Age-related hearing loss associated with altered response efficiency and variability on a visual sustained attention task

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the association between age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and differences in response efficiency and variability on a sustained attention task. The study population comprised 32 participants in a hearing loss group (HLG) and 34 controls without hearing loss (CG). Mean reaction time (RT) and accuracy were recorded to assess response efficiency. RT variability was decomposed to examine temporal aspects of variability associated with neural arousal and top-down executive control of vigilant attention. The HLG had a significantly longer mean RT, possibly reflecting a strategic approach to maintain accuracy. The HLG also demonstrated altered variability (indicative of greater decline in neural arousal) but maintained executive control that was significantly predictive of poorer response efficiency. Adults with ARHL may rely on higher-order attention networks to compensate for decline in both peripheral sensory function and in subcortical arousal systems which mediate lower-order automatic neurocognitive processes.     

Truth Values and the Value of Truth

This paper explores the ways in which truth is better than falsehood, and suggests that, among other things, it depends on the kinds of proposition to which these values are attached. Ordinary singular propositions like "It is raining" seem to fit best the bivalent "scheme" of classical logic, the general proposition "It is always raining" is more appropriately rated according to how often it rains, and a "practically vague" proposition like "The lecture will start at 1" is appropriately rated according to its nearness to exactness. Implications for logic of this "rating system" are commented on.