Reduced auditory processing capacity during vocalization in children with Selective Mutism.
BACKGROUND
Because abnormal Auditory Efferent Activity (AEA) is associated with auditory distortions during vocalization, we tested whether auditory processing is impaired during vocalization in children with Selective Mutism (SM).


METHODS
Participants were children with SM and abnormal AEA, children with SM and normal AEA, and normally speaking controls, who had to detect aurally presented target words embedded within word lists under two conditions: silence (single task), and while vocalizing (dual task). To ascertain specificity of auditory-vocal deficit, effects of concurrent vocalizing were also examined during a visual task.


RESULTS
Children with SM and abnormal AEA showed impaired auditory processing during vocalization relative to children with SM and normal AEA, and relative to control children. This impairment is specific to the auditory modality and does not reflect difficulties in dual task per se.


CONCLUSIONS
The data extends previous findings suggesting that deficient auditory processing is involved in speech selectivity in SM.
Arie
Miri
M
Adler Center for Research in Child Development and Psychopathology, Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Henkin
Yael
Y
Lamy
Dominique
D
Tetin-Schneider
Simona
S
Apter
Alan
A
Sadeh
Avi
A
Bar-Haim
Yair
Y
D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006320:Hearing Tests; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009155:Mutism / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology