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At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Interhemispheric coordination of premotor neural activity during singing in adult zebra finches.

The song system, a neural network that mediates the learning and production of song by oscine songbirds, is investigated extensively as a model system for understanding the neural basis of complex skill learning. Part of the complexity of birdsong arises from the coordinated recruitment of multiple groups of muscles on both sides of the body. Although the song system is bilaterally organized, little is known about how premotor activities on the two sides are coordinated during singing. We investigated this by unilaterally recording neural activity in the forebrain song nucleus HVc (also known as the high vocal center) during singing and by forcing the premotor activities in the two hemispheres out of synchrony by perturbing neural activity in the contralateral HVc with electrical stimulation. Perturbing the activity in one HVc at any time during a song led to a short-latency readjustment of activity in the contralateral HVc. This readjustment consisted of a true resetting of the temporal pattern of activity in the contralateral HVc rather than merely a transient activity suppression overlaid on an unaltered pattern of premotor activity. These results strongly suggest that the output of song premotor areas in the forebrain is continuously monitored and that an active mechanism exists for resynchronizing the outputs from the two hemispheres whenever their gross temporal patterns differ significantly. The possible anatomical substrates for these coordinating mechanisms and their potential roles in song learning are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Seizures induced by singing and recitation. A unique form of reflex epilepsy in childhood.

A 2-year-old boy of above-average intelligence experienced seizures, manifested by ticlike turning movements of the head, which were induced consistently by his own singing--not by listening to or imagining music. His seizures were also induced by his recitation and by his use of silly or witty language such as punning. The neurologic examination showed only a right-sided Babinski's sign. Seizure activity on an EEG was present in both temporocentral regions, especially on the right side, and was correlated with clinical attacks. A computed tomographic scan was normal. Phenobarbital therapy did not reduce seizure frequency.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed2003

Biomass and exopolysaccharide production in submerged cultures of Pleurotus ostreatoroseus Sing. and Pleurotus ostreatus "florida" (Jack.: Fr.) Kummer.

The species of the genus Pleurotus produce large amounts of biomass and exopolysaccharide (EPS) in submerged cultures, which may be used for biotechnological purposes. In the present work two Brazilian autochthonous strains of edible Pleurotus (P. ostratoroseus Sing. and P. ostreatus "florida") were used. The fungi grown in liquid Potato Dextrose medium (PD) were used as inocula to cultivate those microorganisms in the POL culture medium. After a 9-day incubation, the optimal growth time for biomass production, P. ostreatus "florida" presented higher biomass production (22.8 g d.w./l) than P. ostreatoroseus (16.8 g d.w./l). After a 7-day incubation, the optimal growth time for EPS production, P. ostreatoroseus produced higher amounts of crude EPS (5.8 g d.w./l) than P. ostreatus "florida" (1.4 g d.w./l). Relative carbohydrate composition for P. ostreatoroseus and P. ostreatus "florida" EPS were: glucose (95.5-87.7), galactose (traces - 4.9), mannose (traces - 3.1), xylose (1.3-2.5), and arabinose (3.2-1.8). Lower ammonium sulfate concentration in the POL culture medium increased the exopolysaccharides production by P. ostreatoroseus.

Ammonium Sulfate↗
PubMed2006

Annual cycle of the black-capped chickadee: seasonality of singing rates and vocal-control brain regions.

Black-capped chickadees have a rich vocal repertoire including learned calls and the learned fee-bee song. However, the neural regions underlying these vocalizations, such as HVC, area X, and RA (robust nucleus of arcopallium), remain understudied. Here, we document seasonal changes in fee-bee song production and show a marked peak in singing rate during March through May. Despite this, we found only minimal seasonal plasticity in vocal control regions of the brain in males. There was no significant effect of time of year on the size of HVC, X, or RA in birds collected in January, April, July, and October. We then pooled birds into two groups, those with large testes (breeding condition) and those with small testes (nonbreeding), regardless of time of year. Breeding birds had slightly larger RA, but not HVC or X, than nonbreeding birds. Breeding birds had slightly larger HVC and RA, but not X, as a proportion of telencephalon volume than did nonbreeding birds. Birds collected in July had heavier brains than birds at other times of year, and had the greatest loss in brain mass during cryoprotection. The absence of any overall seasonal change in the vocal-control regions of chickadees likely results from a combination of individual differences in the timing of breeding phenology and demands on the vocal-control regions to produce learned calls year-round.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

The effect of variability in the food supply on the daily singing routines of European robins: a test of a stochastic dynamic programming model.

A stochastic dynamic programming (SDP) model offers a general explanation of daily singing routines in birds, but remains almost untested empirically. I examined a central prediction of the SDP model, that a more variable food supply decreases the bird's song output at dawn, relative to its song output at dusk. I provided supplementary food to make the food supply more or less variable over 2-week periods in the territories of free-living European robins Erithacus rubecula. Robins sang relatively less at dawn than at dusk after weeks in which their supplementary food supply was variable, and more at dawn than at dusk after weeks in which their food supplementation was constant. These results provide strong support for the prediction of the SDP model. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1997

High testosterone prior to song crystallization inhibits singing behavior in captive yearling dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis).

In passerine birds, song is considered crucial in advertising reproductive and territorial status to conspecifics. Variation in the quality and frequency of song may be influenced by hormonal effects during the individual's development. This variation in turn may affect the function and potency of song. We studied the influence of testosterone on vocal production in first-year male dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis), using subcutaneous silastic implants filled with testosterone. Subjects were visually but not acoustically isolated from one another and after capture had no exposure to female or adult male models. Implants were administered when subjects were in the plastic song phase (i.e., after they had begun to sing but before song was fully crystallized). Control males (C males) received empty implants. Experimental males were of two classes: TI males received one dose of testosterone (a single 10-mm implant), and TII males received two doses. Testosterone implants kept plasma levels high well into the breeding season, whereas in nature, levels normally drop after territorial acquisition and pair formation. Control males sang at higher rates than testosterone-treated males of both classes and had the greatest number of song types. This inhibitory effect of testosterone on vocal production suggests that disturbance of seasonal profiles of testosterone in birds may interfere with the production of species-typical song.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Testosterone increases singing and aggression but not male-typical sexual partner preference in early estrogen treated female zebra finches.

Female zebra finches given estradiol benzoate (EB) as nestlings and testosterone propionate (TP) as adults show masculinized sexual partner preference, preferring females instead of males. This suggests an organizational effect of EB on sexual partner preference in a socially monogamous species that pairs for life. It is not known whether there is an activational hormone effect on sexual partner preference in this species, or whether adult testosterone treatment is necessary for masculinized preference to be expressed. In this experiment females were injected with EB daily for the first 2 weeks posthatching. As adults they were given TP filled or empty implants. Subjects were then given two-choice preference tests with male vs female stimuli, in which singing as well as proximity to the stimuli was recorded, followed by tests in a group aviary for social behavior and pairing preference. Females with TP implants sang more than females with empty implants and were more aggressive toward other females. They did not, however, differ from females with empty implants in any measure of sexual partner preference. Neither group showed a marked preference for males; instead both groups were equally interested in males and females. Thus adult testosterone treatment is not necessary for early estrogen treated females to show a shift in sexual partner preference in the male-typical direction.

Aggression↗
PubMed1989

Neural activity pattern is not necessary for the development of adult ultrastructure in katydid (Neoconocephalus robustus) singing muscles.

The singing muscles of the katydid Neoconocephalus robustus develop adult ultrastructure late in the last nymphal instar and during the first few days of adult life. The ultrastructural changes during early adulthood were not affected by unilateral axotomy shortly after the adult molt. Both denervated and innervated muscles developed adult proportions of mitochondria, myofibril, and sarcoplasmic reticulum and transverse tubules.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Regional cerebral blood flow for singers and nonsingers while speaking, singing, and humming a rote passage.

Two groups of singers (n = 12,13) and a group of nonsingers (n = 12) each produced the national anthem by (1) speaking and (2) singing the words and by (3) humming the melody. Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured at rest and during each phonation task from seven areas in each hemisphere by the 133Xe-inhalation method. Intrahemisphere, interhemisphere, and global rCBF were generally similar across phonation tasks and did not yield appreciable differences among the nonsingers and the singers.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Implication of central neurohypophyseal hormone receptor-mediated action in timing of reproductive events: evidence from novel observations on the effect of a vasotocin analogue on singing behaviour of the canary.

A highly discrete distribution of neurohypophyseal hormone receptors was discovered in the mammalian and avian brain. These receptors are heterogeneous. In rat brain oxytocin (OT) and V1a receptors can be distinguished which bind OT with an order of magnitude difference in affinity and which are located in discrete sites of the limbic-midbrain circuitry. In the brain of the canary low and high affinity vasotocin (VT) sites were identified; the latter putative VT receptors were found exclusively localized in the area encapsulating the nucleus robustus archistriatalis (RA). We show with recordings of singing behaviour that a VT analogue promotes the chain of seasonal events in this behaviour.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Voice onset time for female trained and untrained singers during speech and singing.

UNLABELLED: The purpose of this study was to examine the voice onset times of female trained and untrained singers during spoken and sung tasks. Thirty females were digitally recorded speaking and singing short phrases containing the English stop consonants /p/ and /b/ in the word-initial position. Voice onset time was measured for each phoneme and statistically analyzed. Mixed-ANOVAs revealed significantly longer voice onset time durations during speech for /p/ as compared to sung productions. No significant differences between the trained singers and untrained singers were observed. In addition, no task differences occurred for the /b/ productions. The results indicated that the type of phonatory task influences VOT for voiceless stops in females. LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of this activity, the reader will be able to (1) understand articulatory and phonatory differences between spoken and sung productions; (2) understand the articulatory and phonatory timing differences between trained singers and untrained singers during spoken and sung productions.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Metabolomic discrimination of different grades of pine-mushroom (Tricholoma matsutake Sing.) using 1H NMR spectrometry and multivariate data analysis.

Metabolomic analysis of raw and cooked pine-mushrooms (Tricholoma matsutake Sing.) of different grades was performed using (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry and principal component analysis (PCA). PCA of the (1)H NMR spectra of aqueous fractions allowed different grades of raw pine-mushroom to be discriminated by a combination of principal component (PC) 1 and PC 2, which accounted cumulatively for 94.1% of the variation in all variables. The major peaks in the (1)H NMR spectra that contributed to discrimination of raw mushrooms were assigned to choline, trehalose, threonine, leucine/isoleucine, succinic acid, alanine, and fumaric acid. The combination of PC 1 (70.8%) and PC 3 (7.5%) allowed different grades of cooked pine-mushroom to be discriminated, and the major peaks in the (1)H NMR spectra that contributed to discrimination of cooked mushrooms were assigned to succinic acid, trehalose, and fumaric acid. This metabolomic analysis-based method allows different grades of pine-mushroom to be distinguished without any prepurification.

Agaricales↗
PubMed2004

The relationship between measured vibrato characteristics and perception in Western operatic singing.

This study examined the association between acoustic and perceptual data related to vibrato in Western operatic singing using recordings of performances by internationally famous opera singers. Three related studies were conducted. Study 1 used commercial recordings of the same five singers and the same cadenza examined by Siegwart and Scherer(1), measured vibrato rate and extent in each singer's performance of the cadenza and tested possible associations between these vibrato attributes and judges' preference for singers. Studies 2 and 3, using recordings of different internationally famous singers and a different cadenza, measured vibrato onset, rate, and extent in each singer's performance of the cadenza, required judges to rank the singers in order of personal preference, to identify the emotion expressed, and to assess the degree of success in communicating emotion achieved by the singer. The findings showed that the perception of the singers' vibrato did not always agree with acoustic measurements. However, a comparison of the acoustic measurements with the preference and emotion judgments suggest that some elements of vibrato may affect listeners' perception of the voice, their preference for a particular singer, and assist the communication of emotion between singer and audience.

Acoustics↗
PubMed2005

Evaluating the influence of warmup on singing voice quality using acoustic measures.

Vocal warmup is generally accepted as vital for singing performance. However, only a limited number of studies have evaluated this effect quantitatively. In this study, we evaluated the effect of vocal warmup on voice production, among young female singers, using a set of acoustic parameters. Warmup reduced frequency-perturbation (p < 0.001) and amplitude-perturbation values (p < 0.05). In addition, warmup increased singer's formant amplitude (p < 0.05) and improved noise-to-harmonic ratio (p < 0.05). Tone-matching accuracy, however, was not affected by warmup. The effect of vocal warmup on frequency-perturbation parameters was more evident among mezzo-soprano singers than it was among soprano singers. It was also more evident in the low pitch-range than in the higher pitch-ranges (p < 0.05). The results of this study provide valid support for the advantageous effect of vocal warmup on voice quality and present acoustic analysis as a valuable and sensitive tool for quantifying this effect.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Comparisons of voice onset time for trained male singers and male nonsingers during speaking and singing.

This study was designed to examine the temporal acoustic differences between male trained singers and nonsingers during speaking and singing across voiced and voiceless English stop consonants. Recordings were made of 5 trained singers and 5 nonsingers, and acoustically analyzed for voice onset time (VOT). A mixed analysis of variance showed that the male trained singers had significantly longer mean VOT than did the nonsingers during voiceless stop production. Sung productions of voiceless stops had significantly longer mean VOTs than did the spoken productions. No significant differences were observed for the voiced stops, nor were any interactions observed. These results indicated that vocal training and phonatory task have a significant influence on VOT.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2006

Experimental findings on the nasal tract resonator in singing.

SUMMARY: Many professional operatic singers sing the vowel /a/ with a velopharyngeal opening.(1) Here resonatory effects of such an opening are analyzed. On the basis of CAT scan imaging of a baritone singer's vocal tract and nasal cavity system, including the maxillary sinuses, acoustic epoxy models were constructed, in which velopharyngeal openings were modeled by different tubes. The sound transfer characteristics of this model were determined by means of sine-tone sweep measurements. In an idealized (iron tube) model, the VPO introduced a zero in the transfer function at the frequency of the nasal resonance. In the epoxy models, however, the resonances of the nasal system, and hence the zero, were heavily damped, particularly when the maxillary sinuses were included in the nasal system. A velopharyngeal opening was found to attenuate the first formant in /a/, such that the relative level of the singer's formant increased. A similar effect was observed in a modified epoxy model shaped to approximate the vocal tract of an /u/ and an /i/, although it also showed a substantial widening of the first formant bandwidth. Varying the size of the velopharyngeal opening affected the transfer function only slightly. It seems likely that singers can enhance higher spectrum partials by a careful tuning of a velopharyngeal opening.

Humans↗
PubMed2006

The effects of a third generation combined oral contraceptive pill on the classical singing voice.

The success of professional operatic singers depends upon the quality of their vocal mechanism. This is known to be sensitive to changes in the endocrine environment. Despite a widespread belief among singers that vocal quality changes according to the stage of the menstrual cycle, this has received little attention. In particular, the possibility that use of the contraceptive pill might stabilize vocal quality by "dampening" hormonal fluctuations has not previously been studied systematically. Here, we show that drospirenone containing oral contraceptive pill (Yasmin, Schering AG, West Sussex, UK) with antiandrogenic and antimineralocorticoid properties demonstrates a significant reduction in the irregularity of the pattern of vibration of the vocal folds during the performance of highly trained classical singers. This study constitutes the first double blind, randomized placebo controlled trial to assess the effects of the contraceptive pill on the patterns of vibration of the vocal folds during the performance of Western classical singing repertoire.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

A beta-D-glucan from the sclerotia of Pleurotus tuber-regium (Fr.) Sing.

An alkali-soluble polysaccharide (Hunai polysaccharide, 1) from the fruit body of Pleurotus tuber-regium (Fr.) Sing was shown to be homogeneous by gel permeation chromatography and its molecular weight was approximately 4.3 x 10(5). Complete acid hydrolysis, periodate oxidation, Smith degradation, methylation, FT-IR and 13C NMR analysis, complex formation with Congo Red, indicated that 1 has a beta-(1 --> 3)-linked D-glucopyranosyl backbone with a single beta-D-glucopyranosyl group at O-6 of every third glucose residue.

Carbohydrate Conformation↗