Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Perceptual Distortion”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 721 records · Page 40Linked to original sources

Cochlear nonlinearities inferred from two-tone distortion products in the ear canal of the alligator lizard.

Distortion products ( DPs ) evoked by two-tone stimuli at frequencies F1 and F2 were measured in the ear-canal sound pressure of the alligator lizard. The largest sound pressures measured, other than those at F1 and F2, where at the cubic difference frequencies 2F1-F2 and 2F2-F1. All cubic DPs were greatly reduced by destruction of the basilar membrane, which suggests that its nonlinear properties are the source of the DPs . Measurements following acoustic overstimulation show a complex relationship between the magnitude of DPs and cochlear state, as assessed by measurements of cochlear potential, and indicate the existence of multiple nonlinear sources within the inner ear. Relative magnitudes of the DPs and their dependence on stimulus level suggest that the inner-ear DP sources are cubic nonlinearities. The DPs are not highly sensitive to either average stimulus frequency or stimulus frequency separation, suggesting that the nonlinear processes are within the macromechanical processes of the inner ear. Contrary to some interpretations of ear-canal DP measurements in mammals, we conclude that DPs need not be associated with hair-cell processes and are not particularly useful indicators of cochlear health.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Effects of industrial noise exposure on distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and hair cell loss of the cochlea--long term experiments in awake guinea pigs.

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs), a sensitive detector of outer hair cell (OHC) function, cochlear microphonics (CM), and hair cell loss have been monitored in 12 awake guinea pigs before and after 2 h exposure to specific, played-back industrial noise (105 dB SPL maximal intensity). All animals had stable DPOAE levels before noise exposure. In the first hours after noise exposure DPOAE levels were reduced significantly. In about 70% a partial recovery of the DPOAEs was found within 4 months after noise exposure. In 16% of the investigated ears no recovery of DPOAEs was observed. However, in a few ears increased DPOAEs were observed after noise exposure. Exposure to industrial noise caused both morphological changes in the middle turns of the cochlea and electrophysiological changes in the middle frequency range. A close correlation existed between reduced DPOAE levels, loss in CM potentials, and area of damaged or lost OHCs, but not with the numbers of damaged or lost OHCs in the cochlea. It can be concluded that continuous industrial noise causes a damage to OHCs which differs form the damage caused by impulse noise.

Animals↗

The influence of systematic primary-tone level variation L2-L1 on the acoustic distortion product emission 2f1-f2 in normal human ears.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of primary-tone level variation, L2--L1, on the amplitude of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs). The DPOAE at the frequency 2f1--f2 (f2 greater than f1) was measured in 20 ears of ten normally hearing subjects. Acoustic distortion products were generated by primaries f1 and f2 with geometric mean frequencies of 1, 2, and 4 kHz. The f2/f1 ratios were 1.25 (1 kHz), 1.23 (2 kHz), and 1.21 (4 kHz). The primary-tone level L1 was kept constant at either 65 or 75 dB SPL while the second primary-tone level L2 was varied between 20 and 90 dB SPL in 5-dB steps. The level differences L2--L1 generating maximal DPOAE amplitudes depended on L1 and on the geometric mean frequency of f1 and f2. There were large interindividual differences. Overall, the L2--L1 evoking maximal mean DPOAE amplitudes was --10 dB for geometric mean frequencies of 1 and 2 kHz with both L1 = 65 dB SPL and L1 = 75 dB SPL. For 4 kHz, L2-L1 was --5 dB with L1 = 65 dB SPL and 0 dB with L1 = 75 dB SPL. The mean slopes of the DPOAE growth functions in the initial linearly increasing portions were steeper at higher stimulus frequencies, increasing from 0.52 at 1 kHz to 0.72 at 4 kHz for L1 = 65 dB SPL and from 0.48 at 1 kHz to 0.72 at 4 kHz for L1 = 75 dB SPL.

Adult↗

Relationship between movement planning and psychopathology profiles in schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: There has been evidence that psychopathology in schizophrenia consists of three separable syndromes: reality distortion, disorganisation, and psychomotor poverty. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between planning and execution of movement and each of the syndromes in schizophrenia. METHOD: Twenty-one right handed DSM-III-R schizophrenic patients performed a total of 80 trials of a motor movement task, varying distance of movement x size of the target x hand. Times taken to plan the movement (RT) and to carry it out (MT) were examined for their relationship with contemporaneous as well as lifetime profiles of the three syndromes in schizophrenia. RESULTS: Significant correlations are reported between RT and current as well as lifetime measures of disorganisation syndrome. Somewhat weaker correlations are reported between RT and psychomotor poverty, but only for the right-handed tasks. Partial correlations suggest that the influence of neuroleptic medication explains all but one of the correlations between psychomotor poverty and RT, but does not account for the relationship between disorganisation and RT. No other relationship emerged between any of the movement and symptom measures. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that dysfunction in movement planning is related primarily to concurrent disorganisation, as well as to the prominence of disorganisation over the patient's history.

Adult↗

Recognition of time-distorted sentences by normal-hearing and cochlear-implant listeners.

This study evaluated the effects of time compression and expansion on sentence recognition by normal-hearing (NH) listeners and cochlear-implant (CI) recipients of the Nucleus-22 device. Sentence recognition was measured in five CI users using custom 4-channel continuous interleaved sampler (CIS) processors and five NH listeners using either 4-channel or 32-channel noise-band processors. For NH listeners, recognition was largely unaffected by time expansion, regardless of spectral resolution. However, recognition of time-compressed speech varied significantly with spectral resolution. When fine spectral resolution (32 channels) was available, speech recognition was unaffected even when the duration of sentences was shortened to 40% of their original length (equivalent to a mean duration of 40 ms/phoneme). However, a mean duration of 60 ms/phoneme was required to achieve the same level of recognition when only coarse spectral resolution (4 channels) was available. Recognition patterns were highly variable across CI listeners. The best CI listener performed as well as NH subjects listening to corresponding spectral conditions; however, three out of five CI listeners performed significantly poorer in recognizing time-compressed speech. Further investigation revealed that these three poorer-performing CI users also had more difficulty with simple temporal gap-detection tasks. The results indicate that limited spectral resolution reduces the ability to recognize time-compressed speech. Some CI listeners have more difficulty with time-compressed speech, as produced by rapid speakers, because of reduced spectral resolution and deficits in auditory temporal processing.

Adult↗

Hybrid measurement of auditory steady-state responses and distortion product otoacoustic emissions using an amplitude-modulated primary tone.

A maximum auditory steady-state response (ASSR) amplitude is yielded when the ASSR is elicited by an amplitude-modulated tone (f(c)) with a fixed modulation frequency (f(m) = 40 Hz), whereas the maximum distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) level is yielded when the DPOAE is elicited using a fixed frequency ratio of the primary tones (f2/f1 = 1.2). When eliciting the DPOAE and ASSR by the same tone pair, optimal stimulation is present for either DPOAE or ASSR and thus adequate simultaneous DPOAE/ASSR measurement is not possible across test frequency f2 or f(c), respectively. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the ASSR and DPOAE can be measured simultaneously without notable restrictions using a DPOAE stimulus setting in which one primary tone is amplitude modulated. A DPOAE of frequency 2f1-f2 and ASSR of modulation frequency 41 Hz were measured in ten normal hearing subjects at a test frequency between 0.5 and 8 kHz (f2 = f(c)). The decrease in the DPOAE level and the loss in ASSR amplitude during hybrid mode stimulation amounted, on average, to only 2.60 dB [standard deviation (SD) = 1.38 dB] and 1.83 dB (SD = 2.38 dB), respectively. These findings suggest simultaneous DPOAE and ASSR measurements to be feasible across all test frequencies when using a DPOAE stimulus setting where the primary tone f2 is amplitude modulated.

Acoustic Impedance Tests↗

Characteristics of distortion product otoacoustic emissions in the frog from L1,L2 maps.

For a given set of stimulus frequencies (f1 ,f2), the level of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) varies with the levels of the stimulus tones. By variation of the stimulus levels, L1,L2-maps for DPOAEs can be constructed. Here, we report on L1 ,L2-maps for DPOAEs from the frog ear. In general, these maps were similar to those obtained from the mammalian cochlea. We found a conspicuous difference between the equal-level contour lines for low-level and high-level DPOAEs, which could be modeled by a saturating and an expansive nonlinearity, respectively. The transition from the high-level to the low-level response was accompanied by a DPOAE phase-change, which increased from 0 to pi rad with increasing frequency. These results suggest that in the frog low-level and high-level DPOAEs are generated by separate nonlinear mechanisms. Also, there was a conspicuous difference in the growth of the low-level emissions from the two anuran auditory papillae. In the basilar papilla, this growth was expansive for the lowest stimulus levels and saturated for intermediate levels. This is consistent with the behavior of a Boltzman nonlinearity. In the amphibian papilla this growth was compressive, suggesting the additional effect of a compressive amplification mechanism on the generation of DPOAEs.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Short-term and long-term effects of vocal distortion on song maintenance in zebra finches.

Adult zebra finch song is irreversibly altered when birds are deprived of correct feedback by deafening or denervation of the syrinx. To clarify the role of feedback in song maintenance, we developed a reversible technique to distort vocal output without damaging the auditory or vocal systems. We implanted flexible beads adjacent to the syrinx to alter its biomechanics. Immediate song aberrations included low volume, frequency shifts, missing harmonics, and production of click-like syllables. After a few weeks, seven of nine birds stopped producing some syllables. In six of these birds, the gaps left by the silenced syllables gradually shortened, and the lost syllables did not return when beads were removed 16 weeks after treatment began. The nondeleted syllables of all birds regained their preimplant morphology, insofar as could be detected, within 9 d after bead removal. In four other birds, we removed the beads as soon as syllables were deleted, when the silent intervals were still full length. In these birds, all deleted syllables returned within 1 week. Our results indicate that both silenced syllables and syllable morphology can recover as long as the song's temporal structure is maintained, but once altered, changes in the song sequence can be permanent. A hierarchical organization of the song production system has recently been described (Margoliash, 1997). Reversible disruption of song production by our method appears to permanently alter the higher levels of the system that encode song sequence, but not the lower levels that encode individual syllable structure.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Level dependence of optimal stimulus level difference for evoking DPOAEs in the gerbil.

In distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) measurements the ear is stimulated with two pure tones f1 and f2. To maximize DPOAE levels and hence increase the sensitivity of DPOAE measurements, the separation of the two primary tone levels has been shown to play a crucial role. In contrast to conventionally used paradigms where the difference between the stimulus levels L1 and L2 is constant, Whitehead et al. [Whitehead, M.L. et al., 1995. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 97, 2359-2377] found a variable level separation L1-L2, which is increasing with decreasing overall stimulus levels, to be optimal for evoking maximal DPOAE levels. This optimal level separation was quantified by Kummer et al. [Kummer, P. et al., 2000. Hear. Res. 146, 47-56] for humans. The aim of our study was to find out if such optimal level differences also exist in the gerbil Meriones unguiculatus in order to obtain an adequate animal model for determination of auditory sensitivity and its pathologies. The results clearly indicate that, as in humans, a variable level separation L1-L2 is optimal for generation of maximal DPOAE levels in the gerbil. This level separation strongly depends on the frequency relation between f1 and f2 and the deviation of the optimal level difference from L1=L2 increases with the frequency ratio f2/f1.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Cochlear compression: effects of low-frequency biasing on quadratic distortion product otoacoustic emission.

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) are generated from the nonlinear transduction n cochlear outer hair cells. The transducer function demonstrating a compressive nonlinearity can be estimated from low-frequency modulation of DPOAEs. Experimental results from the gerbils showed that the magnitude of quadratic difference tone (QDT, f2-f1) was either enhanced or suppressed depending on the phase of the low-frequency bias tone. Within one period of the bias tone, QDT magnitudes exhibited two similar modulation patterns, each resembling the absolute value of the second derivative of the transducer function. In the time domain, the center notches of the modulation patterns occurred around the zero crossings of the bias pressure, whereas peaks corresponded to the increase or decrease in bias pressure. Evaluated with respect to the bias pressure, modulated QDT magnitude displayed a double-modulation pattern marked by a separation of the center notches. Loading/unloading of the cochlear transducer or rise/fall in bias pressure shifted the center notch to positive or negative sound pressures, indicating a mechanical hysteresis. These results suggest that QDT arises from the compression that coexists with the active hysteresis in cochlear transduction. Modulation of QDT magnitude reflects the dynamic regulation of cochlear transducer gain and compression.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Effects of contralateral white noise stimulation on distortion product otoacoustic emissions in myasthenic patients.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) induces a reduction of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) that reverses partially after administration of an acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor. In normal subjects a contralateral acoustic stimulation (CAS) produces an amplitude reduction of TEOAEs and DPOAEs. This effect, called contralateral suppression (CS), is mediated by the efferent auditory system. Twenty subjects affected by MG underwent DPOAE recording with and without contralateral white noise in a drug-free baseline period ('basal') and 1 h ('post') after administration of a reversible AChE inhibitor. In 'basal' condition CAS did not induce significant DPOAE amplitude changes but a paradoxical slight increase was observed. After drug administration, CAS produced a significant decrease of DPOAE amplitudes for middle frequencies (f(2) between 1306 and 2600 Hz). In normal controls CAS caused a significant decrease (P<0.001) for all frequencies. The amount of CS in controls and in the MG 'post' condition was not significantly different. The increased acetylcholine (ACh) availability following drug consumption seems to partially restore outer hair cell function and enhances their electromotility; a further influx of ACh due to CAS yields to restoration of the CS. These findings also suggest that DPOAEs may be useful in the diagnosis of MG and for monitoring the effectiveness of treatment.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

[Characteristic of distortion product otoacoustic emissions for preterm newborn].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the characteristic of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) amplitude, SNR and noise in preterm newborns. METHOD: DPAOEs at the 2f1-f2 frequency were recorded from 59 ears of 31 preterm newborns and 35 ears of 19 healthy fullterm newborns in response to equilevel primary tones at postnatal 3 days to 1 week. Detailed test included the recording of DPAOEs, SNR and noise. RESULT: The average DPOAE audiogram of preterm newborns illustrating the frequency response of these emissions demonstrated a maximum at 1,587 Hz and a minimum around 4,000 Hz. The DPOAE response amplitude of preterm newborn was lower than that of fullterm in every frequency(P < 0.05). The SNR was higher at 4,000 Hz than that at low frequency, but was lower at 1000 Hz than that at high frequency. At 4,000, 3,175, 1,587, 1,260 and 1,000 Hz, the SNR of preterm were lower thad fullterm(P < 0.05). The noise was higher at low frequency than that at high frequency. CONCLUSION: The characteristics of DPOAE in preterm newborn are different from fullterm newborn. These differences may indicate immaturity in cochlear function. Outer hair cell function are hypothesized sources of this immaturity, although some contribution from the immature middle ear and outer ear cannot be ruled out.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

[Amplitude changes in distortion products of otoacoustic emissions after acute noise exposure].

BACKGROUND: The inner ear responds to acute impact of high-intensity noise with a temporary threshold shift (TTS), which represents a reaction of the outer hair cells. That is why TTS should be detectable as changes of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE). METHODS: DPOAE were measured in 102 ears in 59 test subjects with normal hearing before and after definitive noise exposure (20 min of "white noise" at 90 dB HL). We also registrated the TTS (4kHz) immediately after noise and measured DP changes during a 30-min recovery period. RESULTS: Typically we found a reduction of DP amplitude. It averaged between 2.0 and 2.5 dB HL in the frequency range from 2 to 5 kHz. There was no correlation between TTS and DP amplitude reduction at 4kHz. During the recovery period, individual ears showed an erratic pattern of DP amplitudes. However, a tendency toward incremental DP amplitude regeneration appeared after averaging. As many as 10% of the measured ears showed an atypical reaction with an increase of DP amplitudes. Whether the latter is due to errors in the test procedure or is evidence of a particularly stable inner ear remains to be discussed. CONCLUSIONS: The results are further proof for the reaction of the outer hair cells on acute noise impact, which apparently leads to an increase of the stiffness of basilary membrane due to contraction processes. It may be possible to differentiate vulnerable inner ears from stable ones.

Adult↗

Effects of changes in stimulus level on phases of distortion product otoacoustic emissions.

Effect of changes in stimulus levels of both lower (f(1)) and higher (f(2)) stimulus tones on phases of 2f(1)-f(2) component of the distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) was examined in five normal hearing adults. The f(2) was fixed at 4004 Hz in all of the measurements, and the stimulus frequency ratio (f(2)/f(1)) was varied from 1.15 to 1.3. Change of the level of lower stimulus tone (L(1)) and the level of higher stimulus tone (L(2)) showed different effects on the DPOAE phases. The phase lags increased with increasing L(1), when f(2)/f(1) was above 1.22, whereas the phase gains increased with increasing L(1), when f(2)/f(1) was below 1.22. On the other hand, the difference in L(2) minimally affected DPOAE phase at most f(1)s. The previous studies about basilar membrane vibration revealed that phase lags increase with increasing stimulus level, when the stimulus frequency is below the best frequency, while phase gains increase with increasing stimulus level, when the stimulus frequency is above the best frequency, and the effect of phase change in stimulus level diminished, when the stimulus frequency was far above the best frequency. Based on the comparison between the results of the present study and the previous findings of others concerning basilar membrane vibration, the DPOAE generation site is assumed to be located at apical of the peak of the f(2) traveling wave.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

The use of distortion product otoacoustic emissions in the estimation of hearing and sensory cell loss in noise-damaged cochleas.

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE), permanent threshold shifts (PTS) and outer hair cell (OHC) losses were analyzed in a population of 187 noise-exposed chinchillas to determine the predictive accuracy (sensitivity and specificity) of the DPOAE for PTS and OHC loss. Auditory evoked potentials (AEP) recorded from the inferior colliculus of the brainstem were used to estimate hearing thresholds and surface preparation histology was used to determine sensory cell loss. The overlapping cumulative distributions and high variability in emission responses for both PTS and OHC loss made it difficult to predict AEP threshold and OHC loss from DPOAE level measurements alone. Using a strict criterion (i.e. emissions better than the 5th percentile of the preexposure DPOAE level, and PTS< or = 5 dB or OHC loss< or = 5%), it was found that the postexposure DPOAE level could be used with reasonable confidence to determine if the status of peripheral auditory system was either normal (i.e. PTS< or = 5 dB) or abnormal (PTS>30 dB or OHC loss>40%). However, the high variability of individual DPOAE responses resulted in a broad region of 'uncertainty' (i.e. 5 or = 50%) or PTS (> or = 35 dB) in noise-exposed chinchillas. Based on an exponential regression analysis of individual subjects, correlations were higher for PTS/DPOAE than for OHC loss/DPOAE.

Animals↗

Effect of ageing on the ability to adapt to a visual distortion during walking.

Degradation of major sensory systems such as proprioception, the vestibular system and vision may be a factor that contributes to the decline in walking stability in older people. In the present study this was examined by introducing a visual distortion by means of prism glasses shifting subject's view 10 degrees to the right while subjects walked towards a target (exposure condition). Shifting the view while walking towards a target will cause subjects to alter their heading in such a way that their walking trajectory describes a curvilinear path. It was expected that older people, when compared to young people, would have greater difficulty adjusting their heading and would show a greater decrease in heading stability, quantified by means of the standard deviation of the lateral position (SDLP). This was indeed the case. When performance in a pre- and post-exposure condition, in which subjects walked without prism glasses, were compared to each other, older people (O group) showed a greater decrease in heading stability than young people (Y group) and middle aged people (M group). Furthermore, it appeared that during the exposure condition adaptation effects were present in the Y and M group, which were absent in the O group. It is discussed that this adaptation is a form of realignment of the proprioceptive and visual system. The absence of realignment in the O group is argued to be caused by degradation of the proprioceptive system, which results in a lowering of the proprioceptive bias of vision.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Concurrent measurement of distortion product otoacoustic emissions and auditory steady state evoked potentials.

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and auditory steady state evoked response potentials (ASSRs) can both be evoked by tone pairs with frequencies f(1) and f(2). The DPOAE is maximal at 2f(1)-f(2) and the ASSR is maximal at f(2)-f(1). Since DPOAE magnitude depends on the ratio f(2)/f(1), but ASSR amplitude depends on the beat frequency f(2)-f(1), compromises are necessary when recording both responses concurrently. Tone pairs with f(2) of 900, 1800 and 3600 Hz were presented simultaneously at either 40 or 50 dB sound pressure level (SPL). The f(1) frequency of each pair was approximately 85 or 180 Hz lower than f(2). Phase measurements were used to calculate apparent latencies at 40 dB SPL. For increasing f(2), DPOAE latencies were 14.5, 9.7 and 6.3 ms for 85 Hz beats, and 11.5, 9.0 and 4.3 ms for 180 Hz beats. ASSR latencies were 22.0, 15.7 and 17.8 ms at 85 Hz, and 17.7, 11.3 and 9.6 ms at 180 Hz. From a model of the mechanical transmission in the cochlea, delays between the basilar membrane and the generator of the ASSR were estimated as 15.4, 12.2 and 15.3 ms at 85 Hz and 8.6, 7.6 and 8.0 ms at 180 Hz.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Speech recognition with altered spectral distribution of envelope cues.

Recognition of consonants, vowels, and sentences was measured in conditions of reduced spectral resolution and distorted spectral distribution of temporal envelope cues. Speech materials were processed through four bandpass filters (analysis bands), half-wave rectified, and low-pass filtered to extract the temporal envelope from each band. The envelope from each speech band modulated a band-limited noise (carrier bands). Analysis and carrier bands were manipulated independently to alter the spectral distribution of envelope cues. Experiment I demonstrated that the location of the cutoff frequencies defining the bands was not a critical parameter for speech recognition, as long as the analysis and carrier bands were matched in frequency extent. Experiment II demonstrated a dramatic decrease in performance when the analysis and carrier bands did not match in frequency extent, which resulted in a warping of the spectral distribution of envelope cues. Experiment III demonstrated a large decrease in performance when the carrier bands were shifted in frequency, mimicking the basal position of electrodes in a cochlear implant. And experiment IV showed a relatively minor effect of the overlap in the noise carrier bands, simulating the overlap in neural populations responding to adjacent electrodes in a cochlear implant. Overall, these results show that, for four bands, the frequency alignment of the analysis bands and carrier bands is critical for good performance, while the exact frequency divisions and overlap in carrier bands are not as critical.

Adult↗