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Spoken Recall Reveals Lexical and Mnemonic Function Differences in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Patients
Rosenberg AM, Tefera E, Gu Z, Borges H, Mansoor A, Shah T, Capozzi G, Barr WB et al.. bioRxiv, 2026-08-25
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
We examined whether natural language processing and acoustic analysis of spoken biographical recall could identify lexical and temporal speech features associated with language and memory performance in TLE. Results Eighty-one adults participated (51 TLE, 30 HCs). Compared with HCs, participants with TLE produced shorter utterances (5.54 ±2.50 vs. 6.59 ±2.63; Cohen’s d=0.41, 95% CI -0.05 to 0.86, p=0.041), shorter pauses (0.61 ±0.21 vs 0.67 ±0.22, Cohen’s d=0.29, 95% CI -0.16 to 0.74, p=0.043), and more frequent pauses (10.81 ±3.30 vs 9.29 ±3.59, Cohen’s d=-0.45, 95% CI -0.90 to 0.01, p=0.036). Higher education was associated with longer utterances, longer pauses, and lower pause frequency, without evidence of a diagnosis-by-education interaction. Faster utterance rate was associated with better biographical recall in both groups, while higher pause rate was associated with worse recall in TLE. These findings support the potential of automated speech analysis as a digital behavioral biomarker for word-finding difficulty in neurologic populations.
Key findings
- We examined whether natural language processing and acoustic analysis of spoken biographical recall could identify lexical and temporal speech features associated with language and memory performance in TLE.
- Results Eighty-one adults participated (51 TLE, 30 HCs).
- Compared with HCs, participants with TLE produced shorter utterances (5.54 ±2.50 vs. 6.59 ±2.63; Cohen’s d=0.41, 95% CI -0.05 to 0.86, p=0.041), shorter pauses (0.61 ±0.21 vs 0.67 ±0.22, Cohen’s d=0.29, 95% CI -0.16 to 0.74, p=0.043), and more frequent pauses (10.81 ±3.30 vs 9.29 ±3.59, Cohen’s d=-0.45, 95% CI -0.90 to 0.01, p=0.036).
- Higher education was associated with longer utterances, longer pauses, and lower pause frequency, without evidence of a diagnosis-by-education interaction.
- Faster utterance rate was associated with better biographical recall in both groups, while higher pause rate was associated with worse recall in TLE.
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Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 31 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 19 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 31 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (bioRxiv) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 19 / 62 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 19 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 31 out of 100. |
| Total | 31 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Rosenberg, A. M., Tefera, E., Gu, Z., Borges, H., Mansoor, A., Shah, T., et al. (2026). Spoken Recall Reveals Lexical and Mnemonic Function Differences in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Patients. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.08.20.746093
Vancouver
Rosenberg AM, Tefera E, Gu Z, Borges H, Mansoor A, Shah T, et al. Spoken Recall Reveals Lexical and Mnemonic Function Differences in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Patients. bioRxiv. 2026. doi:10.64898/2026.08.20.746093.
BibTeX
@article{rosenberg2026-fc8eb3fa,
author = {Rosenberg, A. M. and Tefera, E. and Gu, Z. and Borges, H. and Mansoor, A. and Shah, T. and Capozzi, G. and Barr, W. B. and others},
title = {{Spoken Recall Reveals Lexical and Mnemonic Function Differences in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Patients}},
journal = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.64898/2026.08.20.746093},
url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.08.20.746093}
}
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