title: The effects of concurrent cognitive load on phonological processing in adults who stutter.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether phonological processing in adults who stutter (AWS) is disrupted by increased amounts of cognitive load in a concurrent attention-demanding task.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine AWS and 9 adults who do not stutter (AWNS) participated. Using a dual-task paradigm, the authors presented word pairs for rhyme judgments and, concurrently, letter strings for memory recall. The rhyme judgment task manipulated rhyming type (rhyming/nonrhyming) and orthographic representation (similar/dissimilar). The memory recall task varied stimulus complexity (no letters, 3 letters, 5 letters). Rhyme judgment accuracy and reaction time (RT) were used to assess phonological processing, and letter recall accuracy was used to measure memory recall.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For rhyme judgments, AWS were as accurate as AWNS, and the increase in the cognitive load did not affect rhyme judgment accuracy of either group. Significant group differences were found in RTs (delays by AWS were 241 ms greater). RTs of AWS were also slower in the most demanding rhyme condition and varied with the complexity of the memory task. Accuracy of letter recall of AWS was comparatively worse in the most demanding 5-letter condition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Phonological and cognitive processing of AWS is more vulnerable to disruptions caused by increased amounts of cognitive load in concurrent attention-demanding tasks.
authors.affiliation: The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA. jones.1640@osu.edu
authors.forename: Robin M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jacewicz
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001308:Auditory Perceptual Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013342:Stuttering / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult