Talking speed could be an early warning sign of dementia, new study suggests - how fast do you speak?
The speed at which you talk may determine your risk of brain decline, according to new research
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The speed at which you talk may determine your risk of brain decline, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the University of Toronto found that talking pace was a more reliable indicator of brain health than difficulty finding words - a hallmark of ageing.
The findings could pave the way for new tools and screening processes as researchers attempt to stave off dementia.
“Our results indicate that changes in general talking speed may reflect changes in the brain,” said Dr Jed Meltzer, Baycrest’s Canada Research Chair in Interventional Cognitive Neuroscience and the lead author on this study.
“This suggests that talking speed should be tested as part of standard cognitive assessments to help clinicians detect cognitive decline faster and help older adults support their brain health as they age.”
Researchers cannot say whether modifying how fast you talk would bring cognitive benefits
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The results suggest that talking slower may be a more accurate predictor of brain decline than speaking more rapidly and that engaging in the latter may help ward off dementia.
However, the relationship is correlational so researchers cannot say whether modifying how fast you talk would bring cognitive benefits.
How did the researchers gather their findings?
For the study, 125 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 90 completed three different assessments.
The first was a picture-naming game, in which they had to answer questions about pictures while ignoring distracting words they heard through headphones.
For example, when looking at a picture of a mop, they might be asked: “Does it end in ‘p’?” while hearing the word “broom” as a distraction.
In this way, the researchers were able to test the participants’ ability to recognise what the picture was and to recall its name.
Next, participants were recorded as they described two complex pictures for 60 seconds each. Their language performance was then analysed using artificial intelligence-based software, in partnership with Winterlight Labs.
Among other things, researchers examined how fast each participant spoke and how much they paused.
Finally, the research participants completed standard tests to assess mental abilities that tend to decline with age and are linked to dementia risk – namely, executive function, which is the ability to manage conflicting information, stay focused and avoid distractions.
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Memory loss is normally the first sign of dementia but thinking speed can also signal brain decline
GETTY IMAGESAs expected, many abilities declined with age, including word finding speed.
Surprisingly, although the ability to recognise a picture and recall its name both worsened with age, this was not associated with a decline in other mental abilities.The number and length of pauses participants took to find words was not linked to brain health. Instead, how fast participants were able to name pictures predicted how fast they spoke in general, and both were linked to executive function.
In other words, it wasn’t pausing to find words that showed the strongest link to brain health, but the speed of speech surrounding pauses.
Although many older adults are concerned about their need to pause to search for words, these results suggest this is a normal part of ageing.
On the other hand, slowing down of normal speech, regardless of pausing, may be a more important indicator of changes to brain health.
How to spot dementia
It's normal for your memory to be affected by stress, tiredness, certain illnesses and medicines.
"But if you're becoming increasingly forgetful, particularly if you're over the age of 65, it's a good idea to talk to a GP about the early signs of dementia," notes the NHS.
Other signs include problems with:
- Thinking speed
- Mental sharpness and quickness
- Language, such as using words incorrectly, or trouble speaking
- Judgement
- Mood
- Movement
- Daily activities
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