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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Speech-Evoked Brain Activity Is More Robust To Competing Speech When It Is Spoken By Someone Familiar, Brainscan , Western University, Ingrid Johnsrude
Speech-Evoked Brain Activity Is More Robust To Competing Speech When It Is Spoken By Someone Familiar, Brainscan , Western University, Ingrid Johnsrude
Research Summaries
The representation of spoken-sentence information in specific regions of the brain is more resistant to interference by competing speech if the target talker is familiar. The posterior temporal cortex represents information about target speech more robustly in the presence of competing speech when the target talker is a friend or partner. We have also shown that the relative robustness of the representations for a familiar, compared to an unfamiliar, voice aligns with the intelligibility benefit that the listener gains from that familiar voice.
Can Training Improve Speech Intelligibility And Voice Recognition?, Ingrid Johnsrude
Can Training Improve Speech Intelligibility And Voice Recognition?, Ingrid Johnsrude
Research Summaries
We found that people learn voices very rapidly. We are able to recognize a new voice (and distinguish it from other voices) accurately after as little as 10 minutes of training. While recognition of a voice seems to plateau quite quickly (our recognition doesn't improve with more training), intelligibility does keep improving as training continues up to one hour. We think the benefits of voice familiarity (such as improved intelligibility in everyday settings, helping people with hearing loss or jobs in noisy environments) can be achieved through deliberate training.