Revealing the mechanism behind word-finding difficulties in older adults as detected by speech analysis software

When we get older, we tend to experience difficulties naming people, locations, and objects around us more frequently. Word-finding difficulties like these are not only sources of frustration but also crucial indications of a general cognitive decline. The company Winterlight Labs developed a software that analyzes natural speech for detection of cognitive decline and found that word-finding difficulties can be important cognitive indications. The proposed project aims at understanding the factors behind word-finding difficulties in aging while evaluating an online word-finding game as a cognitive assessment. The validation of the novel assessment can facilitate early detection of cognitive decline and support Winterlight Labs’ speech analysis technology as a fast, easy, and objective tool for detecting cognitive impairments. (118)

Faculty Supervisor:

Jed Meltzer

Student:

Partner:

WinterLight Labs Inc

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Toronto

Program: