Head of the Auditory Cognition research group at the University of Haifa and an Associate Professor at the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Our research focuses on auditory/speech perception and learning across the lifespan. We have two long-term projects, studying the influences of auditory perceptual processes on early literacy development, and the role of auditory learning in hearing aids acclimatization.
Introduction: Balance and postural control are related to hearing and hearing loss, but whether t... more Introduction: Balance and postural control are related to hearing and hearing loss, but whether they can be improved with hearing aid use in older adults is not clear. We systematically reviewed controlled studies in which balance and hearing were tested in experienced older hearing aid users to determine the potential effects of hearing aid use on balance. Methods: The review was pre-registered in PROSPERO and performed in accordance with PRISMA. The question, inclusion, and exclusion criteria were defined using the Population, Intervention, Control, Outcomes and Study design (PICOS) framework. Older adults with hearing loss and no experience with hearing aids, or balance tests conducted without hearing aids in hearing aid users served as controls. Results: A total of 803 studies were screened, eight of which met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in the final review. Five of the eight studies found a significant correlation between the use of hearing aids and t...
Language, cognition and neuroscience, Nov 27, 2017
ABSTRACT Accumulative studies suggest that people with dyslexia have impaired categorical percept... more ABSTRACT Accumulative studies suggest that people with dyslexia have impaired categorical perception of speech. However, the origin of this deficit remains unknown. We now propose that impaired sensitivity to distributional statistics in dyslexia underlies this deficit. This proposal is based on the following rationale. The literature on acquiring speech categories in the general population attributes a major role to learning distributional statistics. Sensitivity to the statistics of stimuli used in perceptual discrimination tasks is impaired in dyslexia. Specifically, dyslexics’ implicit memory of previous stimuli decays faster than that of good readers and their stimulus-specific adaptation processes are shorter. Their faster decay may limit the temporal window over which they implicitly calculate stimulus distributions, and yield slightly impoverished speech categories. Since impaired sensitivity to stimulus statistics and impaired categorisation in dyslexia are domain general, we further propose that impaired categorical speech perception is one manifestation of a broader deficit in distributional learning.
Learning multimorphemic words involves the simultaneous learning of two hierarchically organized ... more Learning multimorphemic words involves the simultaneous learning of two hierarchically organized categories. In such words, sub-lexical units usually encode superordinate categories, whereas whole words encode exemplars of these categories. Complex, non-linear word structure is common in Semitic languages and can be used to probe the learning of multiple form-meaning associations. The aim of this study was to investigate how well Hebrew-speaking adults learn the dual form-meaning relationships that reflect different categorical levels following a few exposures to novel Hebrew-like words. Twenty-four native Hebrew-speakers were exposed to novel words through an interactive video story. Following a few exposures to the words, the learning of the exemplars was tested in a three-alternative-forced-choice identification test. The learning of the sub-lexical morphemes and the categories they encode were tested in generalization tests. The results show that a few exposures to novel, morphologically and conceptually complex words are sufficient to allow unsupervised simultaneous learning of two hierarchical categories even though the superordinate was not explicitly represented in the input.
Perceptual learning for speech, defined as long-lasting changes in speech recognition following e... more Perceptual learning for speech, defined as long-lasting changes in speech recognition following exposure or practice occurs under many challenging listening conditions. However, this learning is also highly specific to the conditions in which it occurred, such that its function in adult speech recognition is not clear. We used a time-compressed speech task to assess learning following either brief exposure (rapid learning) or additional training (training-induced learning). Both types of learning were robust and long-lasting. Individual differences in rapid learning explained unique variance in recognizing natural-fast speech and speech-in-noise with no additional contribution for training-induced learning (Experiment 1). Rapid learning was stimulus specific (Experiment 2), as in previous studies on training-induced learning. We suggest that rapid learning is key for understanding the role of perceptual learning in online speech recognition whereas longer training could provide addi...
Older adults with age-related hearing loss exhibit substantial individual differences in speech p... more Older adults with age-related hearing loss exhibit substantial individual differences in speech perception in adverse listening conditions. We propose that the ability to rapidly adapt to changes in the auditory environment (i.e., perceptual learning) is among the processes contributing to these individual differences, in addition to the cognitive and sensory processes that were explored in the past. Seventy older adults with age-related hearing loss participated in this study. We assessed the relative contribution of hearing acuity, cognitive factors (working memory, vocabulary, and selective attention), rapid perceptual learning of time-compressed speech, and hearing aid use to the perception of speech presented at a natural fast rate (fast speech), speech embedded in babble noise (speech in noise), and competing speech (dichotic listening). Speech perception was modeled as a function of the other variables. For fast speech, age [odds ratio (OR) = 0.79], hearing acuity (OR = 0.62)...
The objective of the study was to examine the relations between two auditory processes, dichotic ... more The objective of the study was to examine the relations between two auditory processes, dichotic listening and speech perception in noise. Both involve listening to competing signals and significantly decline with age. Dichotic listening and speech identification in multitalker noise were tested in 36 elderly participants with symmetric mild-to-moderate hearing loss. High negative correlations between the SNR levels in which 50% and 30% of the words were correctly identified and the dichotic scores were found. These correlations were attributed to the dichotic score in the non-dominant ear. Our data suggest that dichotic listening, a major processing deficit in hearing-impaired older adults, could potentially serve as a reliable predictor of speech-in-noise perception in this population.
Perceptual learning, defined as long-lasting changes in the ability to extract information from t... more Perceptual learning, defined as long-lasting changes in the ability to extract information from the environment, occurs following either brief exposure or prolonged practice. Whether these two types of experience yield qualitatively distinct patterns of learning is not clear. We used a time-compressed speech task to assess perceptual learning following either rapid exposure or additional training. We report that both experiences yielded robust and long-lasting learning. Individual differences in rapid learning explained unique variance in performance in independent speech tasks (natural-fast speech and speech-in-noise) with no additional contribution for training-induced learning (Experiment 1). Finally, it seems that similar factors influence the specificity of the two types of learning (Experiment 1 and 2). We suggest that rapid learning is key for understanding the role of perceptual learning in speech recognition under adverse conditions while longer learning could serve to stre...
Challenging listening situations (e.g., when speech is rapid or noisy) result in substantial indi... more Challenging listening situations (e.g., when speech is rapid or noisy) result in substantial individual differences in speech perception. We propose that rapid auditory perceptual learning is one of the factors contributing to those individual differences. To explore this proposal, we assessed rapid perceptual learning of time-compressed speech in young adults with normal hearing and in older adults with age-related hearing loss. We also assessed the contribution of this learning as well as that of hearing and cognition (vocabulary, working memory, and selective attention) to the recognition of natural-fast speech (NFS; both groups) and speech in noise (younger adults). In young adults, rapid learning and vocabulary were significant predictors of NFS and speech in noise recognition. In older adults, hearing thresholds, vocabulary, and rapid learning were significant predictors of NFS recognition. In both groups, models that included learning fitted the speech data better than models...
Introduction: Balance and postural control are related to hearing and hearing loss, but whether t... more Introduction: Balance and postural control are related to hearing and hearing loss, but whether they can be improved with hearing aid use in older adults is not clear. We systematically reviewed controlled studies in which balance and hearing were tested in experienced older hearing aid users to determine the potential effects of hearing aid use on balance. Methods: The review was pre-registered in PROSPERO and performed in accordance with PRISMA. The question, inclusion, and exclusion criteria were defined using the Population, Intervention, Control, Outcomes and Study design (PICOS) framework. Older adults with hearing loss and no experience with hearing aids, or balance tests conducted without hearing aids in hearing aid users served as controls. Results: A total of 803 studies were screened, eight of which met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in the final review. Five of the eight studies found a significant correlation between the use of hearing aids and t...
Language, cognition and neuroscience, Nov 27, 2017
ABSTRACT Accumulative studies suggest that people with dyslexia have impaired categorical percept... more ABSTRACT Accumulative studies suggest that people with dyslexia have impaired categorical perception of speech. However, the origin of this deficit remains unknown. We now propose that impaired sensitivity to distributional statistics in dyslexia underlies this deficit. This proposal is based on the following rationale. The literature on acquiring speech categories in the general population attributes a major role to learning distributional statistics. Sensitivity to the statistics of stimuli used in perceptual discrimination tasks is impaired in dyslexia. Specifically, dyslexics’ implicit memory of previous stimuli decays faster than that of good readers and their stimulus-specific adaptation processes are shorter. Their faster decay may limit the temporal window over which they implicitly calculate stimulus distributions, and yield slightly impoverished speech categories. Since impaired sensitivity to stimulus statistics and impaired categorisation in dyslexia are domain general, we further propose that impaired categorical speech perception is one manifestation of a broader deficit in distributional learning.
Learning multimorphemic words involves the simultaneous learning of two hierarchically organized ... more Learning multimorphemic words involves the simultaneous learning of two hierarchically organized categories. In such words, sub-lexical units usually encode superordinate categories, whereas whole words encode exemplars of these categories. Complex, non-linear word structure is common in Semitic languages and can be used to probe the learning of multiple form-meaning associations. The aim of this study was to investigate how well Hebrew-speaking adults learn the dual form-meaning relationships that reflect different categorical levels following a few exposures to novel Hebrew-like words. Twenty-four native Hebrew-speakers were exposed to novel words through an interactive video story. Following a few exposures to the words, the learning of the exemplars was tested in a three-alternative-forced-choice identification test. The learning of the sub-lexical morphemes and the categories they encode were tested in generalization tests. The results show that a few exposures to novel, morphologically and conceptually complex words are sufficient to allow unsupervised simultaneous learning of two hierarchical categories even though the superordinate was not explicitly represented in the input.
Perceptual learning for speech, defined as long-lasting changes in speech recognition following e... more Perceptual learning for speech, defined as long-lasting changes in speech recognition following exposure or practice occurs under many challenging listening conditions. However, this learning is also highly specific to the conditions in which it occurred, such that its function in adult speech recognition is not clear. We used a time-compressed speech task to assess learning following either brief exposure (rapid learning) or additional training (training-induced learning). Both types of learning were robust and long-lasting. Individual differences in rapid learning explained unique variance in recognizing natural-fast speech and speech-in-noise with no additional contribution for training-induced learning (Experiment 1). Rapid learning was stimulus specific (Experiment 2), as in previous studies on training-induced learning. We suggest that rapid learning is key for understanding the role of perceptual learning in online speech recognition whereas longer training could provide addi...
Older adults with age-related hearing loss exhibit substantial individual differences in speech p... more Older adults with age-related hearing loss exhibit substantial individual differences in speech perception in adverse listening conditions. We propose that the ability to rapidly adapt to changes in the auditory environment (i.e., perceptual learning) is among the processes contributing to these individual differences, in addition to the cognitive and sensory processes that were explored in the past. Seventy older adults with age-related hearing loss participated in this study. We assessed the relative contribution of hearing acuity, cognitive factors (working memory, vocabulary, and selective attention), rapid perceptual learning of time-compressed speech, and hearing aid use to the perception of speech presented at a natural fast rate (fast speech), speech embedded in babble noise (speech in noise), and competing speech (dichotic listening). Speech perception was modeled as a function of the other variables. For fast speech, age [odds ratio (OR) = 0.79], hearing acuity (OR = 0.62)...
The objective of the study was to examine the relations between two auditory processes, dichotic ... more The objective of the study was to examine the relations between two auditory processes, dichotic listening and speech perception in noise. Both involve listening to competing signals and significantly decline with age. Dichotic listening and speech identification in multitalker noise were tested in 36 elderly participants with symmetric mild-to-moderate hearing loss. High negative correlations between the SNR levels in which 50% and 30% of the words were correctly identified and the dichotic scores were found. These correlations were attributed to the dichotic score in the non-dominant ear. Our data suggest that dichotic listening, a major processing deficit in hearing-impaired older adults, could potentially serve as a reliable predictor of speech-in-noise perception in this population.
Perceptual learning, defined as long-lasting changes in the ability to extract information from t... more Perceptual learning, defined as long-lasting changes in the ability to extract information from the environment, occurs following either brief exposure or prolonged practice. Whether these two types of experience yield qualitatively distinct patterns of learning is not clear. We used a time-compressed speech task to assess perceptual learning following either rapid exposure or additional training. We report that both experiences yielded robust and long-lasting learning. Individual differences in rapid learning explained unique variance in performance in independent speech tasks (natural-fast speech and speech-in-noise) with no additional contribution for training-induced learning (Experiment 1). Finally, it seems that similar factors influence the specificity of the two types of learning (Experiment 1 and 2). We suggest that rapid learning is key for understanding the role of perceptual learning in speech recognition under adverse conditions while longer learning could serve to stre...
Challenging listening situations (e.g., when speech is rapid or noisy) result in substantial indi... more Challenging listening situations (e.g., when speech is rapid or noisy) result in substantial individual differences in speech perception. We propose that rapid auditory perceptual learning is one of the factors contributing to those individual differences. To explore this proposal, we assessed rapid perceptual learning of time-compressed speech in young adults with normal hearing and in older adults with age-related hearing loss. We also assessed the contribution of this learning as well as that of hearing and cognition (vocabulary, working memory, and selective attention) to the recognition of natural-fast speech (NFS; both groups) and speech in noise (younger adults). In young adults, rapid learning and vocabulary were significant predictors of NFS and speech in noise recognition. In older adults, hearing thresholds, vocabulary, and rapid learning were significant predictors of NFS recognition. In both groups, models that included learning fitted the speech data better than models...
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