Introduction: Cognitive, temporal and phonemic processing are different terms applied to language and, in particular, reading- writing processing.
Objective: To test whether temporal, phonemic, and cognitive processing are interrelated. Methods. After medical screening, 36 subjects with phonemic difficulties, 7 to 14 years-old, boy/ girl ratio of 2:1, were selected with phonemic processing tests. For every subject, two normal controls were also selected with the same phonemic tests. DN:CAS cognitive battery for diagnosing of cognitive processing was administered to the subjects and both subjects and controls were examined with an acoustic temporal processing test made in laboratory. This consisted of two kinds of items, syllables with transition period of 40 milliseconds and another longer one. Proportions and means were statistically analyzed. Factorial analysis was applied to scores in DN:CAS and syllabic acoustic tests.
Results: When compared to the controls, the subjects made more errors in the acoustic test (z=6.73; p<0.000). The DN:CAS mean obtained by the subjects was lower than the standardized group (t=6.73; p=0.001). The factorial analysis accounting for 77% of the variance identified the acoustic test as a sequential processing test.
Conclusions: Arguments are presented that suggest that phonemic, temporal, and cognitive processing may be different expressions of the same central neurological mechanism regardless of the age. This implies diagnostic and therapeutic considerations. On the other hand, the acoustic test is suggested as a useful test in assessing cognitive function.