Subtle changes in speech may help predict dementia risk

Pam BelluckNew York Times·14 Nov, 2026 03:00 AM9 mins to readBrian Richburg, right, senior research operations manager in Dr Marziye Eshghi's lab, shows Deb a screen that tracked some of her mouth and jaw movements. Research is analysing subtle aspects of how people talk and speech-related movements like chewing and swallowing to try to help predict the risk of developing dementia. Photo / Cassandra Klos, The New York TimesSignals can be detected in the way people talk years before symptoms of cognitive decline emerge, researchers are finding.It’s not every day that a 76-year-old woman is asked to talk nonsense – repeating “ga ba da” and “ka pa ta” as fast as she can. All with sensors affixed