There are countless health risks that increase with age, but for many of us, none are as frightening as cognitive decline. While its symptoms are frightening enough in themselves, they are often a sign of dementia. Alzheimer’s diseaseWith that in mind, you’ll want to know your risk factors and early warning signs. Many of these are well-documented, but researchers are still learning more. And November 2023 survey Published in Aging, Neuropsychology, Cognition We identified speech patterns that may be warning signs of cognitive decline.
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Researchers at the academic health sciences centre Baycrest and the University of Toronto looked at speech as a predictor of cognitive decline. Word finding difficulties (WFD) are often pointed to as a potential indicator, but they also appear to be a normal sign of aging. Meanwhile, speed or slowness of speech may be a more definitive warning sign.
“Our findings suggest that changes in general speech rate may reflect changes in the brain,” said lead author. Jed MeltzerDr. Bryan, a Canada Research Fellow in Interventional Cognitive Neuroscience at Baycrest, press release“This suggests that speech rate should be tested as part of standard cognitive assessments to help clinicians detect cognitive decline earlier and help older adults maintain brain health as they age.”
This study was one of the first to examine both speaking rate and WFD in adults and assessed 125 participants aged between 18 and 90 years.
Study participants completed three assessments, including a picture-naming game in which they answered questions about the pictures while ignoring distracting words played through headphones. For example, they were shown a picture of a mop and asked if it ended in a “p,” while hearing a word like “broom” through the headphones, the press release explained.
“In this way, the researchers were able to test participants’ ability to recognize what the picture was and to recall its name,” the release notes.
Related: These 5 Everyday Habits Could Lower Your Risk of Dementia, According to New Study.
In the second assessment, participants were given one minute to describe two “complex pictures” (60 seconds per picture). Artificial intelligence (AI) analyzed their speech rate and pauses. The third assessment was a standardized test to evaluate intellectual abilities, including executive function.
After completing the three assessments, the researchers were not surprised to find that abilities such as WFD declined with age. What surprised them was that the decline in the ability to recognize and recall the names of objects in pictures do not have It was associated with declines in other intellectual abilities. Moreover, word-finding pauses were not associated with brain health.
“Instead, the speed at which participants named the pictures predicted their general speaking speed, and both were associated with executive function. In other words, it was not pausing to find the word, but the speed of speech during the pauses that showed the strongest association with brain health,” the press release said.
As a result, the researchers argue that a slowing of normal speech may be a more important indicator of cognitive decline than an inability to come up with the words to describe something.
This association requires further study, and the researchers suggest administering the same test to the same participants over several years to determine whether speaking rate is truly a predictor.
