Perceptual confusions of high-pitched sung vowels.
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Humans↗
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A comparison of two methods of formant frequency estimation for high-pitched voices.
This study sought to compare formant frequencies estimated from natural phonation to those estimated using two methods of artificial laryngeal stimulation: (1) stimulation of the vocal tract using an artificial larynx placed on the neck and (2) stimulation of the vocal tract using an artificial larynx with an attached tube placed in the oral cavity. Twenty males between the ages of 18 and 45 performed the following three tasks on the vowels /a/ and /i/: (1) 4 seconds of sustained vowel, (2) 2 seconds of sustained vowel followed by 2 seconds of artificial phonation via a neck placement, and (3) 4 seconds of sustained vowel, the last two of which were accompanied by artificial phonation via an oral placement. Frequencies for formants 1-4 were measured for each task at second 1 and second 3 using linear predictive coding. These measures were compared across second 1 and second 3, as well as across all three tasks. Neither of the methods of artificial laryngeal stimulation tested in this study yielded formant frequency estimates that consistently agreed with those obtained from natural phonation for both vowels and all formants. However, when estimating mean formant frequency data for samples of large N, each of the methods agreed with mean estimations obtained from natural phonation for specific vowels and formants. The greatest agreement was found for a neck placement of the artificial larynx on the vowel /a/.
Adolescent↗
Perceived pitch of synthesized voice with alternate cycles.
Both in normal speech voice and in some types of pathological voice, adjacent vocal cycles may alternate in amplitude or period, or both. When this occurs, the determination of voice fundamental frequency (defined as number of vocal cycles per second) becomes difficult. The present study attempts to address this issue by investigating how human listeners perceive the pitch of alternate cycles. As stimuli, vowels /a/ and /i/ were synthesized with fundamental frequencies at 140 Hz and 220 Hz, and the effect of alternate cycles was simulated with both amplitude- and frequency-modulation of the glottal volume velocity waveform. Subjects were asked to judge the pitch of the modulated vowels in reference to vowels without modulation. The results showed that (a) perceived pitch became lower as the amount of modulation increased, and the effect seems to be more dramatic than would be predicted by existing hypotheses, (b) perceived pitch differed across vowels, fundamental frequencies, and modulation types, that is, amplitude versus frequency modulation, and (c) the prediction of perceived pitch was best made in the frequency domain in terms of subharmonic-to-harmonic ratio. These findings provide useful information on how we should assess the pitch of alternate cycles. They may also be helpful in developing more robust pitch determination algorithms.
Adolescent↗
Instrumental and perceptual evaluations of two related singers.
The primary goal of this study was to characterize a performer's singing and speaking voice. One woman was not admitted to a premier choral group, but her sister, who was comparable in physical characteristics and background, was admitted and provided a valuable control subject. The perceptual judgment of a vocal coach who conducted the group's auditions was decisive in discriminating these 2 singers. The singer not admitted to the group described a history of voice pathology, lacked a functional head register, and spoke with a voice characterized by hoarseness. Multiple listener judgments and acoustic and aerodynamic evaluations of both singers provided a more systematic basis for determining: 1) the phonatory basis for this judgment; 2) whether similar judgments would be made by groups of vocal coaches and speech-language pathologists; and 3) whether the type of tasks (e.g., sung vs. spoken) would influence these judgments. Statistically significant differences were observed between the ratings of vocal health provided by two different groups of listeners. Significant interactions were also observed as a function of the types of voice samples heard by these listeners. Instrumental analyses provided evidence that, in comparison to her sister, the rejected singer had a compromised vocal range, glottal insufficiencies as assessed aerodynamically and electroglottographically, and impaired acoustic quality, especially in her speaking voice.
Acoustics↗
Time-shift, trial, and gender effects on vocal perturbation measures.
Three jitter and three shimmer measures were examined for: (1) the stability of the measured values with respect to shifts in sample site (starting point of window in the token) and (2) the effects of trial and gender. The perturbation measures and their coefficients of variation for windows starting from five different but adjacent cycles showed a dependence on sample size. Their variability with regard to shifts in sample site decreased asymptotically with increasing size. The data suggested no statistically significant trial effect except for APQ and no statistically significant gender effect except for absolute jitter. It is speculated that relatively long smoothing windows for shimmer (such as the one used for APQ) would allow the effects of slow vocal modulations (e.g., tremor) to accentuate, especially for lower pitch speakers.
Adult↗
Reliability of pitch discrimination of vowel and piano tones.
This study evaluated the reliability of pitch judgments as a basic step toward increasing interrater and intrarater reliability of multidimensional perceptual judgments of the speaking voice. Forty-five undergraduate university students studying speech/language pathology made piano-to-piano tone pitch matches and vowel-to-piano pitch matches using a computer software program. The mean percentage correct of piano-to-piano tone matches was 91.3% and of vowel-to-piano matches was 75.6%. Subjects who scored 100% correct were significantly faster at the pitch matching task. Further research of perceptual judgments of pitch and its contribution to multidimensional rating tasks is warranted.
Adult↗
Measures of vocal function during changes in vocal effort level.
The purpose of this article is to present the results of a controlled study of the day-to-day variabilities of three acoustic parameters (jitter, shimmer, and normalized noise energy), and two electroglottographic parameters (contact quotient and contact quotient perturbation) for vowels produced at three vocal efforts (low, normal, high). Data were obtained with use of a sophisticated bilinear interpolation pitch detection method. A repeated measures design required subjects to produce the vowels /ae/ and /a/ five times a day over 3 days at each vocal effort level. The jitter, shimmer, and normalized noise energy values from acoustic measures and contact quotient and contact quotient perturbation values varied significantly among the three vocal effort levels. The clinical implication of this finding is that vocal effort must be controlled in order to obtain consistent clinical measures. Furthermore, day-to-day variability must be taken into account if representative measures are to be obtained for clinical use.
Electric Stimulation↗
Average speaking fundamental frequency in soprano singers with and without symptoms of vocal attrition.
Nineteen trained soprano singers aged 18-30 years vocalized tasks designed to assess average speaking fundamental frequency (SFF) during spontaneous speaking and reading. Vocal range and perceptual characteristics while singing with low intensity and high frequency were also assessed, and subjects completed a survey of vocal habits/symptoms. Recorded signals were digitized prior to being analyzed for SFF using the Kay Computerized Speech Lab program. Subjects were assigned to a normal voice or impaired voice group based on ratings of perceptual tasks and survey results. Data analysis showed group differences in mean SFF, no differences in vocal range, higher mean SFF values for reading than speaking, and 58% ability to perceive speaking in low pitch. The role of speaking in too low pitch as causal for vocal symptoms and need for voice classification differentiation in vocal performance studies are discussed.
Adolescent↗
A targeted deletion in alpha-tectorin reveals that the tectorial membrane is required for the gain and timing of cochlear feedback.
alpha-tectorin is an extracellular matrix molecule of the inner ear. Mice homozygous for a targeted deletion in a-tectorin have tectorial membranes that are detached from the cochlear epithelium and lack all noncollagenous matrix, but the architecture of the organ of Corti is otherwise normal. The basilar membranes of wild-type and alpha-tectorin mutant mice are tuned, but the alpha-tectorin mutants are 35 dB less sensitive. Basilar membrane responses of wild-type mice exhibit a second resonance, indicating that the tectorial membrane provides an inertial mass against which outer hair cells can exert forces. Cochlear microphonics recorded in alpha-tectorin mutants differ in both phase and symmetry relative to those of wild-type mice. Thus, the tectorial membrane ensures that outer hair cells can effectively respond to basilar membrane motion and that feedback is delivered with the appropriate gain and timing required for amplification.
Acoustic Stimulation↗
The processing of temporal pitch and melody information in auditory cortex.
An fMRI experiment was performed to identify the main stages of melody processing in the auditory pathway. Spectrally matched sounds that produce no pitch, fixed pitch, or melody were all found to activate Heschl's gyrus (HG) and planum temporale (PT). Within this region, sounds with pitch produced more activation than those without pitch only in the lateral half of HG. When the pitch was varied to produce a melody, there was activation in regions beyond HG and PT, specifically in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) and planum polare (PP). The results support the view that there is hierarchy of pitch processing in which the center of activity moves anterolaterally away from primary auditory cortex as the processing of melodic sounds proceeds.
Acoustic Stimulation↗
Psychophysiological correlates of social skills deficits in persons with schizophrenia.
Social skill deficits in schizophrenia profoundly affect patients' life-long outcome, although the profile of the underlying cognitive dysfunction still remains a matter of debate. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between social skills and event-related potentials (ERPs) in an auditory selective attention task, in addition to the neurocognitive indices obtained from the degraded-stimulus continuous performance test (CPT) and clinical indices, such as Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BRPS) and global assessment of function (GAF) scores. Social skills were assessed using a Japanese version of the structured role play test. Fourteen persons with schizophrenia participated in the study. Non-verbal skills showed a positive correlation with GAF, the performance level, N1 and N2b amplitude in the ERP task, and hit rate in the CPT, and a negative correlation with reaction time in the CPT. Verbal communication skills showed a positive correlation with GAF, the performance level and N2b amplitude in the ERP task, and hit rate in the CPT, and a negative correlation with reaction time in the CPT. Processing skills showed a positive correlation with the performance level and N1 amplitude in the ERP task and a negative correlation with reaction time in the CPT. These findings suggested that the social skill deficits of persons with schizophrenia were related to the vigilance level and controlled stimulus detection processing.
Adult↗
Activation of the inferior frontal cortex in musical priming.
Behavioral studies have provided evidence that the processing of a musical target is faster and more accurate when it is harmonically related to the preceding prime context. We investigated the neural correlates of processing related and unrelated musical targets that were presented at the end of musical sequences. Participants were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing speeded intonation judgments (consonant versus dissonant) on the target chords. Behavioral results acquired in the scanner replicated the facilitation effect of related over unrelated consonant targets. The overall activation pattern associated with target processing showed commonalities with networks previously described for target detection and novelty processing. The blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal linked to target processing revealed activation of bilateral inferior frontal regions (i.e. inferior frontal gyrus, frontal operculum, insula) that was stronger for unrelated than for related targets. We discuss our results with regard to the role of these areas in the processing and integration of temporal information.
Adolescent↗
Behavioral and electrophysiological effects of task-irrelevant sound change: a new distraction paradigm.
A distraction paradigm was utilized that is suited to yield reliable auditory distraction on an individual level even with rather small frequency deviances (7%). Distraction to these tiny deviants was achieved by embedding task-relevant aspects and task-irrelevant, distracting aspects of stimulation into the same perceptual object. Event-related potential (ERP) and behavioral effects of this newly developed paradigm were determined. Subjects received tones that could be of short or long duration equiprobably. They were instructed to press a response button to long-duration tones (targets). In oddball blocks, tones could be of standard frequency or of low-probability (p=0.1), deviant frequency. The task-irrelevant frequency deviants elicited MMN, N2b, and P3a components, and caused impoverished behavioral performance to targets. The usage of tiny distractors permits an interpretation of auditory distraction in terms of attention switching due to a particular memory-related change-detection process. On the basis of the results from an additional condition in which tones were of 10 different frequencies (involving those frequencies which served as standard and deviant in oddball blocks), it is argued that one important prerequisite for linking the neural mechanisms reflected in change-related brain waves to behavioral distraction effects may be regarded as fulfilled. The robustness of the distraction effects to tiny deviations was confirmed in two control experiments.
Acoustic Stimulation↗
Cortical processing of complex tone stimuli: mismatch negativity at the end of a period of rapid pitch modulation.
In this study, synthesised instrumental tones were used to examine human auditory cortical processes engaged at the end of a period of rapid pitch modulation. It was previously [S.J. Jones, O. Longe, M. Vaz Pato, Auditory evoked potentials to abrupt pitch and timbre change of complex tones: electrophysiological evidence of 'streaming'?, Electroencephalogr. Clin. Neurophysiol., 108 (1998) 131-142] suggested that the 'change-N1' produced by infrequent changes in pitch or timbre of a continuous complex tone represents the activity of a neuronal population topographically distinct from that responsible for the 'onset-N1' at the beginning of the tone. In the present study a superficially similar negativity was produced when the tone came to rest on a steady pitch after a period of rapid (8-16 changes/s) modulation; its scalp maximum was anterior to that of the two previously identified potentials but similar to that of the mismatch negativity elicited by discontinuous tones. By varying the modulation rate the latency was shown to be relatively constant with respect to the time the next pitch change was expected but failed to occur. The largest responses averaging c. 7 microV were evoked at the end of modulation sequences which were both rhythmic and repetitive, but a potential was still produced when there was no rhythmic pattern or repetition of individual notes. This response to non-occurrence of an expected but not necessarily specified change implies an automatic process for comparing the incoming sound with an extrapolated template of the preceding pattern in which timing as well as pitch information is accurately represented. We suggest this technique offers a robust method for eliciting the mismatch negativity, which may extend the opportunities for electrophysiological investigation of higher auditory processes.
Acoustic Stimulation↗
Parametric analysis of rate-dependent hemodynamic response functions of cortical and subcortical brain structures during auditorily cued finger tapping: a fMRI study.
A multitude of functional imaging studies revealed a mass activation effect at the level of the sensorimotor cortex during repetitive finger-tapping or finger-to-thumb opposition tasks in terms of either a stepwise or a monotonic relationship between movement rate and hemodynamic response. With respect to subcortical structures of the centralmotor system, there is, by contrast, some preliminary evidence for nonlinear rate/response functions within basal ganglia and cerebellum. To further specify these hemodynamic mechanisms, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed during a finger-tapping task in response to acoustic stimuli (six different frequencies: 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0 Hz; applied via headphones). Passive listening to the same auditory stimuli served as a control condition. Statistical evaluation of the obtained data considered two approaches: categorical and parametric analysis. As expected, the magnitude of the elicited hemodynamic response within left sensorimotor cortex (plateau phase at frequencies above 4 Hz) and mesiofrontal cortex paralleled movement rate. The observed bipartite mesial response pattern, most presumably, reflects functional compartmentalization of supplementary motor area (SMA) in a rostral component (pre-SMA) and in a caudal (SMA proper) component. At the level of the cerebellum, two significant hemodynamic responses within the hemisphere ipsilateral to the hand engaged into finger tapping (anterior/posterior quadrangular lobule and posterior quadrangular lobule) could be observed. Both activation foci exhibited a stepwise rate/response function. In accordance with clinical data, these data indicate different cerebellar contributions to motor control at frequencies below or above about 3 Hz, respectively. Caudate nucleus, putamen, and external pallidum of the left hemisphere displayed, by contrast, a negative linear rate/response relationship. The physiological significance of these latter findings remains to be clarified.
Adult↗
Statistical tests for fMRI based on experimental randomization.
Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analysis of fMRI data requires specifying correctly the temporal and spatial noise covariance structure. This is a difficult if not impossible task. When these assumptions are not satisfied, statistical inference can be invalid or inefficient. Permutation tests are free of strong assumptions on the distribution of signal noise. We propose permutation tests of fMRI data based on experimental randomization of the stimulus sequences. Smooth hemodynamic response curves are estimated using quadratic B-splines. We study fMRI data obtained from event-related potential (ERP) oddball paradigm. Tests of two-tone and three-tone stimulus sequences are conducted to illustrate the application of the proposed method. Comparisons of the SPM and proposed method show that a permutation test is more specific and less susceptible to artifacts.
Arousal↗
What is specific to music processing? Insights from congenital amusia.
Musical abilities are generally regarded as an evolutionary by-product of more important functions, such as those involved in language. However, there is increasing evidence that humans are born with musical predispositions that develop spontaneously into sophisticated knowledge bases and procedures that are unique to music. Recent findings also suggest that the brain is equipped with music-specific neural networks and that these can be selectively compromised by a congenital anomaly. This results in a disorder, congenital amusia, that appears to be limited to the processing of music. Recent evidence points to fine-grained perception of pitch as the root of musical handicap. Hence, musical abilities appear to depend crucially on the fine-tuning of pitch, in much the same way that language abilities rely on fine time resolution.
Journal Article↗
The auditory 'C-process': analyzing the spectral envelope of complex sounds.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the hypothesis that auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) to pitch and timbre change of complex harmonic tones reflect a process of spectral envelope analysis. METHODS: AEPs were recorded to: (1) continuous tones of 'clarinet' timbre whose pitch abruptly rose or fell by 1 or 7 semitones every 0.5 or 1.5 s; (2) a cycle of 6 pitches changing every 0.5 s; (3) tones of constant pitch whose timbre (spectral envelope shape) changed periodically; (4) pitch change of high- and low-pass filtered 'clarinet' tones. RESULTS: The amplitudes of the 'change-N1' (CN1) potential peaking at ca. 90 ms and the following CP2 were influenced to a far greater degree by the time interval between changes, than by the magnitude of the change or by the time interval between occurrences of the same pitch. Amplitudes were also strongly dependent on the number of partials present, irrespective of whether they were increasing or decreasing in energy. The algebraic sum of the responses to pitch change of high- and low-pass filtered tones closely approximated the response to the unfiltered tone. CONCLUSION: The rate-sensitivity of the responses cannot be explained by the refractoriness of frequency-specific 'feature detector' neurones, but rather of a process (termed 'C-process') which analyzes amplitude modulations across the spectral envelope, the contribution of different frequency bands combining linearly in the scalp-recorded activity. On-going computation of the spectral envelope shape may be an important factor in maintaining the perceptual constancy of timbre.
Adult↗