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PubMed2006

The cochlear implant electrode-pitch function.

The cochlear frequency-place function in normal hearing ears has been found to be an exponential relationship in a wide variety of species [D.D. Greenwood, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 87 (1990) 2592-2605]. Although it seems reasonable to assume a similar function for electrical stimulation by means of an intra-cochlear electrode array, the exact frequency-place function for this special type of stimulation needs to be investigated. Six users of the MED-EL COMBI 40+ cochlear implant device with moderate to profound hearing loss between 125 and 1000 Hz in the non-implanted ear took part in a binaural pitch adjustment experiment. The COMBI 40+ electrode array provides a deep insertion into the scala tympani and a wide spatial separation between the stimulating electrodes. Insertion depth was controlled by Stenver's view plain radiographs and the insertion angle was estimated. The task of the subjects was to adjust the frequency of a sinusoid presented in the non-implanted ear by means of an adjusting knob until they perceived the same pitch as was elicited by a reference stimulus in the implanted ear. The results show adjustments corresponding to electrode positions along the cochlea, with the exception of the two most apical electrodes for most of the subjects. Pitch increased in an orderly fashion with an average of 98 Hz per electrode separation (40 Hz/mm). In contrast to the exponential predictions according to [D.D. Greenwood, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 87 (1990) 2592-2605] for normal hearing, the average electrode-pitch function shows a linear relationship.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Evidence of pitch processing in the N100m component of the auditory evoked field.

The latency of the N100m component of the auditory evoked field (AEF) is sensitive to the period and spectrum of a sound. However, little attention was paid so far to the wave shape at stimulus onset, which might have biased previous results. This problem was fixed in the present study by aligning the first major peaks in the acoustic waveforms. The stimuli were harmonic tones (spectral range: 800-5000 Hz) with periods corresponding to 100, 200, 400, and 800 Hz. The frequency components were in sine, alternating or random phase. Simulations with a computational model suggest that the auditory-nerve activity is strongly affected by both the period and the relative phase of the stimulus, whereas the output of the more central pitch processor only depends on the period. Our AEF data, recorded from the right hemisphere of seven subjects, are consistent with the latter prediction: The latency of the N100m depends on the period, but not on the relative phase of the stimulus components. This suggests that the N100m reflects temporal pitch extraction, not necessarily implying that the underlying generators are directly involved in this analysis.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed2006

The temporal representation of the delay of iterated rippled noise with positive or negative gain by chopper units in the cochlear nucleus.

The role of chopper units in representing the pitch of complex sounds is unresolved. Traditionally chopper units have been regarded as primarily responding to the stimulus envelope of complex stimuli. This has been supported by the response of chopper units to iterated rippled noise (IRN) as they can provide a robust representation of the delay of IRN with positive gain (+) in their first-order interspike intervals and for some chopper units this representation is relatively level independent. The envelope modulation of IRN(+), and pitch, is at the reciprocal of the delay, the pitch of IRN with negative gain (IRN(-)) is often at twice the delay. This distinction between IRN(+) and IRN(-) can be used to help determine whether a unit is simply responding to modulation or to stimulus fine structure. Chopper units with relatively high best frequencies (BF) are unable to represent the distinction between IRN(+) and IRN(-). However, in this study it is shown that at least some chopper units, with low BFs (<1.25 kHz), can represent the pitch of the IRN(-) as perceived perceptually.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Grouping and the pitch of a mistuned fundamental component: Effects of applying simultaneous multiple mistunings to the other harmonics.

Mistuning a harmonic produces an exaggerated change in its pitch. This occurs because the component becomes inconsistent with the regular pattern that causes the other harmonics (constituting the spectral frame) to integrate perceptually. These pitch shifts were measured when the fundamental (F0) component of a complex tone (nominal F0 frequency = 200 Hz) was mistuned by +8% and -8%. The pitch-shift gradient was defined as the difference between these values and its magnitude was used as a measure of frame integration. An independent and random perturbation (spectral jitter) was applied simultaneously to most or all of the frame components. The gradient magnitude declined gradually as the degree of jitter increased from 0% to +/-40% of F0. The component adjacent to the mistuned target made the largest contribution to the gradient, but more distant components also contributed. The stimuli were passed through an auditory model, and the exponential height of the F0-period peak in the averaged summary autocorrelation function correlated well with the gradient magnitude. The fit improved when the weighting on more distant channels was attenuated by a factor of three per octave. The results are consistent with a grouping mechanism that computes a weighted average of periodicity strength across several components.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed2006

High-frequency tinnitus without hearing loss does not mean absence of deafferentation.

A broad consensus within the neuroscience of tinnitus holds that this audiologic condition is triggered by central deafferentation, mostly due to cochlear damage. The absence of audiometrically detectable hearing loss however poses a challenge to this rather generalizing assumption. The aim of this study was therefore to scrutinize cochlear functioning in a sample of tinnitus subjects audiometrically matched to a normal hearing control group. Two tests were applied: the Threshold Equalizing Noise (TEN) test and a pitch scaling task. To perform well on both tasks relatively normal functioning of inner hair cells is a requirement. In the TEN test the tinnitus group revealed a circumscribed increment of thresholds partially overlapping with the tinnitus spectrum. Abnormal slopes were observed in the pitch scaling task which indicated that tinnitus subjects, when presented with a high-frequency stimulus, relied heavily on input derived from lower-frequency inner hair cells (off-frequency listening). In total both results argue for the presence of a deafferentation also in tinnitus subjects with audiometrically normal thresholds and therefore favour the deafferentation assumption posed by most neuroscientific theories.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed2005

Reduced gamma-band coherence to distorted feedback during speech when what you say is not what you hear.

BACKGROUND: Communication between the frontal lobes, where speech is generated, and the temporal lobes, where it is perceived, may occur through the action of an efference copy/corollary discharge mechanism that prepares the temporal lobes for the expected sound. We suggest that coherence of EEG in gamma-band between frontal and temporal lobes may reflect the successful action of such a mechanism. We tested the hypothesis that there would be a disruption of gamma-band coherence when the expected auditory consequence of speech does not match the auditory experience. METHOD: EEG was recorded from 21 healthy adult subjects as they uttered the sound [a:] (Talking condition) and as they heard these recorded sounds played back (Listening condition). As they spoke, subjects heard real-time feedback of the sounds that were: (1) pitch-shifted down one semi-tone, (2) pitch-shifted down one-half of a semi-tone, or (3) not pitch-shifted (veridical), each in separate runs. Event-related gamma coherence between frontal and temporal sites was calculated relative to the onset of the sound, as it was being spoken during Talking, and as it was being played back during Listening. RESULTS: Frontal-temporal gamma-band coherence spanning 33-43 Hz was greater during Talking than Listening and greater when speech was veridical than when it was distorted a whole semi-tone. CONCLUSIONS: Gamma-band fronto-temporal synchrony may reflect a "binding of expectation with experience." Disruption of this synchrony may provide feedback to the frontal lobes, particularly regions subserving vocalization, to implement sensorimotor adaptations to either adjust motor programs for speech production in the short run, or to reorganize expectations in the long run.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Effects of pre-stimulus processing on subsequent events in a warned Go/NoGo paradigm: response preparation, execution and inhibition.

The cued Go/NoGo task elicits response preparation during the foreperiod, and, depending on the S2 signal, either response execution or inhibition. This study aimed to determine how processes in the foreperiod might affect or predict post-S2 processing. Thirty-two adults participated in a cued Go/NoGo task (50% Go), with a median split of mean RT producing "Fast" and "Slow" groups. ERP measures were subjected to both ANOVA and regression techniques. There were no differences in the NoGo N2 effect related to response speed, nor was the effect related to pre-S2 processes. The anterior shift of the NoGo P3 was larger in the Fast group, and while the late CNV was associated with the absolute amplitude of both Go and NoGo P3, it was not related to the anterior-posterior Go/NoGo differences. Together, these data suggest that the inhibitory process may be reflected in the NoGo P3 effect, rather than the NoGo N2 effect.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

N2 event-related potential correlates of response inhibition in an auditory Go/Nogo task.

The aim of this study was to investigate the event-related potential correlates of response inhibition in the N2 time window, specifically in the auditory modality. A paired tone Go/Nogo paradigm elicited an enhanced fronto-central negativity in the Nogo condition, which was accompanied by a concurring inferior fronto-temporal positivity. In contrast to most previous studies our data provide evidence for a fronto-central Nogo-N2 component in the auditory modality.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Anxious apprehension increases coupling of delta and beta oscillations.

Recent findings showing that anxiety is associated with enhanced coupling of EEG rhythms imply higher information exchange between populations of neurons associated with different oscillatory systems. In this study, influence of uncertainty on alpha-delta anticorrelation and delta-beta coupling was studied in 39 subjects (27 females) aged 19 to 30 years who also filled out the State Trait Anxiety Inventory. A measure of alpha-delta anticorrelation showed trait-like properties being uniformly higher in high trait anxiety subjects independent of experimental manipulation. Contrariwise, delta-beta coupling appeared only in anxiogenic situation both in high and low anxiety subjects.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

A two-layer outer hair cell model with orthotropic piezoelectric properties: correlation of cell resonant frequencies with tuning in the cochlea.

The frequency response of outer hair cells (OHCs) of different lengths is studied using a mathematical model of a two-layer cylindrical shell with orthotropic properties. Material properties in the model are determined from experimental measurements reported in the literature, and the variation of material properties with the cell length is studied. The cortical lattice's Poisson ratios are found to remain fairly constant with cell length, while its stiffness changes significantly with cell length. The natural frequencies corresponding to several modes of deformation of an OHC with intracellular and extracellular fluids are calculated from this model. Our results suggest that the best frequency in the cochlea at the position where the OHC is located corresponds to different modes of deformation of the OHC, depending on the OHC length. For short OHCs, the best frequency is close to the natural frequency of the axisymmetric mode; for long OHCs, it is close to the natural frequencies of the beam-like bending and pinched modes. Such a difference in resonant modes for short and long OHCs at the best frequency suggests that different modes of OHC elongation motility may be present in amplifying the basilar membrane motion in the high and low frequency regions of the cochlea.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed2005

A quantitative and qualitative assessment of verbal short-term memory and phonological processing in 8-year-olds with a history of repetitive otitis media.

UNLABELLED: Language outcome in children experiencing fluctuant hearing loss due to otitis media (OME) remains highly equivocal. In the current study, we assessed performance on highly sensitive verbal short-term memory (STM), new word learning and phonological processing tasks in 8-year-old children who had suffered from recurrent OME before the age of 3. Relative to a control group with no history of OME, we observed strictly normal performance for different STM and new word learning tasks. Performance on these tasks was also normally influenced by phonotactic, lexical and semantic variables. However, at the level of phonological processing, a small but significant decrease of performance was found in a speeded nonword identification task and a rhyme judgment task. The results of this study suggest that outcome of OME is characterized by subtle impairments at the level of perceptual-phonological analysis, but there is no significant impact on verbal STM and new word learning abilities. LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to (1) explain the outcome of recurrent OME before age 3 on later language and verbal STM development, (2) be aware of the complex relationships that link language development and verbal STM, (3) explain how fluctuant hearing loss during infancy and early childhood could affect verbal STM development and learning capacity for new phonological information, (4) describe different verbal STM measures that distinguish retention capacities for phonological and lexico-semantic information, and (5) explain the influence of phonotactic frequency on nonword processing in language and verbal STM tasks.

Child↗
PubMed2006

Frequency specific impairment of automatic pitch change detection by fMRI acoustic noise: an MEG study.

The loud acoustic noise produced by the magnetic resonance scanner is a major source of interference in auditory fMRI research. Whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG) was used to investigate the interaction between the frequency range of auditory stimulation and fMRI acoustic noise. Pure tones and 3-harmonic complexes varying between 240 and 1240 Hz in frequency were presented while participants attended to a silent subtitled film. Continuous fMRI acoustic noise was presented during half of the blocks. The activity in six regions of interest was analyzed in 100-200 and 200-300 ms time windows to evaluate the magnetic counterparts of the mismatch negativity (MMN) and P3a brain responses. The results suggested that fMRI noise significantly reduced the amplitude of these responses. The effect of the noise on the automatic processing of the tones was more prominent for the tones with frequencies higher than 500 Hz. It is recommended that in the MMN protocols using continuous fMRI acquisition the sound stimuli should be spectrally separated from the fMRI scanner noise spectrum.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed2004

Effects of a professional solo singer education on auditory and kinesthetic feedback--a longitudinal study of singers' pitch control.

The significance of auditory and kinesthetic feedback to pitch control in singing was described in a previous report of this project for students at the beginning of their professional solo singer education.(1) As it seems reasonable to assume that pitch control can be improved by training, the same students were reinvestigated after 3 years of professional singing education. As in the previous study, the singers sang an ascending and descending triad pattern with and without masking noise in legato and staccato and in a slow and a fast tempo. Fundamental frequency and interval sizes between adjacent tones were determined and compared with their equivalents in the equally tempered tuning. The average deviations from these values were used as estimates of intonation accuracy. Intonation accuracy was reduced by masking noise, by staccato as opposed to legato singing, and by fast as opposed to slow performance. The contribution of the auditory feedback to pitch control was not significantly improved after education, whereas the kinesthetic feedback circuit was improved in slow legato and slow staccato tasks. The results support the assumption that the kinesthetic feedback contributes substantially to intonation accuracy.

Acoustics↗
PubMed2005

Perceptual and acoustic assessment of voice pathology and the efficacy of endolaryngeal phonomicrosurgery.

Values for acoustic voice measurements were obtained from 88 normal individuals and 98 pathological cases of mass lesions of vocal fold and 50 cases of unilateral vocal fold paralysis. Overall, all items reflecting perturbations of pitch and amplitude as well as glottal noise were significantly higher in the groups of patients compared with the normal group. The measurement of normalized noise energy (NNE) was found to be an optimum parameter for discrimination of normal/abnormal voices. The voices of patients with vocal fold nodules and vocal fold polyps were analyzed before endolaryngeal phonomicrosurgery (EPM) and 2 weeks after. Statistically significant (p < 0.01) improvement was achieved both in perceptual and acoustic analysis. EPM resulted in a significant decrease of mean jitter, shimmer, and NNE. Clinically, these measures provided documentable and measurable evidence of vocal function and were helpful for comparing patients with normal speakers. They also were useful for a thorough documentation of patient's voice pathology and for evaluation of the presurgical and postsurgical voice status.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Vowel intelligibility in classical singing.

Vowel intelligibility during singing is an important aspect of communication during performance. The intelligibility of isolated vowels sung by Western classically trained singers has been found to be relatively low, in fact, decreasing as pitch rises, and it is lower for women than for men. The lack of contextual cues significantly deteriorates vowel intelligibility. It was postulated in this study that the reduced intelligibility of isolated sung vowels may be partly from the vowels used by the singers in their daily vocalises. More specifically, if classically trained singers sang only a few American English vowels during their vocalises, their intelligibility for American English vowels would be less than for those classically trained singers who usually vocalize on most American English vowels. In this study, there were 21 subjects (15 women, 6 men), all Western classically trained performers as well as teachers of classical singing. They sang 11 words containing 11 different American English vowels, singing on two pitches a musical fifth apart. Subjects were divided into two groups, those who normally vocalize on 4, 5, or 6 vowels, and those who sing all 11 vowels during their daily vocalises. The sung words were cropped to isolate the vowels, and listening tapes were created. Two listening groups, four singing teachers and five speech-language pathologists, were asked to identify the vowels intended by the singers. Results suggest that singing fewer vowels during daily vocalises does not decrease intelligibility compared with singing the 11 American English vowels. Also, in general, vowel intelligibility was lower with the higher pitch, and vowels sung by the women were less intelligible than those sung by the men. Identification accuracy was about the same for the singing teacher listeners and the speech-language pathologist listeners except for the lower pitch, where the singing teachers were more accurate.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Aerodynamic analysis of male-to-female transgender voice.

The attainment of a feminine-sounding voice is a highly desirable goal among male-to-female transgender (MFT) persons, but this goal may be difficult for many to accomplish. The characteristics associated with a feminine vocal quality include increases in fundamental frequency and in vocal breathiness. In this study, we used inverse-filtering of the airflow signal to indirectly assess vocal fold function in 13 MFT persons. Each participant was asked to sustain the vowel /a/ first in her biological male voice and then again in her female voice. In addition, these vowel productions were compared with vowels produced by age-matched biologic women and men. The results of the study revealed a significant increase in maximum flow declination rate during female voice production. Perceptual ratings of a feminine voice were associated with a fundamental frequency (F0) of 180 Hz or greater, although F0 did not differ significantly between male and female voice production. These results are discussed relative to the mechanisms that obtained a feminine-sounding voice.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

The effect of speaking context on elicitation of habitual pitch.

The purpose of this study was to investigate if there was an effect of speaking context on the elicitation of habitual pitch [speaking fundamental frequency (SFF)]. Six simulated speaking contexts were created (speaking during a voice evaluation, speaking in public, speaking to a peer, speaking to a superior, speaking to a subordinate, and speaking to a parent or spouse), and the SFF for 30 adult women with normal voice was compared across these contexts. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a statistically significant (P < 0.001) effect of simulated speaking context on SFF, with post hoc analyses indicating a statistically significant difference in SFF while "speaking to a superior" (P < 0.001) and "speaking to a subordinate" (P < 0.001). Possible reasons for an effect of speaking context are discussed. Also, the implications of the use of varied speaking contexts when eliciting SFF are discussed, as is the possibility of an effect of speaking context on the elicitation of other clinically useful voice parameters.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

The role of pitch memory in pitch discrimination and pitch matching.

Accurate control of vocal pitch (fundamental frequency) requires coordination of sensory and motor systems. Previous research has supported the relationship between perceptual accuracy and vocal pitch matching accuracy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of memory for pitch in pitch matching and pitch discrimination ability. Three experimental tasks were used. First, a pitch matching task was completed, in which the participants listened to target tones and vocally matched the pitch of the tones. The second task was a pitch discrimination task that required the participants to judge the pitch (same or different) of complex tone pairs. The third task was pitch discrimination with memory interference task that was similar to the pitch discrimination task except interference tones were added. Results of the pitch matching and pitch discrimination tasks yielded a significant correlation between these values. When there was memory interference, pitch discrimination ability was poorer, and there was no significant correlation between pitch discrimination and pitch matching. These results support earlier findings of a relationship between pitch discrimination and pitch matching abilities. The results also suggest a possible role of pitch memory in both tasks. These findings may have implications for abilities related to accurate pitch control.

Adult↗