Development of Voice Recognition in Relation to Phonological Awareness and Working Memory From Childhood to Adulthood.

This cross-sectional study investigated the development of voice recognition (VR) from childhood to adulthood and the relationship between VR and two linguistic skills (i.e., phonological awareness [PA] and phonological working memory [PWM]). The participants, comprising 25 children (aged 8-9 years), 25 adolescents (aged 12-13 years), and 26 young adults (aged 18-25 years), were tested on VR and two linguistic skills (PA and PWM). Adults outperformed adolescents, and adolescents outperformed children in all three measures. Additionally, significant correlations between VR and linguistic skills were found only in children and adolescents, but not in adults. VR, PA, and PWM skills are developed throughout childhood and adolescence. Furthermore, there is a maturational trajectory of interplay between voice and linguistic processing that continues into adolescence.