Training can improve perceptual sensitivities. We examined whether the temporal dynamics and the incidental versus intentional nature of training are important. Within the context of a birdsong rate discrimination task, we examined whether the sequencing of pretesting exposure to the stimuli mattered. Easy-to-hard (progressive) sequencing of…

The purpose of this study was to see whether different types of background music affect the performance of a reading comprehension task in Taiwanese college students. There are two major research questions in this study. First, this study tries to find out whether listening to music affect the learner's concentration when they are doing a task…

This dissertation explores the hypothesis that language processing proceeds in "windows" that correspond to representational units, where sensory signals are integrated according to time-scales that correspond to the rate of the input. To investigate universal mechanisms, a comparison of signed and spoken languages is necessary. Underlying the…

Infants' auditory processing abilities have been shown to predict subsequent language development. In addition, poor auditory processing skills have been shown for some individuals with specific language impairment. Methods used in infant studies are not appropriate for use with young children, and neither are methods typically used to test…

The parameters influencing the respiratory pattern at or near the threshold for hearing were studied in hearing impaired and normal hearing subjects. A semiautomatic system was designed to process the data. Results indicated that thresholds for pure tones could be estimated better on the inspiration phase of the breathing cycle and that duration…