S1E1_Sound Impairment Effects on Cognitive Skill Performance

This podcast describes a pilot study, conducted as part of a larger PhD research project lead by Dr David Ruttenberg. It investigates the impact of irrelevant sound on cognitive performance, specifically in individuals with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) compared to neurotypical (NT) individuals.

The research utilizes Stroop experiments to measure reaction times while participants are exposed to different types of irrelevant sound effects (ISE), including targeted, diffuse, and modulated audio.

The study aims to determine if digital signal processing interventions that alter or attenuate distracting sounds could enhance focus and reduce distractibility and anxiety in autistic individuals, even though initial results suggest the need for a larger sample size to confirm the hypotheses. The findings indicate that while NT individuals generally perform better, autistic participants show greater improvement with interventions that make distracting sounds spatially relevant to the task.