Kyoto University · Psychology
Professor Kaoru Sekiyama's research lab specializes in auditory-visual speech perception, with a focus on cross-linguistic differences in speech processing, particularly between Japanese and English. The lab investigates how visual speech cues influence auditory perception, especially in aging populations and in the context of audiovisual integration. A key theme is the impact of musical training on cognitive development in children and cognitive preservation in older adults, often exploring neuroplasticity through short-term instrumental interventions. The lab combines behavioral experiments with neuroimaging techniques to examine neural mechanisms underlying speech perception and cognitive function.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
The McGurk effect is a phenomenon that demonstrates a perceptual fusion between auditory and visual (lip-read) information in speech perception under the condition of audio-visual discrepancy, created by dubbed video tapes. This paper investigated whether or not the McGurk effect could be extended to Japanese subjects listening to Japanese syllables of different auditory intelligibility. The audio and video signal of a female talker’s speech for ten Japanese syllables (/ba/, /pa/, /ma/, /wa/, /d
The McGurk effect paradigm was used to examine the developmental onset of inter-language differences between Japanese and English in auditory-visual speech perception. Participants were asked to identify syllables in audiovisual (with congruent or discrepant auditory and visual components), audio-only, and video-only presentations at various signal-to-noise levels. In Experiment 1 with two groups of adults, native speakers of Japanese and native speakers of English, the results on both percent v
Two experiments compared young and older adults in order to examine whether aging leads to a larger dependence on visual articulatory movements in auditory-visual speech perception. These experiments examined accuracy and response time in syllable identification for auditory-visual (AV) congruent and incongruent stimuli. There were also auditory-only (AO) and visual-only (VO) presentation modes. Data were analyzed only for participants with normal hearing. It was found that the older adults were
Previous studies have reported that music training not only improves children's musical skills, but also enhances their cognitive functions. However, there is a disagreement about what domain(s) might be affected. Moreover, effects of short-term (<several months) instrumental training have not been examined, although more basic studies have suggested neuroplasticity within several weeks. Consequently, the present exploratory pilot study investigated the effect of a six-week instrumental practice
In English speaking cultures, it has been reported that when auditory speech is presented in synchrony with discrepant visual (lip-read) speech, the subjects often report hearing sounds that integrate information from the two modalities (the “McGurk effect”). However, Sekiyama and Tohkura recently showed that Japanese subjects are less influenced by discrepant visual cues than Americans. This study examined the interlanguage differences in terms of the relationship between the magnitude of the M
Previous studies indicate that musical instrument training may improve the cognitive function of older adults. However, little is known about the neural origins of training-related improvement in cognitive function. Here, we assessed the effects of instrumental training program on cognitive functions and neural efficiency in musically naïve older adults (61-85 years old). Participants were assigned to either the intervention group, which received a 4-month instrumental training program using key
This study examined exercise intervention effects on older adults' brain structures and function. Brain data were analyzed from 47 healthy adults between 61 and 82 years of age who, in a previous study, showed cognitive improvement following a 3-month intervention. The participants were assigned to a motor exercise intervention group (n = 24), performing exercise training programs for a 12-week period, or a waiting control group (n = 23), abstaining from any exercise program. Structural analysis
This study compared 30 older musicians and 30 age-matched non-musicians to investigate the association between lifelong musical instrument training and age-related cognitive decline and brain atrophy (musicians: mean age 70.8 years, musical experience 52.7 years; non-musicians: mean age 71.4 years, no or less than 3 years of musical experience). Although previous research has demonstrated that young musicians have larger gray matter volume (GMV) in the auditory-motor cortices and cerebellum than
In this paper we review research by us and others on the development of auditory-visual speech perception in order to draw out issues of interest, pinpoint unanswered questions, and highlight future research directions. Studies using the McGurk Effect have shown that Japanese adults use visual speech information less than do English language adults. Infants perceive the McGurk Effect, and for English language children, it appears that auditory-visual speech perception improves over age, especial
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