Auditory Perceptual Characteristics Research Articles

Speech beyond the binary: Some acoustic-phonetic and auditory-perceptual characteristics of non-binary speakers

Speech acoustics research typically assumes speakers are men or women with speech characteristics associated with these two gender categories. Less work has assessed acoustic-phonetic characteristics of non-binary speakers. This study examined acoustic-phonetic features across adult cisgender (15 men and 15 women) and subgroups of transgender (15 non-binary, 7 transgender men, and 7 transgender women) speakers and relations among these features and perceptual ratings of gender identity and masculinity/femininity. Differing acoustic-phonetic features were predictive of confidence in speaker gender and masculinity/femininity across cisgender and transgender speakers. Non-binary speakers were perceptually rated within an intermediate range of cisgender women and all other groups.

Effect of Voice Projection Training on Acoustic and Auditory-Perceptual Characteristics of Voice in Tamil-Speaking Imams

Imams are professional voice users at risk of developing voice problems. Speech-Language Pathologists need to provide intervention programs to target risk factors associated with voice disorders and improve the voice quality of Imams. However, studies examining the effect of vocal training for Imams are limited in the literature. This study attempted to document the acoustic and auditory-perceptual changes in the voices of Tamil-speaking Imams with a voice projection training program. Eleven Tamil-speaking Imams participated in a voice projection training program. Voice samples were recorded at four specific time points before, during, and after the voice projection training. These recordings were subjected to various acoustic analyses (AVQI, Dr Speech, and MDVP) and auditory-perceptual analysis (CAPE-V) to determine the changes with the voice projection training. Auditory-Perceptual analysis carried out by five experienced SLPs suggested significant changes in the voice quality of the participants with voice projection training. High inter-rater reliability was observed across the judges as well. We observed positive changes in several acoustic measures indicated within AVQI, Dr Speech, and MDVP software. These primarily included changes in fundamental frequency, noise related measures (HNR, SNR), and perturbation measures. Voice projection training positively impacts the acoustic and auditory-perceptual characteristics of the voices of Tamil-speaking Imams.

Intelligibility, Speech Rate, and Communication Efficiency in Children With Neurological Conditions: A Longitudinal Study of Childhood Dysarthria.

This study aimed to describe communication-related parameters (i.e., intelligibility, speech rate, and communication efficiency) and their developmental courses in children with neurological conditions against the background of typical development. In addition, interrelations between the developmental courses of communication-related parameters and auditory-perceptual ratings related to speech subsystems were investigated. Fourteen children with neurological conditions (CNC) and 14 typically developing children (CTD), matched for age and gender (four girls; 5;1-8;4 [years;months] at first examination), were assessed at three points in time over an 18-month period. Speech samples were collected using the Bogenhausener Dysarthrie Skalen-Kindliche Dysarthrien (English: Bogenhausen Dysarthria Scales-Childhood Dysarthria), a German tool for the assessment of childhood dysarthria. To assess intelligibility, naïve listeners transcribed audio samples of sentence repetitions of the children. Speech rate was measured by acoustic analyses, and communication efficiency was determined by multiplying the proportion of correctly transcribed syllables with speech rate. Age normalization was performed following a recently published approach. On the group level, CNC had conspicuous raw and normalized scores for the three communication-related parameters and were more variable than the CTD group regarding their developmental courses. These differences were more pronounced for intelligibility than for speech rate. A strong relationship between communication-related and speech subsystems-related auditory-perceptual characteristics was apparent only between intelligibility and articulation/resonance. For the first time, age-normalized scores for communication-related parameters were reported in children with neurological disorders and put into a developmental context within the framework of a longitudinal study. Age-normalized intelligibility was more vulnerable to large developmental changes than speech rate and was best predicted by changes in articulation and resonance. Overall, this study may contribute to a more comprehensive and valid clinical assessment of childhood dysarthria and to a better understanding of its developmental dynamics.

Discussions on Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation Performed in Patients With Voice Disorders

The auditory-perceptual evaluation of speech-language pathologists (SLP) in patients with voice disorders is often regarded as a touchstone in the multi-dimensional voice evaluation procedures and provides important information not available in other assessment modalities. Therefore, it is necessary for the SLPs to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth evaluation of not only voice but also the overall speech production mechanism, and they often encounter various difficulties in the evaluation process. In addition, SLPs should strive to avoid bias during the evaluation process and to maintain a wide and constant spectrum of severity for each parameter of voice quality. Lastly, it is very important for the SLPs to perform a team approach by documenting and delivering important information pertaining to auditory-perceptual characteristics in an appropriate and efficient way through close communication with the laryngologists.

Indicators of Communication Limitation in Dysarthria and Their Relation to Auditory-Perceptual Speech Symptoms: Construct Validity of the KommPaS Web App.

Despite extensive research into communication-related parameters in dysarthria, such as intelligibility, naturalness, and perceived listener effort, the existing evidence has not been translated into a clinically applicable, comprehensive, and valid diagnostic tool so far. This study addresses Communication-Related Parameters in Speech Disorders (KommPaS), a new web-based diagnostic instrument for measuring indices of communication limitation in individuals with dysarthria through online crowdsourcing. More specifically, it answers questions about the construct validity of KommPaS. In the first part, the interrelationship of the KommPaS variables intelligibility, naturalness, perceived listener effort, and speech rate were explored in order to draw a comprehensive picture of a patient's limitations and avoid the collection of redundant information. Second, the influences of motor speech symptoms on the KommPaS variables were studied in order to delineate the structural relationships between two complementary diagnostic perspectives. One hundred persons with dysarthria of different etiologies and varying degrees of severity were examined with KommPaS to obtain layperson-based data on communication-level parameters, and with the Bogenhausen Dysarthria Scale (BoDyS) to obtain expert-based, function-level data on dysarthria symptoms. The internal structure of the KommPaS variables and their dependence on the BoDyS variables were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Despite a high multicollinearity, all KommPaS variables were shown to provide complementary diagnostic information and their mutual interconnections were delineated in a path graph model. Regarding the influence of the BoDyS scales on the KommPaS variables, separate linear regression models revealed plausible predictor sets. A complete path model of KommPaS and BoDyS variables was developed to map the complex interplay between variables at the functional and the communication levels of dysarthria assessment. In validating a new clinical tool for the diagnostics of communication limitations in dysarthria, this study is the first to draw a comprehensive picture of how auditory-perceptual characteristics of dysarthria interact at the levels of expert-based functional and layperson-based communicative assessments.

Influence of Phonatory Break Duration and Pause Time on Auditory-Perceptual Ratings of Speech Aceptability and Listener Comfort in Adductor-Type Laryngeal Dystonia.

This study empirically evaluated the influence of phonatory break duration and pause time on auditory-perceptual measures of speech produced by 26 adult speakers diagnosed with adductor-type laryngeal dystonia (AdLD). Experimental. Fifteen inexperienced, young adult normal-hearing listeners provided ratings of speech acceptability and listener comfort for samples of running speech. Four phonatory break and pause time conditions were assessed using visual analog scaling methods. All stimuli were randomized for presentation and listeners were presented with experimental stimuli in a counterbalanced manner. Results indicate that the duration of phonatory breaks directly influenced listener ratings of speech acceptability (P < 0.001) and listener comfort (P < 0.001), with significant differences between original and modified recordings for both. Speech acceptability and listener comfort ratings were strongly correlated across all timing conditions (r=0.85-0.97). The duration of phonatory breaks and pauses have significantly influence judgments of speech acceptability and listener comfort for AdLD. This suggests that temporal factors such as phonatory break duration and pause time in AdLD may carry substantial negative impact on listeners' perception relative to other auditory-perceptual features that co-exist in the signal.

Vocal Changes of Men and Women from Different Age Decades: An Analysis from 30 Years of Age

ObjectiveTo verify the modifications in auditory-perceptual and acoustic parameters of the fundamental frequency, short-term perturbation, noise, and cepstral measures of voice in young and elderly were distributed over the age of decades. MethodsThe study was conducted on 265 subjects (140 females and 125 males), aged 30 to 79 years, without a history of vocal complaints or dysphonia, distributed in five age groups for females and males (30-39 years until 70-79 years). Three speech therapists voice specialists performed the perceptual-auditory analysis using a 100-mm visual analog scale, based on the overall dysphonia grade (overall grade), roughness, and breathiness from the sustained vowel /a/. The smoothed cepstral peak prominence (CPPS), average fundamental frequency (F0), standard deviation of the fundamental frequency (std-F0), jitter percentage (%), shimmer percentage (%), noise-to-harmonic ratio (NHR), voice turbulence index (VTI), and soft phonation index (SPI) were extracted for the acoustic analysis ResultsIn the case of the auditory-perceptual characteristics, the comparison between aged groups showed that, in men, the vocal quality did not show significant differences in the overall grade, roughness, and breathiness. However, women in the 3rd decade of life presented higher breathiness than those in the 5th, 6th, and 7th decades. Men had a higher overall grade and roughness than women. In the case of the acoustic data, the cepstral measure showed that in the 3rd decade, men presented higher CPPS than females. The noise measures, in the comparison by age groups, only VTI and SPI were different for women: VTI was higher in the 7th decade than in the 4th, whereas SPI was higher in the 4th decade than in older women. In the male population, the SPI in the 4th decade was also higher than that in the older population ConclusionThe analysis by age groups of life allowed the identification of breathiness as a sensitive parameter in the different stages of adult life in women. The CPPS analysis showed that the 7th age decade is the period of the appearance of vocal changes for females, characterized by higher CPPS. The results related to traditional short-term perturbation and noise measurements showed that changes in F0, jitter, shimmer, and NHR were not found. Among the other noise measurements, VTI and SPI demonstrated some changes in different decades of life.

How Face Masks Affect Acoustic and Auditory Perceptual Characteristics of the Singing Voice

Wearing a face mask has been accepted as one of the most effective ways for slowing the spread of COVID-19. Yet information regarding the degree to which masks affect acoustics and perception associated with voice performers is scarce. This study examines these effects with common face masks, namely a neck gaiter, disposable surgical mask, and N95 mask, as well as a novel material that could be used as a mask (acoustic foam). A recorded excerpt from the "Star-Spangled Banner" was played through a miniature speaker placed inside the mouth of a masked manikin. Experienced listeners were asked to rate perceptual qualities of these singing stimuli by blindly comparing them with the same recording captured without a mask. Acoustic analysis showed that face masks affected the sound by enhancing or suppressing different frequency bands compared to no mask. Acoustic energy around the singer's formant was reduced when using surgical and N95 masks, which matches observations that these masks are more detrimental to the perceptions of singing voice compared with neck gaiter or acoustic foam. It suggests that singers can benefit from masks designed for minimal impact on auditory perception of the singing voice while maintaining reasonable efficacy of filtering efficiency.

Female Voice-Related Sexual Attractiveness to Males: Does it Vary With Different Degrees of Conception Likelihood?

Previous investigations have found that female voice-related attractiveness to males increases when both conception likelihood (CL) and voice fundamental frequency (fo) are elevated. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a perceptual experiment where 78 heterosexual males rated sexual attractiveness of 9 female voice samples, recorded at menstrual, follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle under two double-blinded randomly allocated conditions: a natural menstrual cycle (placebo condition) and when using an oral contraceptive pill (OCP condition). The voice samples yielded a total of 54 stimuli that were visually sorted and rated using Visor software. Concentrations of estrogens, progesterone and testosterone were analyzed, and measurements of speaking fundamental frequency (sfo) and its standard deviation (sfoSD), fo derivative (dfo) and fo slope were made. A multilevel ordinal logistic regression model nested in listeners and in females, and adjusted by phase and condition, was carried out to assess the association between ratings and: (1) phases and conditions; (2) sex steroid hormonal concentrations; and (3) voice parameters. A high probability of obtaining high ratings of voice sexual attractiveness was found for: (1) menstrual phase of placebo use and follicular phase of OCP use; (2) for low estradiol to progesterone ratio and testosterone concentrations; and (3) for low dfo. The latter showed a moderate statistical association with ratings of high attractiveness, as compared with the small association found for the remaining variables. It seems that the voice is a weak cue for female CL. Female sexual attraction to males may be a consequence of what females do in order to regulate their extended sexuality across the menstrual cycle rather than of estrus cues, the use of paralinguistic speech patterns being an example.

Acoustic and Auditory-Perceptual Characteristics of Korean Stop Consonants in Patients with Idiopathic Parkinson’s Disease and Cerebellar-Multiple System Atrophy

Acoustic and Auditory-Perceptual Characteristics of Korean Stop Consonants in Patients with Idiopathic Parkinson’s Disease and Cerebellar-Multiple System Atrophy

Relationship of Cepstral Peak Prominence-Smoothed and Long-Term Average Spectrum with Auditory–Perceptual Analysis

Cepstral peak prominence-smoothed (CPPs) and long-term average spectrum (LTAS) are robust measures that represent the glottal source and source-filter interactions, respectively. Until now, little has been known about how physiological events impact auditory–perceptual characteristics in the objective measures of CPPs and LTAS (alpha ratio; L1–L0). Thus, this paper aims to analyze the relationship between such acoustic measures and auditory–perceptual analysis and then determine which acoustic measure best represents voice quality. We analyzed 53 voice samples of vocally healthy participants (vocally healthy group-VHG) and 49 voice samples of participants with behavioral dysphonia (dysphonic group-DG). Each voice sample was composed of sustained vowel /a/ and connected speech. CPPs seem to be the best predictor of voice deviation in both studied populations because there was moderate to strong negative correlations with general degree, breathiness, roughness, and strain (auditory–perceptual parameters). Regarding L1–L0, this measure is related to breathiness (moderate negative correlations). Hence, L1–L0 provides information about air leak through closed glottis, assisting the phonatory efficiency analysis.

Submucous Cleft Palate: Evaluation and Treatment Principles for Speech-Language Pathologists

PurposeThis clinical focus article intends to provide speech-language pathologists (SLPs) with a review of the literature and practical recommendations for the evaluation and treatment of individuals with submucous cleft palate (SMCP).MethodA review of the literature focused on definition, incidence, and diagnostic recommendations for SMCP was completed. Descriptions of physical and auditory–perceptual features common during evaluation were described in detail. Guiding principles for clinical management related to surgery and/or speech therapy were provided.ResultsSeveral discrepancies in the definition, incidence, and outcomes across SMCP studies were discovered in the literature. The importance of a comprehensive perceptual evaluation, including an oral mechanism examination by an SLP trained in the assessment of individuals with craniofacial anomalies, was emphasized.ConclusionsSMCP is a less understood subtype of cleft palate that presents a unique challenge for clinicians. A trained SLP's comprehensive perceptual evaluation and thorough oral mechanism examination are critical for diagnosis and treatment. SLPs can promote best practice for this population by initiating referrals to an accredited cleft palate–craniofacial team for further evaluation of their speech and assessment of surgical candidacy.

Perceptual Characterization of Voice Quality in Nonadvanced Stages of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that impacts motor and nonmotor systems, and consequently influences voice. In later stages of the disease, people with PD develop salient hypokinetic dysarthria. However, it is unclear how extensive the voice impairment is in the nonadvanced stages of PD. Therefore, the aim of the current research was to investigate the auditory-perceptual characteristics of voice in people with Parkinson's disease (PWPD) in nonadvanced stages. 29 PWPD and 32 healthy older controls were recruited. For each participant, a recording of the sentence "We were away a year ago" was acquired. These recordings were evaluated by 2 licensed and experienced speech-language pathologists, who provided perceptual ratings of overall dysphonia severity, breathiness, roughness, and perceived age. MANCOVA analysis showed that, when controlling for age and intensity, there was a significant effect of group (P=0.001) on perceptual voice quality. PWPD were perceived to be significantly older, more breathy and more severely dysphonic than the older healthy controls. No differences were found for the perceived roughness. The results suggest that perceptual features of hypokinetic dysarthria in voice, specifically breathiness, are present in nonadvanced stages of PWPD and may contribute to listener perceptions of speaker age. Moreover, the perceptual voice profiles in PWPD showed great variability, possibly reflecting the heterogeneity of disease impact on individuals. The results of this study may inform how research targets rehabilitation and maintenance of voice and laryngeal function in PWPD at nonadvanced stages.

Real-Time Speech Enhancement Algorithm Based on Attention LSTM

Because traditional single-channel speech enhancement algorithms are sensitive to the environment and perform poorly, a speech enhancement algorithm based on attention-gated long short-term memory (LSTM) is proposed. To simulate human auditory perceptual characteristics, the algorithm divides the frequency band according to the Bark scale. Based on these bands, bark frequency cepstral coefficients (BFCCs), their derivative features and pitch-based features are extracted. Furthermore, considering that different noises have different influence on the clean speech, the attention mechanism is applied to screen out the information less polluted by noise, which is helpful to reconstruct the clean speech. To adaptively reallocate the power ratio of the speech and noise during the construction of the ratio mask, the ideal ratio mask (IRM) with the inter-channel correlation (ICC) is adopted as the learning target. In addition, to improve the performance of the network, the algorithm introduces a multiobjective learning strategy to jointly optimize the networks by using a voice activity detector (VAD). Subjective and objective experiments show that the proposed algorithm outperforms other baseline algorithms. In real-time experiment, the proposed algorithm maintains high real-time performance and fast convergence speed.

Auditory-Perceptual Characteristics of the Voice of Nondysphonic School Children From 8:0 to 10:0 Years Old

Describe and correlate the auditory-perceptual characteristics of the voice of nondysphonic school children from private and public schools from 8:0 to 10:0years old, female and male. Cross-sectional, quantitative and retrospective study of students from schools in a small city. Auditory-perceptual evaluations of 154 nondysphonic students were analyzed. Where considered nondysphonic those presenting overall severity bellow 34mm using Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice. There was significantly higher strain in girls; significant positive correlation between age and the parameters overall severity, breathiness, and strain; significant differences in the mean values of the vocal parameters, with more evident roughness and breathiness in girls and breathiness in boys; in children from 8:0 to 9:0years, all parameters were positively correlated; in children from 9:1 to 10:0years, all vocal parameters except roughness increased and positive correlations became stronger. The strain was higher in girls; roughness, and breathiness were higher in girls, and breathiness was higher in boys. As age increased, all vocal parameters except roughness increased, and positive correlations became stronger.

Vocal Acoustic and Auditory-Perceptual Characteristics During Fluctuations in Estradiol Levels During the Menstrual Cycle: A Longitudinal Study

Estradiol production varies cyclically, changes in levels are hypothesized to affect the voice. The main objective of this study was to investigate vocal acoustic and auditory-perceptual characteristics during fluctuations in the levels of the hormone estradiol during the menstrual cycle. A total of 44 volunteers aged between 18 and 45 were selected. Of these, 27 women with regular menstrual cycles comprised the test group (TG) and 17 combined oral contraceptive users comprised the control group (CG). The study was performed in two phases. In phase 1, anamnesis was performed. Subsequently, the TG underwent blood sample collection for measurement of estradiol levels and voice recording for later acoustic and auditory-perceptual analysis. The CG underwent only voice recording. Phase 2 involved the same measurements as phase 1 for each group. Variables were evaluated using descriptive and inferential analysis to compare groups and phases and to determine relationships between variables. Voice changes were found during the menstrual cycle, and such changes were determined to be related to variations in estradiol levels. Impaired voice quality was observed to be associated with decreased levels of estradiol. The CG did not demonstrate significant vocal changes during phases 1 and 2. The TG showed significant increases in vocal parameters of roughness, tension, and instability during phase 2 (the period of low estradiol levels) when compared with the CG. Low estradiol levels were also found to be negatively correlated with the parameters of tension, instability, and jitter and positively correlated with fundamental voice frequency.

Performance Comparison of Two Types of Auditory Perceptual Features in Robust Underwater Target Classification

Performance Comparison of Two Types of Auditory Perceptual Features in Robust Underwater Target Classification

Correlação entre sintomas e avaliação perceptivo-auditiva da voz em indivíduos disfônicos

Objetivo Correlacionar os sintomas vocais e os dados da avaliação perceptivo-auditiva da voz de indivíduos disfônicos. Métodos Foram analisados os prontuários de 30 indivíduos com queixas vocais, atendidos em um serviço de Fonoaudiologia, sendo 22 mulheres e oito homens, com média de idade de 51,8 anos (±15,5). Foram coletadas as seguintes informações: resultados da Escala de Sintomas Vocais (ESV) dos domínios Limitação, Emocional, Físico e Total; resultados da avaliação perceptivo-auditiva por meio do protocolo CAPE-V (grau geral do desvio vocal, rugosidade, soprosidade, tensão, pitch, loudness e ressonância). Ambos os procedimentos foram realizados pela fonoaudióloga responsável, na primeira consulta do paciente. Os dados foram analisados estatisticamente. Resultados Houve correlações positivas consideradas boas apenas para os cruzamentos entre as variáveis “Escores totais da ESV” x “Grau geral do desvio vocal” e “Escores Limitação da ESV” x “Grau geral do desvio vocal”. Os escores dos domínios Limitação e Total da ESV tiveram correlação regular com o parâmetro rugosidade. Os demais parâmetros perceptivo-auditivos, de forma isolada, principalmente soprosidade de tensão, não se correlacionaram com os sintomas vocais. Conclusão A relação entre os sintomas vocais e as características perceptivo-auditivas da voz não é direta. No entanto, os sintomas relacionados à funcionalidade, ou seja, às limitações vocais e de comunicação, parecem ter maior correlação com a avaliação clínica, especificamente com o parâmetro “grau geral do desvio vocal”.

Genetic and brain atrophy markers associated with different psychological phenotypes within ADNI

room. Patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) typically have difficulty with tasks requiring ASA and anatomical regions implicated in ASA in the healthy brain are vulnerable in AD, suggesting that ASAmay provide a window on AD pathophysiology. Methods: Here we studied the brain mechanism of the ’cocktail party effect’ using 3T fMRI in a cohort of patients fulfilling consensus criteria for typical AD in relation to age-matched healthy subjects.We designed a ’sparse’ image acquisition, passive listening paradigm to minimise extraneous cognitive or task-related attentional demands, control low-level auditory perceptual features and optimise signal detection. We reasoned that the cocktail party effect would be captured by the differential ASA demands during processing of sound conditions where the auditory target was a learned template (one’s own name) versus a comparably acoustically complex but unfamiliar sound object (one’s own name spectrally rotated). Subjects heard four stimulus conditions: i) their own name interleaved with babble, ii) own name superimposed on babble, iii) own name spectrally rotated (rendered unrecognisable) and interleaved with babble, or iv) own name spectrally rotated and superimposed on babble. Results: Compared with healthy older controls, AD patients showed heightened activation in posterior hippocampus during ’cocktail party’ processing. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that ASA is a model of generic cortical information processing that can be used to probe obligatory pathophysological mechanisms of AD, including abnormally heightened or compensatory processes. This work goes beyond the traditional emphasis on higher cognitive and mnestic functions in AD: besides illuminating an important but poorly understood class of perceptual symptoms, such work promises novel insights into neural network dysfunction underpinning AD.

Sensorimotor maps and vowel development in English, Greek, and Korean: A cross-linguistic perceptual categorization study.

Learning to speak involves learning the association between different articulatory maneuvers and their associated auditory-perceptual characteristics. These associations may change over the course of development as a consequence of the nonlinearities inherent in vocal-tract growth. A set of recent studies by Ménard and colleagues has examined these developmental changes by studying adults’ categorizations of synthesized vowels based on an articulatory model of the growing vocal tract. These have shown that vowels modeled on younger vocal tracts tend to be perceived as more front than those modeled on older vocal tracts. They have also shown language-specificity in the vowels that are identified in growing vocal tracts, with French listeners labeling fewer sounds as /u/ than English ones, presumably because the high-vowel space of French includes three vowels /i y u/, while English has only two. The current experiment expands on this by examining the perception of synthesized vowels based on seven vocal-tract growth stages by speakers of three languages with very different vowel systems, American English, Korean (seven vowels), and modern Greek (five vowels). Preliminary analyses show language-specific patterns in the perception of vowels in developing vocal tracts. [work supported by NIDCD 02932 and NSF grants BCS0729140 and BCS0729277]