title: Reduced auditory processing capacity during vocalization in children with Selective Mutism.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Adler Center for Research in Child Development and Psychopathology, Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
authors.forename: Miri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arie
authors.forename: Yael
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Henkin
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lamy
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tetin-Schneider
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Apter
authors.forename: Avi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sadeh
authors.forename: Yair
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bar-Haim
mesh_terms: 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