Dichotic Listening El 100
Dichotic Listening El 100
Dichotic Listening El 100
DICHOTIC LISTENING:
By:
GJ Krashana Flores
Juvy Parungao
Charlon Beltran
October 2021
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Table of Contents
Contents Page
Introduction…………………………………………...………………………..3
Discussion…………………………………………...…………………………5-15
Recommendations………………………………………………..15
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………16
References…………………………………………………………………….19
INTRODUCTION
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Have you ever been mind-blown by the fact that despite its size, the brain has a huge
control over numerous processes of humans' thoughts and actions? Conventionally, it is accepted
that the brain is the most complex and unique organ of the human body. Despite not being
known to many, researchers and scientists have known that two sides of the human brain are not
identical for more than a century already (Rogers, 2003). Some structures may exist on both
sides but still differ in size, making way for the theory of hemispheric specialization or brain
lateralization.
In the mid-eighteenth century, Pierre Paul Broca's research involving a patient who
suffered from speech deficit (aphasia) became one of the first indications of brain lateralization.
Lateralization refers to the specialization of distinct cognitive functions in the brain's regions.
Each brain function is localized either in the left or right hemisphere, dominantly responsible for
performing actions. Relatively, up to the present, there is an unending debate whether the left
hemisphere is really more dominant when it comes to speech perception and production.
In connection to this theory, a test used to investigate the lateralization of brain functions
within the auditory system was developed. According to Donald Broadbent, the human
information processing system has to choose which channel of stimuli to process and which one
to ignore because of its limited capacity. In order to study how humans do this preferential
Dichotic listening is defined as the auditory process that involves listening with both ears.
This broken into two different processes: binaural integration and binaural separation. The ability
to grasp different acoustic messages coming to the left and right ears simultaneously is called
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binaural integration. On the other hand, binaural separation is the ability to perceive an acoustic
message in one ear and ignoring a different acoustic message at the same time. Both ears, outer,
middle, and inner ears must be working properly to perceive the acoustic messages. Most of all,
the auditory brainstem nuclei, auditory cortical neurons, as well as neurons in the corpus
Dichotic listening is employed with the involvement of two different auditory stimuli that
are presented simultaneously to each ear. It is commonly used in experimental and clinical
studies of language asymmetry, or laterality, which can also be used to study the lateralization of
emotion and affect. The findings on the investigation of the functional basis of lateralization in
the auditory modality showed that the human brain has a strong predisposition to process speech
sounds in the left auditory cortex, and acoustic sounds in the right.
The aim of this paper is to provide pieces of evidence that will further strengthen the
theory of brain lateralization. Various sources and studies employing the method of dichotic
listening will be examined to present reliable information. Lastly, this paper will also be
informational and beneficial to diversify the people's knowledge regarding patients with speech
BODY
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In 1950s to 1960s, an American Neuropsychologist named Roger Sperry performed
experiments on cats, monkeys and humans in order to tell the difference between the right and
left hemisphere of the brain. At first, Sperry tested what he knew about the corpus callosum to
the cats and the monkeys. The Corpus Callosum is a neuron that connects both hemispheres of
the brain and he found out that if that neuron gets disconnected, the hemispheres of the brain will
function separately. With the new information, he detected that it helps the animals memorize
twice than before. Later on, Roger Sperry tried it out to humans as a treatment for Epilepsy – a
seizure disorder. He won the Novel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for this Split-Brain
Research that identifies that the hemispheres in human brains had different functions. The left
hemisphere was responsible for language understanding and got the ability to articulate it while
the right hemisphere can recognize words but got no ability for understanding and articulation.
Notwithstanding that Sperry used the vision as a tool to represent the dissimilarity of the
brain’s hemispheres, another psychologist named Donald Broadbent attest the theory of
lateralization through listening. In 1950s, Broadbent introduced and employed the Dichotic
Listening test which determines the assessment of language lateralization on the brain.
Asbjørnsen and Turid (2006) tested out samples of reading-impaired and normal
achieving youths, with the age bracket of 10 to 13 years old, with tests regarding reading skills,
with consonant-vowel syllables is the most used procedure to determine the language
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According to them, it is highly expected that the language scores and the dichotic
listening performance are parallel to each other. Moreover, directing an input to one ear is
believed to be helpful in alleviating random factors so it aids the result to have a concise estimate
that the left hemisphere has the more language capacity. Contralateral control enters the scene as
this explains why the auditory stimuli should enter the right ear in order for the left hemisphere
blocking and changes in the performance can be seen in some clinical samples with impaired
language functions. The findings shows that verbal stimuli is right-ear advantage or REA which
is explained through researches that shows the localization of language-dominant areas in the left
temporal lobe. Ear advantage is the difference in processing ability of the right and left ear. This
affects and shows the hemispheric dominance in terms of language and neurologically based
language disorders.
In this study, they used the Carlsten’s reading test, dichotic listening test, and the
receptive language test. The analyses of data confirmed that the typically developed children
showed improved modulation of the dichotic listening test with right-ear advantage while the
reading impaired group showed no ear advantage to any of the test used. The correlation analyses
presented that there is a higher connection between dichotic listening and language
comprehension instead of reading skills. Moreover, the result shows that language
comprehension is interrelated with the right ear as it shows reports more than the left ear. The
correlation coefficient increased when the forced attention procedure was used which associates
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that the control of attention decreases the arbitrary variability of reporting. As there is a lack of
correlation between the left ear scores and the tests, it only shows that there is a less obvious
relationship between the left ear and the measure of language skills and laterality. This indicates
that the language is more understood and articulated on the left hemisphere (right-ear advantage).
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7135838_Dichotic_listening_performance_predicts_la
nguage_comprehension)
Tanaka, Ross, Kuriki, Harashima, Obuchi, and Okamoto (2021) studied the force of
attention to the right ear as it plays a vital role why listeners report more concise hearing and
understanding on the right ear more than the left ear. They collected a total of 18 Japanese male
consists of passive and active conditions. They prepared a response sheet for those participants in
active condition and they should write down the syllable they’ll hear both from the left and right
ear during the 3 seconds interval while in passive condition, same participants are ought to watch
The analysis of variance or ANOVA shows that the amplitude in the active condition is
much larger than the passive condition. Moreover, the main effect of the lateralization is shown
as the amplitude of the left hemisphere is larger than the right hemisphere. However, the
researchers concluded that the listeners do not pay their 100% attention to the right ear.
Tanaka, Ross, et al., sum it up by saying the left hemisphere is more dominant in majority
of the people when it comes to language representation and they tend to show right-ear
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dominance when reporting speech presented in dichotic listening tasks. Hiscock and Kinsbourne
(2011) stated the among most people, the pathway from the right ear to the left hemisphere is
superior than the pathway from the left ear to the right hemisphere (contralateral projection
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.696263/full#B17)
It is also known that dichotic listening is used in treating patients with neurological
disorders. In the research conducted in Mexico, twenty-seven (27) right-handed patients with
temporal lobe epilepsy were studied. It is found that patients with temporal lobe epilepsy have
researchers also obtained their laterality index based on the number of words perceived in each
ear. Based on the laterality index, 78% of the patients had left hemispheric lateralization of
language.
This research concluded that patient with epilepsy, on the presence of their right-ear helps
them for the perception of word pairs. It indicated a continual pattern that suggests hemispheric
lateralization of language in a patient with epilepsy. It is also said that dichotic listening can be
The theory of lateralization was even more attested by a pilot investigation involving
seven adults who stutter (AWS) and a comparison group of seven adults who do not stutter
(AWNS) was held about the dichotic listening of CV stimuli. It is conducted to show how the
right ear advantage (REA) benefits the AWS and AWNS. This investigation finalized that both
AWS and AWNS benefit the REA. REA is responsible for processing speech information.
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However, they notice a difference between the groups regarding the IID point wherein the REA
shifts to LEA. This means that AWS has a stronger right hemisphere involvement for the
processing of speech compared to AWNS. The groups' similarities and differences observed in
dichotic listening are discussed regarding hemispheric specialization in the processing of speech.
A training of auditory attention with dichotic listening was conducted wherein a total of
26 participants undergo a 4-week dichotic listening training programme. The forced dichotic
listening was done by 13 participants and they were tasked to report syllables presented to the
left ear. Another 13 participants were trained to employ the non-forced instruction and asked to
The training shows that both groups reported more syllables accurately after training. The
increase in the left-ear responses was shown among the forced dichotic listening group while the
non-forced listening group showed an opposite result. Both groups appeared to have a greater
increase in left-ear responses than right-ear responses. They also concluded that top-down
cognitive training can adjust the left-right allocation of auditory spatial attention together with
Reading skill is important in our advanced society. However, it is shown that a tenth of
children are having difficulties in reading and it is said to be linked to attention deficits such as
assess the attention of a selected group of children with and without reading problems as
suggested by ear advantage results in the dichotic listening tasks. The research concluded that
normal readers have a relatively stable baseline REA and in the ViDiLi non-forced dichotic
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listening task but their ear can be affected by some factors such as instructions that make them
focus on a particular ear during dichotic listening, as said by a visually guided dichotic listening
task. On the contrary, children with reading problems show an unstable ear advantage among
Dichotic Listening plays a big role in linguistic and supralinguistic lateralization and
attentional effects. According to the studies, if a listener acquires a standard dichotic speech
signal in each ear, the ear opposing primary language center (can be seen in the left temporal
lobe) will show an advantage (the right ear). On the other hand, if the listener wants to listen and
determine the emotion of emotional-based speech in a dichotic fashion, the left ear will show an
The auditory portion of the corpus callosum of the brain is necessary for the transfer of
dichotic information between auditory and cortical hemispheres as proven in lesion and MRI
studies. Other factors may also affect affects the results of a Dichotic Listening like auditory
memory and motivation to perform the task but it can also be avoided. Dichotic listening is also
linked to educational success and for more than two decades, it is used in diagnostic assessments
Training Program in Improving Dichotic Listening Skills in Children” was conducted in New
Zealand. The study aims to determine the deficits of children identified as being at-risk
educationally. There were 15 children who participated in the research. The children were
identified as exhibiting documented DL (Dichotic Listening) deficits and as being in the lowest
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of 20 % of educational achievers as compared to same-age peers. The participants undergo two
The research used Zoo Caper Skyscraper (ZCS, also known as Zoo Caper). It is a
program that employs an interactive video game and can be played through stereo headphones
that work on Apple iPad app or any internet browser that can be found in standard computer
results indicated that the two pre-treatment measure of DL is similar from each other. A
significant improvement was seen in the left ear during the following training. However, the
number of sessions needed to complete the program did not match up with the degree of
improvement which implies that the need for individualization of treatment recommendations.
Another question that caught our curiosity is, “Do the experience of being a musician for
years influence the lateralization of the brain when it comes to auditory processing?”
Spajdel, Jariabkova, and Riecansky (2007) studied how being a musician affects the
lateralization of auditory stimuli. Musical chords, melodies, environmental sounds, and emotion-
related sounds are usually found on the left-ear advantage in contrast to the usual findings of the
right-ear to left hemisphere pathway being the superior to language capacities. Reports and
studies connected to musicians taking the dichotic listening test is controversial. Some results
found no influence in tonal sequences, chords, syllables, digits or timbre. However, it is reported
that musicians use the right-ear advantage for the perception of melodies while non-musicians
It is also said that both hemispheres got different distinct ways of listening to musical
structures: the analytical way for musicians (supported by left hemisphere) and holistic way for
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non-musicians (supported by right hemisphere). Previous studies conducted, the results show
that musical training could affect the lateralization of language functions. Participants in this
study were tested in an acoustically shielded room and were tasked to report what they will hear
orally. Result says that the presented non-verbal stimuli yielded the left-ear advantage and the
The influence of the musical experience to dichotic listening test can be found on two-
tone sequences and CV syllables but not on environmental sounds and it is only seen on males
and not on females. Male musicians perceived low right-ear advantage for CV syllables, in short,
Lee, Chen, and Schlaug (2003) also reported that the corpus callosum in musicians are
larger than the ones in the non-musicians. It has been presented that lateralization of language to
the left hemisphere is more shown in males than in females. Females outperform males when it
comes to verbal abilities so it can be said that a certain degree of lateralization of the brain, found
in female, might be optimal for language processing. Thus, the study shows a positive result that
being a musician indeed got influence to lateralization and it was determined through dichotic
listening tests. (To see full study, please use this link:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5987298_The_influence_of_musical_experience_on_la
teralisation_of_auditory_processing)
in dichotic listening skills, the capacity to correctly determine what is heard when several noises
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This is a difficult skill for many children to perfectly understand so as a result, there are
existing lapses. Examples of these are being unaware of parental instructions while listening to
music. When there are things going on in the playground but instead, he keeps up with what his
friends are saying. It is about being able to tell which sounds are background noises and tuning
There are tests available if you suspect you have a binaural integration deficit or auditory
divided attention. All of this is categorized as auditory processing disorder (APD). It's all about
how we process information, or what we do with what we hear. Attention, memory, intellect,
hearing, and other skills are among the many that are required for proper auditory processing. It
Processing evaluation, such as a dichotic listening test, is a better option. The Digits Test is one
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An intervention like this focuses on the fundamental skills required to process speech in a
noisy setting. This type of approach is backed by more than 30 years of research. Cognitive
research, linguistics, and natural learning science are all included in the program.
• Words instruct the brain to hear each phoneme more clearly — some youngsters had "fuzzy"
representations of similar-sounding phonemes that have now become more clear — making it
• The brain has been conditioned to process phonemes more quickly, so it does not have to spend
• Because the brain processes information more quickly, it can retain more sounds/words in a
row.
• It is now easier for the brain to pay attention – and hence pick up on the crucial message while
• The ability to maintain attention for listening has improved. In general, the brain is better at
According to Hurley and Billiet's research, this form of training is a perfect fit for adults
who have had a cerebral vascular accident (also known as a stroke in layperson's language).
Auditory training/therapy, on the other hand, is not frequently included in their recovery plans.
People, especially those in the field of medicine, should explore more about how dichotic
listening can be utilized to treat a wide range of disorders. As of now, dichotic listening therapy
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is incorporated in Auditory Rehabilitation for Interaural Assymetry. It is used in treating
Amblyaudia, a condition where a child develops a dominant ear that inhibits sound information
coming from the other side which creates a “lazy ear". This prohibits the ability of the human
brain to accurately process information. If more research studies can be conducted, this method
According to Psychology Dictionary, a person with good auditory skills is able to process
heard information quickly and accurately. A good auditory skill can be attained through listening
or watching informational videos. Being an active listener can help people to enhance their
hearing and communication skills. The same goes with watching. When a person is watching, it
helps them to learn and digest the words used especially the pronunciation they heard from the
video. Watching can also make a person interested or curious about something and by that, they
CONCLUSION
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Donald Broadbent implied the dichotic listening test to fully understand why the human
information processing system has to choose which channel of stimuli to process and which one
Dichotic listening is defined as the auditory process that involves listening with both ears.
This broken into two different processes: binaural integration and binaural separation. The ability
to grasp different acoustic messages coming to the left and right ears simultaneously is called
binaural integration. On the other hand, binaural separation is the ability to perceive an acoustic
message in one ear and ignoring a different acoustic message at the same time. Both ears, outer,
middle, and inner ears must be working properly to perceive the acoustic messages. Most of all,
the auditory brainstem nuclei, auditory cortical neurons, as well as neurons in the corpus
Dichotic listening is employed with the involvement of two different auditory stimuli that
are presented simultaneously to each ear. It is commonly used in experimental and clinical
studies of language asymmetry, or laterality, which can also be used to study the lateralization of
emotion and affect. The findings on the investigation of the functional basis of lateralization in
the auditory modality showed that the human brain has a strong predisposition to process speech
sounds in the left auditory cortex, and acoustic sounds in the right.
In most studies found, the dominance of the right-ear to left hemisphere pathway is
found. It is also shown that most of the verbal stimuli can be found on the right-ear advantage
while the non-verbal stimuli belong to the left-ear advantage. Dichotic listening is used to
determine what hemisphere is dominant among people and to which hemisphere does the
16 | Page
language laterality belong to. Most experiments are done with language-impaired individuals as
participants and it only shows that there is indeed difference on how they perceive the language
heard than those who do not have any records of neurological disorders.
It is also known that dichotic listening is used in treating patients with neurological
disorders. It is found that patients with temporal lobe epilepsy have greater viability in
hemispheric lateralization due to mechanisms of brain plasticity. Patient with epilepsy, on the
presence of their right-ear helps them for the perception of word pairs. It indicated a continual
pattern that suggests hemispheric lateralization of language in a patient with epilepsy. It is also
said that dichotic listening can be used to screen preoperative patients with temporal lobe
epilepsy.
The lateralization of the brain also showed difference in terms of being a musician and a
non-musician. It is found that having musical experience indeed influences the auditory process
of the brain. Lee, Chen, and Schlaug (2003) also reported that the corpus callosum in musicians
are larger than the ones in the non-musicians. It has been presented that lateralization of language
to the left hemisphere is more shown in males than in females. Females outperform males when
it comes to verbal abilities so it can be said that a certain degree of lateralization of the brain,
found in female, might be optimal for language processing. Thus, the study shows a positive
result that being a musician indeed got influence to lateralization and it was determined through
Overall, we can say that this paper proved the lateralization of the brain with the help of
dichotic listening test. It is also shown that majority of the people are more right-ear advantage
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or left hemisphere dominant rather than left-ear advantage or right hemisphere dominant. It is
also proven that the verbal stimuli can be found in the right-ear advantage while non-verbal
stimuli can be found on the left-ear advantage. Some factors such as having neurological
disorders and having experience in music can influence the lateralization of the brain.
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