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Natural Speech Analysis Can Reveal Individual Differences in Executive Function Across the Adult Lifespan.

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Title: Natural Speech Analysis Can Reveal Individual Differences in Executive Function Across the Adult Lifespan.
Authors: Wei, Hsi T.1,2 hsi.wei@mail.mcgill.ca, Kulzhabayeva, Dana1,2, Erceg, Lella2,3, Rose, Mira Kates2,4, Spencer, Kiah A.2,5, Robin, Jessica6, Bialystok, Ellen7, Meltzer, Jed A.1,2
Source: Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research. Dec2025, Vol. 68 Issue 12, p5708-5726. 19p.
Subject Terms: *Data analysis, *Speech evaluation, *Automation, *Factor analysis, Cognition disorders diagnosis, Psychological aspects of aging, Independent living, Research funding, Executive function, Multiple regression analysis, Natural language processing, Photography, Sound recordings, Neuropsychological tests, Statistics, Data analysis software, Dementia patients, Old age
Abstract: Purpose: Automated analysis of naturalistic speech has emerged as an effective tool for detecting cognitive decline in dementia but has seldom been used to examine the ordinary cognitive decline occurring in normal aging. Executive function (EF) declines throughout the adult lifespan but is difficult to track longitudinally due to practice effects, making speech-based assessments particularly attractive. This study examined relationships between EF and speech characteristics. Method: We collected two audio picture descriptions from participants in two experiments that also included EF assessments, with 67 healthy older adults (aged 65-75 years) in Study 1 and 174 healthy adults (aged 18-90 years) in Study 2. Language composite scores were computed by aggregating relevant speech features indexing aspects of speech that have been reported to show changes in pathological aging. Principal components reflecting common covariation in speech features were extracted from a large training data set to compute speech domain scores. The relationships between language composites/speech principal components and EF were assessed while controlling for age, gender, and education. Results: In Study 1, older adults' word-finding difficulties, measured as speech disfluencies, showed significant associations with EF. Study 2 confirms that speech disfluencies can explain individual differences in EF not only for adults above the age of 65 years but also across the adult lifespan. Information units and coherence in speech showed weaker associations with EF and Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores that were not significant after correction for multiple comparisons. Conclusion: The findings revealed associations between word-finding ability in natural speech and general EF across the adult lifespan, supporting natural speech analysis as a convenient and sensitive assessment of general cognitive ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Natural Speech Analysis Can Reveal Individual Differences in Executive Function Across the Adult Lifespan.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wei%2C+Hsi+T%2E%22">Wei, Hsi T.</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo><i> hsi.wei@mail.mcgill.ca</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kulzhabayeva%2C+Dana%22">Kulzhabayeva, Dana</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Erceg%2C+Lella%22">Erceg, Lella</searchLink><relatesTo>2,3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rose%2C+Mira+Kates%22">Rose, Mira Kates</searchLink><relatesTo>2,4</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Spencer%2C+Kiah+A%2E%22">Spencer, Kiah A.</searchLink><relatesTo>2,5</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Robin%2C+Jessica%22">Robin, Jessica</searchLink><relatesTo>6</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bialystok%2C+Ellen%22">Bialystok, Ellen</searchLink><relatesTo>7</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Meltzer%2C+Jed+A%2E%22">Meltzer, Jed A.</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Speech%2C+Language+%26+Hearing+Research%22">Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research</searchLink>. Dec2025, Vol. 68 Issue 12, p5708-5726. 19p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis%22">Data analysis</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Speech+evaluation%22">Speech evaluation</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Automation%22">Automation</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Factor+analysis%22">Factor analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognition+disorders+diagnosis%22">Cognition disorders diagnosis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychological+aspects+of+aging%22">Psychological aspects of aging</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Independent+living%22">Independent living</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Executive+function%22">Executive function</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Multiple+regression+analysis%22">Multiple regression analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Natural+language+processing%22">Natural language processing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Photography%22">Photography</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sound+recordings%22">Sound recordings</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Neuropsychological+tests%22">Neuropsychological tests</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Statistics%22">Statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis+software%22">Data analysis software</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Dementia+patients%22">Dementia patients</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Old+age%22">Old age</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Purpose: Automated analysis of naturalistic speech has emerged as an effective tool for detecting cognitive decline in dementia but has seldom been used to examine the ordinary cognitive decline occurring in normal aging. Executive function (EF) declines throughout the adult lifespan but is difficult to track longitudinally due to practice effects, making speech-based assessments particularly attractive. This study examined relationships between EF and speech characteristics. Method: We collected two audio picture descriptions from participants in two experiments that also included EF assessments, with 67 healthy older adults (aged 65-75 years) in Study 1 and 174 healthy adults (aged 18-90 years) in Study 2. Language composite scores were computed by aggregating relevant speech features indexing aspects of speech that have been reported to show changes in pathological aging. Principal components reflecting common covariation in speech features were extracted from a large training data set to compute speech domain scores. The relationships between language composites/speech principal components and EF were assessed while controlling for age, gender, and education. Results: In Study 1, older adults' word-finding difficulties, measured as speech disfluencies, showed significant associations with EF. Study 2 confirms that speech disfluencies can explain individual differences in EF not only for adults above the age of 65 years but also across the adult lifespan. Information units and coherence in speech showed weaker associations with EF and Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores that were not significant after correction for multiple comparisons. Conclusion: The findings revealed associations between word-finding ability in natural speech and general EF across the adult lifespan, supporting natural speech analysis as a convenient and sensitive assessment of general cognitive ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=190171405
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        Value: 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-24-00268
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Automation
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      – SubjectFull: Executive function
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      – SubjectFull: Dementia patients
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              Text: Dec2025
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