Neural attentional-filter mechanisms of listening success in middle-aged and older individuals

Successful listening depends on attentional filters separating relevant from irrelevant information. This study investigated the interplay of two neural filter strategies – alpha power lateralization and neural speech tracking – and their relationship to listening success in an aging population (N=155; age 39–80 years). Results showed preserved attentional cue-driven modulation of both filters across age and hearing levels. These filters operated independently, representing complementary neurobiological solutions for spatial selective attention. Stronger neural speech tracking, but not alpha lateralization, boosted trial-to-trial behavioral performance, highlighting the translational potential of neural speech tracking as an individualized neural marker of adaptive listening behavior.

Sarah Tune, Mohsen Alavash, Lorenz Fiedler, Jonas Obleser