Spoken Word Recognition as a Function of Age and Musicianship

BACKGROUND: A variety of factors influence a person's language abilities. We investigated possible relationships between age, musicianship, and spoken word recognition. METHODS: Participants heard words and nonwords in the presence of background noise and made lexical decision responses. Participants were categorized as either a musician or a nonmusician. RESULTS: Results indicate that both younger and older adult musicians had more efficient responses than nonmusicians. Participants were more efficient at responding to easy than hard words. Interestingly, older adults had significantly more accurate responses than younger adults. CONCLUSIONS: The results further our understanding of the connections between age, musicianship, and spoken word recognition.