosodic, and hearing ability parameters in 20 severely to profoundly hearing-impaired speakers. Regression analyses on the original 12 parameters revealed that cognate pair voice onset time differences and mean sentence duration strongly predicted speech intelligibility based on readings of isolated word and contextual speech material. A principal components analysis derived four factors that accounted for the majority of the variance in the original 12 parameters. Subsequent regression analyses using the four factors as predictor variables revealed two factors with strong relationships to the speech intelligibility measures. One factor primarily reflected segmental production processes related to the temporal and spatial differentiation of phonemes, whereas the other factor reflected prosodic features and production stability. These results are consistent with prior research that suggests independent primary and secondary roles for segmental and prosodic speech characteristics, respectively, in determining intelligibility in severely to profoundly hearing-impaired speakers.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

The intelligibility of synthesized speech: ECHO II versus VOTRAX.

The intelligibility of two speech synthesizers [ECHO II (Street Electronics, 1982) and VOTRAX (VOTRAX Division, 1981)] was compared to the intelligibility of natural speech in each of three different contextual conditions: (a) single words, (b) "low-probability sentences" in which the last word could not be predicted from preceding context, and (c) "high-probability sentences" in which the last word could be predicted from preceding context. Additionally, the effect of practice on performance in each condition was examined. Natural speech was more intelligible than either type of synthesized speech regardless of word/sentence condition. In both sentence conditions, VOTRAX speech was significantly more intelligible than ECHO II speech. No practice effect was observed for VOTRAX, while an ascending linear trend occurred for ECHO II. Implications for the use of inexpensive speech synthesis units as components of augmentative communication aids for persons with severe speech and/or language impairments are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Criterion validity of speech intelligibility rating-scale procedures for the hearing-impaired population.

The criterion validity and reliability of two popular rating-scale procedures for the assessment of the contextual speech intelligibility of hearing-impaired individuals (The NTID Scales) were studied under clinically typical conditions of test administration and evaluation. The criterion measure was a write-down procedure based on subjects' readings of sentence lists chosen from The CID Everyday Sentence lists. Although the results revealed generally high overall validity and reliability coefficients for the two scales, a close examination of the distribution of estimation error over the full range of rating-scale values revealed gross violations of measurement prediction within the clinically most frequent midrange of speech intelligibility. The results indicate that the rating-scale procedure significantly compromises clinical and research classification of an individual's speech intelligibility and that write-down procedures may provide a viable and significantly more accurate alternative for speech intelligibility assessment.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

The effects of digital quantization error on speech intelligibility and perceived speech quality.

The effects of digital quantization error upon speech intelligibility and perceived speech quality, for normally hearing subjects, were investigated for digitized speech processed to simulate 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-, 14-, and 16-bit integer conversion and 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, and 7-bit floating-point conversion. For the integer data, there were no significant differences in speech intelligibility for 8- to 16-bit conversion. Only 6-bit integer conversion at 55 dB SPL resulted in a significant degradation in speech intelligibility. For the floating-point data, there were no significant differences in speech intelligibility for 2- to 7-bit floating-point conversion. However, results of the perceived quality experiment appeared to be more sensitive to differences among the various conditions. Speech processed using 12-, 14-, and 16-bit integer conversion was judged to be superior to speech processed using the 6-, 8-, and 10-bit integer conditions. Speech processed using 5-, 6-, and 7-bit floating-point conversion was judged to be superior to speech processed using 2-, 3-, and 4-bit floating-point conversion.

Acoustics↗

PubMed1991

Reliability and agreement of ratings of ataxic dysarthric speech samples with varying intelligibility.

Indices of interjudge reliability and inter- and intrajudge agreement were calculated from the ratings made by 15 experienced speech clinicians on five deviant speech dimensions with respect to 15 speakers with ataxic dysarthria. Speakers were chosen to cover a wide range of speech intelligibility (16-97%) as measured by the sentence intelligibility transcriptions of the Assessment of Intelligibility of Dysarthric Speech (Yorkston & Beukelman, 1981). Intraclass correlation coefficients derived from each judge on two occasions were above .6 for imprecise consonants, excess and equal stress, and harsh voice, but below .6 for distorted vowels and below .5 for irregular articulatory breakdown. The last dimension also had the lowest percent agreement for the interjudge and intrajudge comparisons. Poor speech dimension definition seems to be the most likely source of error on irregular articulatory breakdown. Judges agreed equally well in rating dysarthric speech across the range from low to high intelligibility.

Aged↗

PubMed1993

Segmental intelligibility and speech interference thresholds of high-quality synthetic speech in presence of noise.

Technological advancement in the area of synthetic speech has made it increasingly difficult to distinguish quality of speech based solely on intelligibility scores obtained in benign laboratory conditions. Intelligibility scores obtained for natural speech and a high-quality text-to-speech system (DECtalk) are not substantially different. This study examined the perceived intelligibility and speech interference thresholds of DECtalk male and female voices and compared them with data obtained for natural speech. Results revealed that decreasing signal-to-noise levels had more deleterious effects on the perception of DECtalk male and female voices than on the perception of natural speech. Analysis of pattern of phoneme errors revealed that similar general patterns of errors tended to occur in DECtalk and in natural speech. The speech interference test did not demonstrate any significant difference between the DECtalk male and female voices. These results were supported by the absence of a significant difference between DECtalk male and female voices during intelligibility testing at different signal-to-noise ratios.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed1998

Dysarthric sentence intelligibility: contribution of iconic gestures and message predictiveness.

This study examined changes in the sentence intelligibility scores of speakers with dysarthria in association with different signal-independent factors (contextual influences). This investigation focused on the presence or absence of iconic gestures while speaking sentences with low or high semantic predictiveness. The speakers were 4 individuals with dysarthria, who varied from one another in terms of their level of speech intelligibility impairment, gestural abilities, and overall level of motor functioning. Ninety-six inexperienced listeners (24 assigned to each speaker) orthographically transcribed 16 test sentences presented in an audio + video or audio-only format. The sentences had either low or high semantic predictiveness and were spoken by each speaker with and without the corresponding gestures. The effects of signal-independent factors (presence or absence of iconic gestures, low or high semantic predictiveness, and audio + video or audio-only presentation formats) were analyzed for individual speakers. Not all signal-independent information benefited speakers similarly. Results indicated that use of gestures and high semantic predictiveness improved sentence intelligibility for 2 speakers. The other 2 speakers benefited from high predictive messages. The audio + video presentation mode enhanced listener understanding for all speakers, although there were interactions related to specific speaking situations. Overall, the contributions of relevant signal-independent information were greater for the speakers with more severely impaired intelligibility. The results are discussed in terms of understanding the contribution of signal-independent factors to the communicative process.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Social intelligence in the normal and autistic brain: an fMRI study.

There is increasing support for the existence of 'social intelligence' [Humphrey (1984) Consciousness Regained], independent of general intelligence. Brothers et al. 1990) J. Cog. Neurosci., 4, 107-118] proposed a network of neural regions that comprise the 'social brain': the orbito-frontal cortex (OFC), superior temporal gyrus (STG) and amygdala. We tested Brothers' theory by examining both normal subjects as well as patients with high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome (AS), who are well known to have deficits in social intelligence, and perhaps deficits in amygdala function [Bauman & Kemper (1988) J. Neuropath. Exp. Neurol., 47, 369]. We used a test of judging from the expressions of another person's eyes what that other person might be thinking or feeling. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we confirmed Brothers' prediction that the STG and amygdala show increased activation when using social intelligence. Some areas of the prefrontal cortex also showed activation. In contrast, patients with autism or AS activated the fronto-temporal regions but not the amygdala when making mentalistic inferences from the eyes. These results provide support for the social brain theory of normal function, and the amygdala theory of autism.

Adult↗

PubMed1982

The relationship between learning disability, intelligence, and paired-associate learning.

Learning disabled (N = 45) and non-learning disabled (N = 39) third and fourth grade boys and girls were compared in four paired-associate situations. The situations respectively measured learning, memory, exemplar learning, and transfer. Intelligence was measured with the WISC-R. The data were nonnormal in distribution, and the results were thus analyzed parametrically for intelligence and group. What appears to be an interaction occurred. Intelligence facilitated performance for normals on the memory task but had a deleterious effect for the learning disabled Ss. The learning disabled high intelligence group, however, performed significantly better than the other groups on the exemplar and transfer tasks. These findings are discussed in terms of conceptualizations of learning disability and the nature of intervention strategies. In addition, concern is raised for the validity for research with these children where the IQ factor is ignored or covaried and not directly investigated.

Child↗

PubMed2002

Evidence for the importance of openness to experience on performance of a fluid intelligence task by physically active and inactive participants.

The cross-sectional relationship between exercise training history and performance on a fluid intelligence test was examined. In addition, openness to experience was included as a potential trait-based contributor to predicting cognitive performance. Results supported past literature demonstrating that aerobically trained or active participants performed significantly better on the fluid intelligence task than aerobically untrained or inactive participants. Hierarchical regression analysis results revealed, as predicted, that openness to experience was a significant predictor of fluid intellectual performance. When entered into the hierarchical regression equation, openness to experience accounted for 16.0% of unique variance in Culture Fair Intelligence Test performance. By contrast, participants' exercise training history, which initially and significantly (p < .05) accounted for approximately 12.0% of the variance in cognitive performance, accounted for 5.0% (p > .05) after openness was entered. Participants were, on average, more open than inactive participants. Results are discussed in terms of the possible mechanisms aerobic exercise training and openness to experience share in regard to brain functioning and performance of fluid intelligence tasks. Future research is suggested that examines biological factors known to influence cognitive performance in exercise settings.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Intelligence and school readiness in preschool children with prenatal drug exposure.

This prospective, longitudinal study examined factors affecting intelligence and school readiness in children 4-5 years of age with prenatal cocaine/opiate exposure. Intelligence and school readiness scores were not significantly different for the drug-exposed group (N = 104) than for unexposed, demographically matched controls (N = 35), although both groups scored slightly below average. Caregivers of drug-exposed children scored significantly lower in intelligence and reading achievement than caregivers of controls; both were below average. Caregiver reading scores accounted for the largest variance in both child intelligence and school readiness; for school readiness, birth weight also contributed but was less important in the model. Neither prenatal drug exposure nor continuing caregiver drug use was significant in the regression analyses. The relationship between child scores and caregiver reading achievement is consistent with studies showing the importance of a stimulating, supportive home environment, and suggests interventions to foster caregiver literacy skills and facilitate caregiver-child cognitive interactions such as reading to the child.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Emotional intelligence and acculturation to the United States: interactions on the perceived social consequences of smoking in early adolescents.

High emotional intelligence (EI) is associated with decreased adolescent smoking. Acculturation to the United States is a risk factor for adolescent smoking. High EI may buffer the relationship between acculturation to the United States and perceptions of the social consequences of smoking (PSC). Emotional intelligence is the ability to: accurately perceive, appraise, and express emotion; access and/or generate feelings in facilitating thought; understand emotion and emotional knowledge; and regulate emotions. Emotional intelligence (measured by the Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale, Adolescent Version), acculturation, and PSC were assessed in 2001 from 416 Southern California sixth graders (47% boys; mean age = 11.3 yrs; 32% Hispanic/ Latino, 29% Asian/Pacific Islander, 13% White, 19% Multiethnic, 6% Other). There was a significant EI x US acculturation interaction (p < 0.01) suggesting that those with high EI perceived more social consequences associated with smoking. As the U.S. population becomes increasingly diversified, identifying protective variables and designing effective prevention programs for adolescents of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds becomes important.

Acculturation↗