Objective:
In addition to a gap detection threshold, an auditory gap detection task also provides information on response time. This study investigated the association of response time from an adaptive gap detection task with two validated measures of cognitive processing speed as well as scores from a cognitive screener, while accounting for the effects of age, peripheral hearing ability, and HIV status.
Design:
Participants (age 17-45 years) were from a prospective cohort study in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with normal hearing ability and no reported neurological diseases. The final sample included 283 unique subjects (158 living with HIV, 125 without HIV) matched on age and sex. Multiple linear regression models were employed to assess the relationship between gap response time and cognitive processing speed scores from the Tests of Variables of Attention, Cogstate test battery, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment.
Results:
Regression analysis showed significant relationships between gap response time and all processing speed scores, except one. Age showed varying degrees of association with different processing speed measures, but peripheral hearing ability did not show any significant relationship with speed measures.
Conclusions:
This study identifies a link between cognitive processing speed and gap detection response times. With further validation, gap detection response times could emerge as a straightforward yet informative measure of cognitive processing speed and would expand the clinical usefulness of the gap test. In the audiology clinic, this measure may hold promise as a tool for detecting and monitoring cognitive decline.
