Scientific Learning Corporation

Athanassios Protopapas

Michael M Merzenich

Srikantan Nagarajan

Beverly A Wright

Steven Lamont Miller

Bret Edward Peterson

Merav Ahissar

The present invention provides an improved method and apparatus for the identification and treatment of language perception problems in specific language impaired (SLI) individuals. The invention provides a method and apparatus for screening individuals for SLI and training individuals who suffer from SLI to remediate the effects of the impairment by using the spectral content of interfering sound stimuli and the temporal ordering or direction of the interference between the stimuli.

Method and apparatus for diagnosing and remediating language-based learning impairments

An apparatus and method for screening an individual's ability to process acoustic events is provided. The invention provides sequences (or trials) of acoustically processed target and distractor phonemes to a subject for identification. The acoustic processing includes amplitude emphasis of selected frequency envelopes, stretching (in the time domain) of selected portions of phonemes, and phase adjustment of selection portions of phonemes relative to a base frequency. After a number of trials, the method of the present invention develops a profile for an individual that indicates whether the individual's ability to process acoustic events is within a normal range, and if not, what processing can provide the individual with optimal hearing. The individual's profile can then be used by a listening or processing device to particularly emphasize, stretch, or otherwise manipulate an audio stream to provide the individual with an optimal chance of distinguishing between similar acoustic events.

Apparatus for enhancing phoneme differences according to acoustic processing profile for language learning impaired subject

A listener's ability to recognize and identify similar sounds is improved by forming exaggerated sounds which differ in spectral/temporal energy distribution from one another more than the similar sounds differ from one another and in generally the same way in which the similar sounds differ and testing the listener's ability to recognize and identify the exaggerated sounds. The exaggerated sounds are formed as follows: The similar sounds are spectrally transformed into a coordinate space and a linear function is projected between a pair of points representing the similar sounds in the coordinate space. Between the pair of points, the linear function represents a continuum of sounds between the similar sounds. To exaggerate the sounds, points are extrapolated outward from the pair of points along the linear function. An inverse transformation is applied to the extrapolated points to produce exaggerated sounds which differ from one another more than the similar sounds differ and in generally the same way that the similar sounds differ. Filtering extrapolation coefficients before extrapolating and filtering inverse transformation coefficients before applying the inverse transform provide pleasant, naturally sounding exaggerated sound.

Aural training method and apparatus to improve a listener's ability to

Method and apparatus for diagnosing and remediating language-based

Universal screen for language learning impaired subjects

A listener's ability to recognize and identify similar sounds is improved by testing the listener's ability to recognize and identify exaggerated sounds that are formed from pairs of similar sounds. The exaggerated sounds differ from one another in spectral/temporal energy distribution more that the similar sounds differ from one another and in generally the same way in which the similar sounds differ. The exaggerated sounds are formed as follows: the similar sounds are spectrally transformed into a coordinate space and a linear function is projected between a pair of points. To exaggerate the sounds, points are extrapolated outward from the pair of points along a linear function. The listener is challenged to repeatedly identify each of the exaggerated sounds. When the listener has demonstrated proficiency, the degree to which the exaggerated sounds differ from the similar sounds is reduced and the listener is again challenged.

Method and apparatus that exaggerates differences between sounds to

A computer-implemented method for predicting, diagnosing and/or treating reading deficit in a human being is disclosed. The method includes generating a set of tonal stimuli, which includes at least a first tonal stimulus and a second tonal stimulus. The first tonal stimulus is separated from the second tonal stimulus by an interval. The computer-implemented method further includes providing the set of tonal stimuli to the human being and receiving a response from the human being. The response from the human being indicates a perception by the human being pertaining to the set of tonal stimuli. Further, the computer-implemented method includes ascertaining a first parameter pertaining to the set of tonal stimuli at which the response is inaccurate. The first parameter is one of a frequency parameter and a time parameter. The first parameter indicates that the human is susceptible to the reading deficit if the first parameter is above a predefined parameter value.

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Athanassios Protopapas