title: Age differences in speech motor performance on a novel speech task.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The study was aimed at characterizing age-related changes in speech motor performance on a nonword repetition task as a function of practice and nonword length and complexity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nonword repetition accuracy, lip aperture coordination, and nonword production durations were assessed on 2 consecutive days for 16 young and 16 elderly participants for the production of 6 novel nonwords increasing in length and complexity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The effect of age on the ability to accurately and rapidly repeat long, complex nonwords was significant. However, the authors found no differences between the speech motor coordinative patterns of young and elderly adults. Further, the authors demonstrated age- and nonword-specific within- and between-session gains in speech motor performance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The authors speculate that cognitive, sensory, and motor factors interact in complex ways in elderly individuals to produce individual differences in nonword repetition ability at the levels of both behavioral and speech motor performance.
authors.affiliation: Correspondence to Neeraja Sadagopan: Neeraja.Sadagopan@colorado.edu.
authors.forename: Neeraja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sadagopan
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008046:Lip / Q000502:physiology; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D010699:Phonation / Q000502:physiology*; D010700:Phonetics; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology*; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: aging; kinematics; nonword repetition; practice; speech motor control; speech motor performance