6 research outputs found
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A Graph Theoretic Approach for Generating Hypotheses About Phonetic Cues in Speech
Current models of speech perception suggest that combining acoustic cues and factoring out contextual variability allows listeners to recognize speech across different talkers. However, it remains unclear which specific cues are necessary and how their use varies between individual talkers. We use graph theoretic techniques to address these problems by constructing networks connecting talkers and possible cues. We identify subgraphs (Steiner trees) that connect talkers via cues consistently used to indicate specific phonemes. Classifiers trained on these cues match listeners\u27 data better than those trained on all cues, suggesting that Steiner trees can identify the cues necessary for speech recognition
LexFindR: A fast, simple, and extensible R package for finding similar words in a lexicon
Published 30 September 2021Language scientists often need to generate lists of related words, such as potential competitors. Theymay do this for purposes
of experimental control (e.g., selecting items matched on lexical neighborhood but varying in word frequency), or to test
theoretical predictions (e.g., hypothesizing that a novel type of competitor may impact word recognition). Several online
tools are available, but most are constrained to a fixed lexicon and fixed sets of competitor definitions, and may not give the
user full access to or control of source data. We present LexFindR, an open-source R package that can be easily modified
to include additional, novel competitor types. LexFindR is easy to use. Because it can leverage multiple CPU cores and
uses vectorized code when possible, it is also extremely fast. In this article, we present an overview of LexFindR usage,
illustrated with examples.We also explain the details of how we implemented several standard lexical competitor types used
in spoken word recognition research (e.g., cohorts, neighbors, embeddings, rhymes), and show how “lexical dimensions”
(e.g., word frequency, word length, uniqueness point) can be integrated into LexFindR workflows (for example, to calculate
“frequency-weighted competitor probabilities”), for both spoken and visual word recognition research.This work was supported in part by U.S. National
Science Foundation grants PAC 1754284 (JM, PI) and IGE NRT
1747486 (JM, PI). The authors are solely responsible for the content
of this article. This work was also supported in part by the Basque
Government through the BERC 2018-2021 program, and by the
Agencia Estatal de Investigaci´on through BCBL Severo Ochoa
excellence accreditation SEV-2015-0490
Robust Lexically Mediated Compensation for Coarticulation: Christmash Time Is Here Again
First published: 20 April 2021A long-standing question in cognitive science is how high-level knowledge is integrated with sensory
input. For example, listeners can leverage lexical knowledge to interpret an ambiguous speech
sound, but do such effects reflect direct top-down influences on perception or merely postperceptual
biases? A critical test case in the domain of spoken word recognition is lexically mediated compensation
for coarticulation (LCfC). Previous LCfC studies have shown that a lexically restored context
phoneme (e.g., /s/ in Christma#) can alter the perceived place of articulation of a subsequent target
phoneme (e.g., the initial phoneme of a stimulus from a tapes-capes continuum), consistent with the
influence of an unambiguous context phoneme in the same position. Because this phoneme-to-phoneme
compensation for coarticulation is considered sublexical, scientists agree that evidence for LCfC would
constitute strong support for top–down interaction. However, results from previous LCfC studies have
been inconsistent, and positive effects have often been small. Here, we conducted extensive piloting of
stimuli prior to testing for LCfC. Specifically, we ensured that context items elicited robust phoneme
restoration (e.g., that the final phoneme of Christma# was reliably identified as /s/) and that unambiguous
context-final segments (e.g., a clear /s/ at the end of Christmas) drove reliable compensation for
coarticulation for a subsequent target phoneme.We observed robust LCfC in a well-powered, preregistered
experiment with these pretested items (N = 40) as well as in a direct replication study (N = 40).
These results provide strong evidence in favor of computational models of spoken word recognition
that include top–down feedback
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How Feedback in Interactive Activation Improves Perception
We follow up on recent work demonstrating clear advantages of lexical-to-sublexical feedback in the TRACE model of spoken word recognition. The prior work compared accuracy and recognition times in TRACE with feedback on or off as progressively
more noise was added to inputs. Recognition times were faster with feedback at every level of noise, and there was an accuracy advantage for feedback with noise added to inputs. However, a recent article claims that those results must be an artifact of
converting activations to response probabilities, because feedback could only reinforce the “status quo.” That is, the claim is that given noisy inputs, feedback must reinforce all inputs equally, whether driven by signal or noise. We demonstrate that the feedback advantage replicates with raw activations. We also demonstrate that lexical feedback selectively reinforces lexically-coherent input patterns – that is, signal over noise –
and explain how that behavior emerges naturally in interactive activation
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Lexically-Mediated Compensation for Coarticulation in Older Adults
The claim that contextual knowledge exerts a top-down influence on sensory processing is supported by evidence for lexically-mediated compensation for coarticulation (LCfC) in spoken language processing. In this phenomenon, a lexically restored context phoneme (e.g., the final phoneme in Christma# or fooli#) influences perception of a subsequent target phoneme (e.g., a phoneme ambiguous between /t/ and /k/). A recent report shows that carefully vetted materials produce robust, replicable LCfC effects in younger adults (18-34 years old). Here, we asked whether we would observe LCfC in a sample of older adults (aged 60+). This is of interest because older adults must often contend with age-related declines in sensory processing, with previous research suggesting that older adults may compensate for age-related changes by relying more strongly on contextual knowledge. We observed robust LCfC effects in younger and older samples, with no significant difference in the effect size between age groups
Second asymptomatic carotid surgery trial (ACST-2) : a randomised comparison of carotid artery stenting versus carotid endarterectomy
Background: Among asymptomatic patients with severe carotid artery stenosis but no recent stroke or transient cerebral ischaemia, either carotid artery stenting (CAS) or carotid endarterectomy (CEA) can restore patency and reduce long-term stroke risks. However, from recent national registry data, each option causes about 1% procedural risk of disabling stroke or death. Comparison of their long-term protective effects requires large-scale randomised evidence.
Methods: ACST-2 is an international multicentre randomised trial of CAS versus CEA among asymptomatic patients with severe stenosis thought to require intervention, interpreted with all other relevant trials. Patients were eligible if they had severe unilateral or bilateral carotid artery stenosis and both doctor and patient agreed that a carotid procedure should be undertaken, but they were substantially uncertain which one to choose. Patients were randomly allocated to CAS or CEA and followed up at 1 month and then annually, for a mean 5 years. Procedural events were those within 30 days of the intervention. Intention-to-treat analyses are provided. Analyses including procedural hazards use tabular methods. Analyses and meta-analyses of non-procedural strokes use Kaplan-Meier and log-rank methods. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN21144362.
Findings: Between Jan 15, 2008, and Dec 31, 2020, 3625 patients in 130 centres were randomly allocated, 1811 to CAS and 1814 to CEA, with good compliance, good medical therapy and a mean 5 years of follow-up. Overall, 1% had disabling stroke or death procedurally (15 allocated to CAS and 18 to CEA) and 2% had non-disabling procedural stroke (48 allocated to CAS and 29 to CEA). Kaplan-Meier estimates of 5-year non-procedural stroke were 2·5% in each group for fatal or disabling stroke, and 5·3% with CAS versus 4·5% with CEA for any stroke (rate ratio [RR] 1·16, 95% CI 0·86-1·57; p=0·33). Combining RRs for any non-procedural stroke in all CAS versus CEA trials, the RR was similar in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients (overall RR 1·11, 95% CI 0·91-1·32; p=0·21).
Interpretation: Serious complications are similarly uncommon after competent CAS and CEA, and the long-term effects of these two carotid artery procedures on fatal or disabling stroke are comparable