The time course of auditory perceptual learning: neurophysiological changes during speech-sound training.

Here we report that training-associated changes in neural activity can precede behavioral learning. This finding suggests that speech-sound learning occurs at a pre-attentive level which can be measured neurophysiologically (in the absence of a behavioral response) to assess the efficacy of training. Children with biologically based perceptual learning deficits as well as people who wear cochlear implants or hearing aids undergo various forms of auditory training. The effectiveness of auditory training can be difficult to assess using behavioral methods because these populations are communicatively impaired and may have attention and/or cognitive deficits. Based on our findings, if neurophysiological changes are seen during auditory training, then the training method is effectively altering the neural representation of the speech/sounds and changes in behavior are likely to follow.