Auditory Brainstem Encoding of Speech-in-Noise Predicts Word Identification, Narrative Comprehension, and Subjective Listening Effort in a Selective Attention Task
- 1University of Memphis;
- 2University of California, Davis
Abstract
The auditory brainstem plays a crucial role in speech-in-noise listening, refining numerous acoustic features such as pitch and spatial location under continual descending influence from cortex. However, the difficulty of characterizing brainstem activity during continuous speech listening has obscured its functional role in ecologically valid contexts—not only the effects of selective attention on neural responses, but also their impact on comprehension and listening effort. Here, we evaluate the role of the brainstem on speech-in-noise perception and selective attention using a continuous, speech-based stimulus with embedded chirps (Cheech) that rapidly and effectively evokes auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) while participants listen to short story narratives. The Cheech-modified stories were presented alone or in the presence of another spatially separated talker, and neural responses were measured throughout by EEG. Both word-level detection performance and narrative-level comprehension were evaluated, as well as subjective reports of listening effort. ABR wave V was modulated by the presence of a competing talker, selective attention for the target versus masker, and the talker sex. Additionally, faster wave V peak latencies and larger amplitudes were associated with identification of the target words embedded within the stories, while faster latencies additionally related to better comprehension question accuracy and lower subjective listening effort. Collectively, our results provide evidence for the influence of brainstem encoding processes on individual speech-listening behaviors, including the ability to selectively attend to and comprehend target speech in the presence of a competing talker. Significance statement This study highlights the crucial role of the brainstem in speech-in-noise perception and higher-level language abilities like comprehension and subjective listening effort. Through the use of a novel speech stimulus blended with embedded chirps (Cheech) to evoke brainstem responses while listening to short story narratives, we show how selective attention influences subcortical processes. Faster and more robust subcortical processes, in turn, were associated with more successful speech-listening performance across multiple behavioral metrics. These findings advance our understanding of how the brainstem supports selective attention and speech perception in challenging listening environments.
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BibTeX
@article{mankel2026auditory,
title = {{Auditory Brainstem Encoding of Speech-in-Noise Predicts Word Identification, Narrative Comprehension, and Subjective Listening Effort in a Selective Attention Task}},
author = {Kelsey Mankel and Daniel C. Comstock and Brett M. Bormann and Soukhin Das and Doron Sagiv and Hilary Brodie and Lee M. Miller},
journal = {eNeuro},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1523/eneuro.0272-25.2026},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1523/eneuro.0272-25.2026},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Auditory Brainstem Encoding of Speech-in-Noise Predicts Word Identification, Narrative Comprehension, and Subjective Listening Effort in a Selective Attention Task
AU - Kelsey Mankel
AU - Daniel C. Comstock
AU - Brett M. Bormann
AU - Soukhin Das
AU - Doron Sagiv
AU - Hilary Brodie
AU - Lee M. Miller
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/14
JO - eNeuro
DO - 10.1523/eneuro.0272-25.2026
UR - https://doi.org/10.1523/eneuro.0272-25.2026
AB - The auditory brainstem plays a crucial role in speech-in-noise listening, refining numerous acoustic features such as pitch and spatial location under continual descending influence from cortex. However, the difficulty of characterizing brainstem activity during continuous speech listening has obscured its functional role in ecologically valid contexts—not only the effects of selective attention on neural responses, but also their impact on comprehension and listening effort. Here, we evaluate the role of the brainstem on speech-in-noise perception and selective attention using a continuous, speech-based stimulus with embedded chirps (Cheech) that rapidly and effectively evokes auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) while participants listen to short story narratives. The Cheech-modified stories were presented alone or in the presence of another spatially separated talker, and neural responses were measured throughout by EEG. Both word-level detection performance and narrative-level comprehension were evaluated, as well as subjective reports of listening effort. ABR wave V was modulated by the presence of a competing talker, selective attention for the target versus masker, and the talker sex. Additionally, faster wave V peak latencies and larger amplitudes were associated with identification of the target words embedded within the stories, while faster latencies additionally related to better comprehension question accuracy and lower subjective listening effort. Collectively, our results provide evidence for the influence of brainstem encoding processes on individual speech-listening behaviors, including the ability to selectively attend to and comprehend target speech in the presence of a competing talker. Significance statement This study highlights the crucial role of the brainstem in speech-in-noise perception and higher-level language abilities like comprehension and subjective listening effort. Through the use of a novel speech stimulus blended with embedded chirps (Cheech) to evoke brainstem responses while listening to short story narratives, we show how selective attention influences subcortical processes. Faster and more robust subcortical processes, in turn, were associated with more successful speech-listening performance across multiple behavioral metrics. These findings advance our understanding of how the brainstem supports selective attention and speech perception in challenging listening environments.
SN - 2373-2822
ER -