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Investigating the effects of vasodilator drugs on the turbulent sound caused by femoral artery stenosis using short-term Fourier and wavelet transform methods.

In this study, the effects of vasodilator drugs on the turbulent sound generation mechanisms during femoral artery stenoses were investigated using the wavelet analysis of the turbulent sounds to characterize these sounds before and after the injection of vasodilator drugs. Results showed that the injection of drugs drastically improved the diagnostic performance of the turbulent sounds in detecting stenoses by increasing the signal-to-noise ratio of the sounds. Results also suggested that the sound above 250 Hz was drastically increased in response to the injection of the vasodilator drug for the partially occluded cases. The turbulence sounds caused by partially occluded femoral arteries are directly related to the slope of baseline of blood flow and to the velocity of the flow. For the 0% occlusion case, initially, sounds were produced with the injection of drugs. However, the sounds totally disappeared when the slope of average blood flow was zero. These results show that the diagnostic performance of diastolic heart sounds associated with occluded arteries can be improved by using vasodilator drugs, which increase the acoustic energy in the first and second wavelet bandwidths due to the turbulence. The short-term Fourier transform (STFT) method was also applied to the same data base. Results using the STFT showed somewhat similar power distributions in that the acoustical power above 250 Hz was increased after the injection of drugs for the occluded cases. However, the WT method provided better time-frequency resolution than the STFT method, showing details of the change in the frequency characteristics with respect to time after the injection of drug.

Animals↗

Mechanism of sound absorption by seated audience in halls.

Four methods are explored for predicting the reverberation times in fully occupied halls for music as related to the sound absorption by their audiences. The methods for providing audience absorptions include two that use reverberation chambers, namely, the ISO 354 method (and other similar standards) (ISO) and Kath and Kuhl's method (K & K) [Acustica 15, 127-131 (1965)], and two that use average data from halls, i.e., Beranek's method (COH) [Concert and Opera Halls: How They Sound (Acoustical Society of America, Melville, NY, 1996)], and the average audience power-per-seat absorption which in practice is multiplied by the number of seats (AA). These methods are applied to the calculation of reverberation times in six existing halls, fully occupied, and the results were compared with actual measurements. The COH method was best for predictions over the entire frequency range. The K & K method showed the highest accuracy at mid-frequencies. Both the ISO and the K & K methods yielded wide differences for the measurements in the 125- and 250-Hz bands. The AA method was as good as the COH method when the measurements for the six halls were averaged, but showed a wide spread in the predictions around the average because it does not consider the degree of upholstering of the seats. It was hypothecated by the authors that the principal reasons for the ISO and K & K discrepancies at low frequencies were (a) differences between the degree of sound diffusion in actual halls and that in reverberation chambers, and (b) lack of information on the mechanisms of absorption of sound by people seated side-by-side in rows, particularly for near-grazing incidence sound fields. First, this article explores the sound diffusivity in a reverberation chamber and in the halls using CAD models. A probability density function of the incident angles of the sound rays that impinge on the audiences is defined and was measured for each case. Using a unique method, the sound absorption coefficient of each portion of the body and chair in a seated audience was determined in an anechoic chamber as a function of the incident angle of a sound wave. With adjustments from these findings, the K & K method can be made to equal the COH method in accuracy at all frequencies. Its forte is that it can be used for the determination of the sound absorption of occupied chairs from measurements of a limited number in a reverberation chamber.

Journal Article↗

Binaural neurons in the mustache bat's inferior colliculus. I. Responses of 60-kHz EI units to dichotic sound stimulation.

1. Single-unit responses to closed-field, dichotic sound stimuli were obtained from EI neurons in the mustache bat's inferior colliculus; these neurons are excited by sound to the contralateral ear and inhibited by sound to the ipsilateral ear. All units were tuned to the 60-kHz component of the bat's sonar signal. The goal of the study was to describe basic features of the sensitivity to interaural intensity differences (IIDs) and sound intensity among an isofrequency population of EI neurons. The following paper describes how these features of IID sensitivity shape the response to free-field sounds. 2. Three features of IID sensitivity were considered. The inhibitory threshold (Figs. 1 and 2) described the IID at which inhibitory effects became pronounced; it was defined as the IID at which the excitatory response to contralateral sound was suppressed by 50%. Most units (68%) were inhibited at positive IID values, for which the ipsilateral (inhibitory) sound was more intense. The maximum inhibition (Figs. 1 and 3) described the strength of ipsilateral inhibition; it was defined as the percent that each unit was inhibited below its response to monaural stimulation of the contralateral ear. The majority of units (58%) were almost totally suppressed by a sufficiently intense ipsilateral sound. The IID range (Figs. 1 and 4) described the sharpness or slope of the IID cutoff; it was defined as the IID range over which the response changed from nearly unsuppressed (80% of maximum response) to near maximum suppression (20% of maximum response). Most units (71%) had IID ranges of less than or equal to 15 dB. 3. A significant correlation between the inhibitory threshold and the maximum inhibition (Fig. 5) among the sample of EI units suggests that some common neural mechanisms underlie these features of IID sensitivity. 4. The response of EI neurons to binaural stimuli was a function of sound intensity as well as IID (Fig. 7). In part, this resulted from intensity-dependent changes in properties of binaural inhibition. For most units, basic measures of IID sensitivity changed to a limited extent as the sound intensity changed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Protection against acoustic trauma by forward and backward sound conditioning.

The purpose of the present study was to determine if short-term sound conditioning provides protection when delivered either before (forward sound conditioning) or after (backward sound conditioning) a traumatic exposure in the guinea pig. Two different sound conditioning paradigms were studied (1 kHz, 81 dB SPL, 24 h; 6.3 kHz, 78 dB SPL, 24 h). The 1-kHz forward sound conditioning paradigm (81 dB SPL, 24 h) protected distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) against a short-duration acoustic trauma (2.7 kHz, 103 dB SPL, 5 min) compared to the group exposed to the acoustic trauma alone. The 1-kHz forward sound conditioning paradigm (81 dB SPL, 24 h) also protected both the auditory brainstem response (ABR) thresholds and DPOAEs against a longer-duration acoustic trauma (2.7 kHz, 103 dB SPL, 30 min). The group exposed to the acoustic trauma alone showed ABR threshold shifts between 15 and 24 dB, and DPOAE amplitude shifts between 11 and 24 dB, while the group with 1-kHz forward sound conditioning showed statistically significant protection at all ABR frequencies and at all DPOAE frequencies. The 1-kHz backward sound conditioning paradigm protected against acoustic trauma (2.7 kHz, 103 dB SPL, 30 min). The ABR thresholds were protected at 1, 2 and 4 kHz, and DPOAEs at all frequencies (except 8 kHz) when compared to the group exposed only to the acoustic trauma. The 6.3-kHz forward sound conditioning paradigm protected against acoustic trauma (5.5 kHz, 109 dB SPL, 30 min) at 6.3, 8 and 10 kHz. The 6.3-kHz backward sound conditioning paradigm showed no protection against acoustic trauma at any DPOAE frequency. Taken together, these findings are important for understanding how the auditory system can be modulated by acoustic stimulation and highlights the importance of the acoustic environment during the recovery process of the auditory system.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Sound radiation by the bladder cicada cystosoma saundersii

Male Cystosoma saundersii have a distended thin-walled abdomen which is driven by the paired tymbals during sound production. The insect extends the abdomen from a rest length of 32-34 mm to a length of 39-42 mm while singing. This is accomplished through specialised apodemes at the anterior ends of abdominal segments 4-7, which cause each of these intersegmental membranes to unfold by approximately 2 mm. The calling song frequency is approximately 850 Hz. The song pulses have a bimodal envelope and a duration of approximately 25 ms; they are produced by the asynchronous but overlapping action of the paired tymbals. The quality factor Q of the decay of the song pulses is approximately 17. The abdomen was driven experimentally by an internal sound source attached to a hole in the front of the abdomen. This allowed the sound-radiating regions to be mapped. The loudest sound-radiating areas are on both sides of tergites 3-5, approximately 10 mm from the ventral surface. A subsidiary sound-radiating region is found mid-ventrally on sternites 4-6. Sound is radiated in the same phase from all these regions. As the abdomen was extended experimentally from its resting length to its maximum length, the amplitude of the radiated sound doubled and the Q of the resonance increased from 4 to 9. This resonance and effect are similar at both tergite 4 and sternite 5. Increasing the effective volume of the abdominal air sac reduced its resonant frequency. The resonant frequency was proportional to 1/(check)(total volume), suggesting that the air sac volume was the major compliant element in the resonant system. Increasing the mass of tergite 4 and sternites 4-6 also reduced the resonant frequency of the abdomen. By extrapolation, it was shown that the effective mass of tergites 3-5 was between 13 and 30 mg and that the resonant frequency was proportional to 1/(check)(total mass), suggesting that the masses of the tergal sound-radiating areas were major elements in the resonant system. The tymbal ribs buckle in sequence from posterior (rib 1) to anterior, producing a series of sound pulses. The frequency of the pulse decreases with the buckling of successive ribs: rib 1 produces approximately 1050 Hz, rib 2 approximately 870 Hz and rib 3 approximately 830 Hz. The sound pulse produced as the tymbal buckles outwards is between 1.6 and 1.9 kHz. Simultaneous recordings from close to the tymbal and from tergite 4 suggest that the song pulse is initiated by the pulses produced by ribs 2 and 3 of the leading tymbal and sustained by the pulses from ribs 2 and 3 of the second tymbal. An earlier model suggested that the reactive elements of the abdominal resonance were the compliance of the abdominal air sac volume and the mass of the abdomen undergoing lengthwise telescoping. The present work confirms these suggestions for the role of the air sac but ascribes the mass element to the in-out vibrations of the lateral regions of tergites 3-5 and the central part of sternites 4-6.

Journal Article↗

Sound emission and the acoustic far field of a singing acridid grasshopper (Omocestus viridulus L.)

An array of eight microphones, all at a distance of 15 cm, was used to make simultaneous recordings of the sounds emitted by courting male acridid grasshoppers of the species Omocestus viridulus. In this species, the movement pattern for sound production differs in the two hindlegs, and in most cases the leg facing the female moves with the larger amplitude. The sonic sound intensity (the total sound in the one-third octave bands with centre frequencies from 5 to 20 kHz) is maximal ipsilateral to the leg stridulating with the larger amplitude (the dominant leg). A spontaneous switch of dominance to the other leg may cause a significant change in the emitted sound power. The sound intensities contralateral to the dominant leg and frontal to the animal are, on average, approximately half (-3 dB) of the ipsilateral value, whereas the mean sound intensities behind and above the singer are approximately one-fifth (-7 dB) of the ipsilateral value. In most singers, the patterns of sound radiation are close to these mean values, but in some singers the radiation patterns are radically different. The sound radiated in various directions differs not only in terms of sound intensity but also with respect to the frequency spectrum, which was studied up to the one-third octave band with a centre frequency of 31.5 kHz. In particular, the ratio between the ultrasonic and sonic components is much smaller in the forward direction than in other directions. This may allow the courted female to hear whether the courting male is oriented directly towards her.

Journal Article↗

Masking by inaudible sounds and the linearity of temporal summation.

Many natural sounds, including speech and animal vocalizations, involve rapid sequences that vary in spectrum and amplitude. Each sound within a sequence has the potential to affect the audibility of subsequent sounds in a process known as forward masking. Little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying forward masking, particularly in more realistic situations in which multiple sounds follow each other in rapid succession. A parsimonious hypothesis is that the effects of consecutive sounds combine linearly, so that the total masking effect is a simple sum of the contributions from the individual maskers. The experiment reported here tests a counterintuitive prediction of this linear-summation hypothesis, namely that a sound that itself is inaudible should, under certain circumstances, affect the audibility of subsequent sounds. The results show that, when two forward maskers are combined, the second of the two maskers can continue to produce substantial masking, even when it is completely masked by the first masker. Thus, inaudible sounds can affect the perception of subsequent sounds. A model incorporating instantaneous compression (reflecting the nonlinear response of the basilar membrane in the cochlea), followed by linear summation of the effects of the maskers, provides a good account of the data. Despite the presence of multiple sources of nonlinearity in the auditory system, masking effects by sequential sounds combine in a manner that is well captured by a time-invariant linear system.

Auditory Perception↗

[The level of the musical loud sound and noise induced hearing impairment].

Recently, there has been an increasing number of reports concerning hearing impairment which musical loud sound is thought to be one of the causes. We are getting more of this musical loud sound as cassette tape recorders with head phones such as Walkman and so forth get popular as well as occasions to attending rock concerts and going to discotheques increase. This hearing impairment is generally called discotheque deafness and the following three types are considered; 1) deafness which have fixed by accumulation of loud sound over a long period of time as seen in people involved in musical performance such as rock musicians and mixing engineers; 2) abrupt noise induced hearing impairment triggered by loud sound and 3) state of deafness which is a progressing stage towards recovery of noise induced temporary threshold shift (NITTS), which occurs temporarily by a loud sound stimulus, and hearing ability recovers afterward. However, it is considered that these musical loud sounds not only changes every moment according to method of performing or type of music, but the volume of the sound actually reaching the auditory sense differs largely by locations and direction of the ear and speakers. So it becomes necessary to measure the accumulation of the noise which each individual is exposed under over a long period of time and at the same time carry out the regular medical checkups including hearing test to check the initiation and advancement of the noise induced hearing impairment. Then we can examine the relationship between loudness of the environmental noise and initiation and advancement of the hearing impairment. However, there has not been a device which is compact and measures noise exposure individually over a long period of time. So we have experimentally produced ultra compact noise dosimeter which we named Noise Badge, and with it we actually measured individual noise exposure over a long time in rock music, noise in discotheque and noisy factory. Then we examined the relationship between these loud sound and noise induced temporary threshold shift (NITTS) in discotheques and noise proof room using simulation of loud sound exposure. Moreover, we measured the most comfortable loudness level of head phones in each examine and different types of music with environmental noise in consideration, thus examining the relationship between musical loud sound and the hearing impairment.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Asymmetry of respiratory sounds and thoracic transmission.

Breath sounds heard with a stethoscope over homologous sites of both lungs in healthy subjects are presumed to have similar characteristics. Passively transmitted sounds introduced at the mouth, however, are known to lateralise, with right-over-left dominance in power at the anterior upper chest. Both spontaneous breath sounds and passively transmitted sounds are studied in four healthy adults, using contact sensors at homologous sites on the anterior upper and posterior lower chest. At standardised air flow, breath sound intensity shows a right-over-left dominance at the anterior upper chest, similar to passively transmitted sounds. At the posterior lung base, breath sounds are louder on the left, with a trend to similar lateralisation in transmitted sounds. It is likely that the observed asymmetries are related to the effects of cardiovascular structures and airway geometry on sound generation and transmission.

Adult↗

Diagnosis of ankylosis in permanent incisors by expert ratings, Periotest and digital sound wave analysis.

The objectives of this investigation were to: (i) assess the reliability of expert raters to detect ankylosis from recordings of percussion sounds, (ii) measure differences in Periotest values (PTV) between ankylosed and non-ankylosed incisors and (iii) identify characteristic differences in recorded percussion sounds from ankylosed and non-ankylosed incisors using digital sound wave analysis. A convenience sample of healthy children (age range 7-18 years) was invited to participate. Ankylosis group children had one or more documented ankylosed maxillary incisors. Control group children had intact, non-ankylosed incisors. Digital recordings of percussion sounds and PTV were acquired for each incisor of interest. Four experienced pediatric dentists rated the randomized percussion sound pairs for the presence of ankylosis. Percussion sounds were also subjected to digital sound wave analysis. Overall agreement for the expert raters was substantial (kappa = 0.7). Intra-rater agreement was substantial to almost perfect (kappa = 0.6-0.9). Diagnosis of ankylosis demonstrated sensitivity of 76-92% and specificity of 74-100%. PTV from ankylosed incisors were statistically lower than PTV from non-ankylosed incisors. Ankylosed incisor digital sound wave signals exhibited significantly more energy in high-frequency bands than non-ankylosed incisors. This investigation demonstrated that: (i) experienced pediatric dentists reliably detected ankylosis by percussion sound alone; (ii) PTV for ankylosed incisors were statistically lower than PTV from non-ankylosed incisors; and (iii) ankylosed incisors exhibited a higher proportion of their signal energy in high-frequency bands.

Adolescent↗

Broadband sound generation by confined pulsating jets in a mechanical model of the human larynx.

Experiments were performed to study the production of broadband sound in confined pulsating jets through orifices with a time-varying area. The goal was to better understand broadband sound generation at the human glottis during voicing. The broadband component was extracted from measured sound signals by the elimination of the periodic component through ensemble averaging. Comparisons were made between the probability density functions of the broadband sound in pulsating jets and of comparable stationary jets. The results indicate that the quasi-steady approximation may be valid for the broadband component when the turbulence is well established and the turbulence kinetic energy is comparatively large. A wavelet analysis of the broadband sound showed that random sound production was modulated at the driving frequency. Two distinct sound production peaks were observed during one cycle, presumably associated firstly with jet formation and secondly with flow deceleration during orifice closing. Most high-frequency sound was produced during the closing phase. Deviations from quasi-steady behavior were observed. As the driving frequency increased, sound production during the opening phase was reduced, possibly due to the shorter time available for turbulence to develop. These results may be useful for better quality voice synthesis.

Air Pressure↗

Sound signature for identification of tracheal collapse and laryngeal paralysis in dogs.

The aims of this study were to investigate whether upper airway sounds of dogs with laryngeal paralysis and tracheal collapse have distinct sound characteristics, compared with unaffected dogs. The sounds of 5 dogs with laryngeal paralysis and 5 dogs with tracheal collapse were recorded. Honking sound appeared as predominant clinical signs in dogs with tracheal collapse. Laryngeal stridors appeared as predominant clinical signs in dogs with experimentally produced laryngeal paralysis by resection of laryngeal nerve, in which two types of stridor, I and II, were recorded. All these sounds were analyzed using sound spectrogam analysis. There were significant differences in duration (sec), intensity (dB), pitch (Hz), first formant (Hz), second formant (Hz), third formant (Hz), fourth formant (Hz) of sounds between the normal bark and two types of stridor or honking sound, indicating that the sound analysis might be a useful diagnostic modality for dogs with tracheal collapse and laryngeal paralysis.

Animals↗

Sound pressure transformation at the pinna of Mus domesticus.

Sound pressure transformation properties at the pinna of laboratory mice. Mus domesticus, were studied by measuring the sound pressure level of continuous tone at a series of frequencies at the tympanic membrane as a function of the position of a sound source under free-field stimulation conditions. Sound pressure transformation functions showed some prominent spectral notches throughout the frequency range of 10-80 kHz tested. When delivered from some angles within the ipsilateral frontal hemisphere, the sound pressure at the tympanic membrane of certain frequencies may be lower than that determined at the corresponding contralateral angles. For each sound frequency tested, there was an angle (the acoustic axis) within the ipsilateral frontal hemisphere from which the delivered sound reached a maximal pressure level at the tympanic membrane. However, sound delivered from the acoustic axis did not always generate a maximal pressure transformation. The isopressure contours determined within 2-5 dB of the maximal pressure were circumscribed, and their contained angular areas were found to decrease with increasing sound frequency. The 2 dB maximal pressure area may appear at more than one angular area for some test frequencies. Removal of the ipsilateral pinna or modification of pinna posture expanded isopressure contours irregularly and split the 2 dB maximal pressure area into several parts.

Animals↗

Temporomandibular joint sounds in asymptomatic volunteers.

Abnormalities within the temporomandibular joints often produce audible sounds. Electronic recording of joint sounds has been used as a method of staging internal derangement. This study had three objectives: first, to determine whether the characterization of temporomandibular sounds can provide a sensitive and accurate measure for the presence or absence of joint abnormalities in asymptomatic volunteers; second, to evaluate the reproducibility of the sounds, when present, with successive recordings; and third, to evaluate the sound characteristics to determine their predictability for the types of internal derangement. Fifty asymptomatic volunteers (100 joints) were evaluated with an electronic device for the presence of joint sounds. Of the patients, 24% (N = 50, five men and seven women) (16% of all joints) had one or two abnormal joints as diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging. Forty-four percent of all joints had identifiable sounds; 50% of the sounds were produced when the condyle was located at the apex of the articular eminence. Sounds often occurred in the early opening phase of jaw movement in joints diagnosed as normal by magnetic resonance imaging. Finally, the characteristics of these events did not produce adequate separation to stage the internal derangement.

Analysis of Variance↗

Hemodynamic correlates of the third heart sound during the evolution of chronic heart failure.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the temporal relation between the development of a third heart sound during the course of evolving heart failure and associated hemodynamic abnormalities. BACKGROUND: Although various theories have been proposed to explain the origin of the third heart sound, the exact origin of this sound remains unknown. METHODS: Studies were performed in seven dogs in which heart failure was produced by multiple sequential intracoronary micro-embolizations. Hemodynamic studies including ventriculography, pulsed wave Doppler echocardiography and intracardiac phonocardiography were performed at baseline, at the time at third heart sound was first heard and at 6 and 24 weeks after onset of the third heart sound. RESULTS: All dogs developed a third heart sound at 9 +/- 2 weeks after the initial embolization. The onset of the sound was accompanied by an increase in left ventricular chamber stiffness relative to the baseline value (0.25 +/- 0.03 vs. 0.14 +/- 0.01 mm Hg/ml) (p < 0.05) and mean deceleration of early mitral inflow velocity (1,040 +/- 90 vs. 590 +/- 40 cm/s per s) (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that the onset of a third heart sound during the course of evolving heart failure occurs coincident with the development of increased left ventricular chamber stiffness and the manifestation of rapid deceleration of early mitral inflow velocity. These findings are consistent with a myocardial vibratory origin of this sound.

Animals↗

Preserved use of spatial cues for sound segregation in a case of spatial deafness.

Auditory spatial cues contribute to sound localisation and to sound object segregation. We have investigated these capacities in a patient (NM) who complained having difficulties to localise sounds in everyday life after a right temporo-parieto-frontal ischemic lesion. Two groups of tasks were used, in which spatial dimension was simulated by interaural time differences (ITD): (i) active localisation of stationary or moving sound targets, and (ii) sound segregation on the basis of spatial cues. This latter included a spatial release from masking paradigm and two ITD diotic tasks. NM failed to localise stationary and moving sounds: she perceived all the stimuli at the centre of the head, and could not differentiate stationary from moving targets. In contrast, NM was able to use ITD cues to segregate simultaneous sound sources in the spatial-release-from-masking paradigm and in ITD diotic tasks.These results suggest that sound localisation and sound object segregation based on spatial cues do not rely on the same mechanisms.

Adult↗

Risk factors associated with temporomandibular joint sounds in children 6 to 12 years of age.

The relationship between temporomandibular joint (TMJ) sounds and a person's dental and skeletal characteristics is poorly understood. In this study, data were obtained from 3428 grade schoolchildren (mean age = 9.0 years, SD = 0.8, range 6 to 12 years), without a history of orthodontic treatment. Each child had been examined independently by one of six orthodontists to assess: TMJ sounds (none, click, crepitus), gender, age, race (white/black), skeletal relationships (convexity, maxillary, and mandibular positions), malocclusion (molar class, overjet, overbite, anterior crowding, posterior crossbite), maximum opening, chin trauma (none, cut, scar), and history of lower facial trauma. Temporomandibular joint sounds were present in 344 children (10.0% of the sample); 276 (8.1%) had an isolated unilateral sound, 254 (7.4%) had unilateral clicking, 50 (1.5%) had bilateral clicking, 22 (0.6%) had unilateral crepitus, and 11 (0.3%) had bilateral crepitus. Univariate analyses compared children with and without sounds for each variable; logistic regression analyses examined the relationship between groups of variables and TMJ sounds. The prevalence of TMJ sounds was associated with examiner (chi 2 = 23.4, df = 5, p < 0.001); increased prevalence of TMJ sounds occurred in children with maxillary anterior crowding (t = 2.8, p < 0.006), mandibular anterior crowding (t = 3.0, p < 0.002), and increased maximum opening (t = 4.7, p < 0.001). In contrast to other reports on children, the prevalence of joint sounds was not associated with age, race, gender, or molar class.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Analysis of Variance↗

An ERD mapping study of the neurocognitive processes involved in the perceptual and semantic analysis of environmental sounds and words.

The aim of this paper was to investigate and compare the EEG mechanisms underlying the perceptual and semantic processes involved in environmental and language sounds perception by manipulating the degree of identification of sounds and using the ERD (event-related desynchronization) method in healthy subjects. Four types of stimuli were analyzed: meaningful environmental sounds, meaningless sounds, words and non-words. We report many similarities in the ERDs and ERSs (event-related synchronizations) patterns among all stimuli, with: (i) similar time-course of ERDs and ERSs between meaningful environmental sounds and words, and between meaningless sounds and non-words; (ii) similar topography of the maximal ERDs for meaningful environmental sounds, words and non-words; and (iii) same right posterior ERSs for all four stimuli. However, differences were also observed: (i) in time-course, with earlier ERSs for meaningless than meaningful stimuli, whether environmental or verbal; and (ii) in topography, with ERDs predominating in left and right hemisphere channels for meaningful and meaningless environmental sounds, respectively; (iii) ERSs predominating in the left temporal channel for non-words and in the left posterior and right frontal channels for meaningless sounds. The results of this study suggest that meaningful stimuli involve greater and longer-lasting semantic processes than meaningless stimuli, while the occurrence of ERSs for the latter points to the possible involvement of an inhibitory processing of semantic representations. Finally, the findings concerning the comparison between verbal and non verbal stimuli suggest the involvement of left-lateralized phonological and semantic processes for the former, and more distributed neurocognitive processes in both hemispheres for the latter although with predominant left laterality for their semantic processing.

Adult↗