How people adapt to different accents and speaking styles
Identifying the mechanisms of adaptive speech perception
This project learns how children and adults change the way they hear and understand speech from different speakers, like different accents or voices.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California-Irvine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Irvine, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11312630 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From your point of view, researchers want to figure out what lets listeners understand different talkers. They use a computer model (ASP) that captures competing ideas about perception, language, and decision-making and then run carefully designed listening tests. Children and adults will do behavioral tasks where their responses are compared to model predictions in high-powered experiments. The work aims to pin down the exact processes that let people adapt to variable speech.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are children and adults (including those with different accents or who notice difficulty understanding speech) who can take part in listening tasks.
Not a fit: People whose medical issues are unrelated to hearing or speech perception, or who cannot complete listening tests, are unlikely to benefit directly from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lead to better ways to diagnose and treat speech and listening problems and improve technologies like hearing aids or speech-recognition tools.
How similar studies have performed: Past studies have shown that listeners adjust to different speakers, but using a model-guided, high-powered approach to identify the exact mechanisms is a new direction.
Where this research is happening
Irvine, United States
- University of California-Irvine — Irvine, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Xie, Xin — University of California-Irvine
- Study coordinator: Xie, Xin
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.