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Age, Gender Affect Auditory Measures of Interhemispheric Function During Middle-Age Years |
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For Immediate Release: Age, Gender Affect Auditory Measures of Interhemispheric Function During Middle-Age Years (ROCKVILLE, MD-April 4, 2001) Researchers have found that both aging and gender affect the auditory functioning between the right and left hemispheres of an adult' s brain during middle age and that this decreased interhemispheric function may contribute to auditory and communication difficulties experienced by aging adults. The findings are reported in the April issue of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association' s (ASHA) Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. Through a study of 120 right-handed adults aged 20 to 75, the researchers observed that aging has a significant effect on both visuomotor and auditory measures of interhemispheric function, with adults exhibiting a decline in performance in both measures between 40 and 55 years and experiencing no further decline with increasing age. In addition, the researchers found that the course of decline in auditory function was different for men than women, with men experiencing binaural processing difficulties as early as 35 to 40 years old, while women demonstrated preserved auditory performance until the postmenopausal years. "These results show that the two hemispheres of the brain don't work together as well when we get older, and that men demonstrate these differences earlier than women and in different ways," says audiologist and study author Teri James Bellis of the University of South Dakota. "The findings may help us to understand some of the stereotypical male versus female communication differences. For example, women can listen to several things at once -- the kids, the television news, the salesperson on the phone -- whereas men often need to listen to one thing at a time. Women often complain that their husbands 'just don't listen anymore' when they hit their early 40s, while men complain that their post-menopausal wives 'take everything the wrong way.' This study suggests that there are real, biological -- rather than merely cultural -- bases for some of these gender differences." Article: "Effects of Aging and Gender on Interhemispheric Function," Teri James Bellis, University of South Dakota, and Laura Ann Wilber, Northwestern University; Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, Vol. 44, No. 2. For the full text of this article, contact Mona Thomas at 301-897-0156 or mailto:mthomas@asha.org or Mike Rick at 301-897-7351 or mailto:mrick@asha.org. An abstract of the article and additional information on communication disorders and aging can also be found at ASHA' s consumer website at http://www.asha.org. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 99,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders. |
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