Psychometric and Behavioral Measures of Central Auditory Function: The Relationship between Dichotic Listening and Digit Span Tasks

Authors

Arthur C. Maerlender, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Deborah J. Wallis, Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, New Hampshire
Peter K. Isquith, Dartmouth Medical SchooFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2004

Citation

Child Neuropsychology 10:4 (2004), pp. 318–327;

doi: 10.1080/09297040490909314.

Comments

© 2004 Taylor & Francis Ltd. Used by permission.

Abstract

We hypothesized that the Digit Span (DS) subtest and component tasks (Wechsler, 1991) would show strong relationships with a dichotic listening test (Musiek, 1983). In two sets of archival clinical data (N = 74 and N = 51) we demonstrated that: (a) individuals with central auditory deficits had lower DS scores, F(1, 72) = 7.34, p = .008; η² = .09; and (b) left-ear dichotic deficits impacted forward span, F(2, 48) = 8.45, p = .001. Right-ear dichotic listening performance also accounted for significant vari-ance in digit forward span (R² = 0.17, p = .003). While limited in scope, the studies conclude that forward but not reverse span performance is strongly related to dichotic listening, and can serve as a marker for possible central auditory deficits.