In this paper we critically review the literature on the use of event related potentials (ERPs) to elucidate the neural sources of the core deficits in autism. We review auditory and visual ERP studies, and then review the use of ERPs in the investigation of executive function. We conclude that, in autism, impairments likely exist in both low and…

Hearing developmental dyslexics and profoundly deaf individuals both have difficulties processing the internal structure of words (phonological processing) and learning to read. In hearing non-impaired readers, the development of phonological representations depends on audition. In hearing dyslexics, many argue, auditory processes may be impaired.…

Background: Speech perception is often considered specific to the auditory modality, despite convincing evidence that speech processing is bimodal. The theoretical and clinical roles of speech-reading for speech perception, however, have received little attention in speech-language therapy. Aims: The role of speech-read information for speech…

Auditory processing disorder (APD) describes a mixed and poorly understood listening problem characterised by poor speech perception, especially in challenging environments. APD may include an inherited component, and this may be major, but studies reviewed here of children with long-term otitis media with effusion (OME) provide strong evidence…

Auditory stream segregation (or streaming) is a phenomenon in which 2 or more repeating sounds differing in at least 1 acoustic attribute are perceived as 2 or more separate sound sources (i.e., streams). This article selectively reviews psychophysical and computational studies of streaming and comprehensively reviews more recent…

We review the literature on infants' perception of pitch and temporal patterns, relating it to comparable research with human adult and non-human listeners. Although there are parallels in relative pitch processing across age and species, there are notable differences. Infants accomplish such tasks with ease, but non-human listeners require…

The present paper reviews a set of studies designed to investigate different aspects of the capacity for processing Western music. This includes perceiving the relationships between a theme and its variations, perceiving musical tensions and relaxations, generating musical expectancies, integrating local structures in large-scale structures,…

Fifteen years ago, Pascual-Leone and colleagues used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate speech production in pre-surgical epilepsy patients and in doing so, introduced a novel tool into language research. TMS can be used to non-invasively stimulate a specific cortical region and transiently disrupt information processing. These…

Analyzes a method of detecting changes in a particular frequency band by evaluating the overall shape or profile of the auditory signal spectrum. Claims that profile analysis is different from intensity discrimination, and applies the new method to detecting noise sinusoid and to results obtained when signal frequency is uncertain. (Author/AOS)

Two studies are reported in which the relationship between sound blending and auditory closure and reading performance (word analysis skills, oral reading, and silent reading) was explored in learning disabled youngsters (6 to 11 years old). (Author)

This article discusses central auditory processing disorders (CAPDs) including background information, a current definition of CAPDs, test battery approaches which follow guidelines of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and various approaches to intervention. Also noted are remaining questions and various controversies related to…

There is now a renewed emphasis in the UK on short intensive interventions to tackle reading failure. In this paper we report on the effect of a programme based on a view that reading problems are associated with the inability of the learner to deal with speech at the level of individual speech sounds even though they may be fully competent in the…

The article reviews the literature on auditory perceptual impairments in children with language disorders. It is suggested that, rather than a higher order cognitive or "linguistic" deficit, the underlying deficit in childhood language disorders is a perceptual one. (Author)

An appoach to the use of sound in computer interfaces, proposed in this article, emphasizes the role of sound in conveying information about the world to the listener. This approach argues that auditory icons, i.e., caricatures of naturally occurring sounds, provide a natural way to represent dimensional data as well as conceptual objects in a…

Stating that the most pressing and puzzling scientific questions are questions about properties, not about change, the authors examine Piaget's and other theories of human development. Disputes the constructivist view that the initial cognitive state is one of emptiness, showing that from birth, humans react to certain stimuli in specific ways,…