Effects Of Auditory Input Research Articles

The Effect of Auditory Input on Multimodal Reading Comprehension: An Examination of Adult Readers’ Eye Movements

AbstractComprehension of many types of texts involves constructing meaning from text and pictures. However, research examining how second language (L2) learners process text and pictures and the relationship with comprehension is scarce. Thus, while verbal input is often presented in written and auditory modes simultaneously (i.e., audio of text with simultaneous reading of it), we do not know how the auditory input affects L2 adult learners’ processing of text and pictures and its relation to comprehension. In the current study, L2 adult learners and native (L1) adults read and read while listening to an illustrated story while their eye movements were recorded. Immediately after reading, they completed a comprehension test. Results showed that the presence of auditory input allowed learners to spend more time looking at pictures and supported a better integration of text and pictures. No differences were observed between L2 and L1 readers’ allocation of attention to text and pictures. Both reading conditions led to similar levels of comprehension. Processing time on the text was positively related to comprehension for L2 readers, while it was associated to lower comprehension for L1 readers. Processing time on images was positively related to comprehension only for L1 readers.

Acoustic cues and postural control

The effect of auditory input on postural control was evaluated in separate experiments performed in three groups of healthy volunteers. Auditory input took the form either of feedback signals generated by a force platform in response to the subject's postural control movements, or of field orientation (frame of reference) input provided by repeated clicks emitted by loudspeakers in a normally reverberative environment. The effect of these acoustic cues was measured in terms of body sway recorded on a force platform during stance perturbations induced by vibratory stimuli applied to the calf muscles either at low (120mW) or high (850 mW) intensity, the subject standing with eyes closed or open, as instructed. In the presence of feedback auditory input, body sway in response to low intensity vibratory stimulation was significantly reduced, but not that in response to high intensity stimulation. This may be due to the fact that the head and body movements induced by high intensity vibratory stimulation are so rapid and powerful that they override the information available or to the subject using other strategies for postural control in which auditory feedback, at least in the form used here, does not contribute useful information. The availability of field orientation input did not reduce body sway in response to vibratory stimulation at low intensity. This was probably due to the cognitive lag which precluded use being made of the input before the fast proprioceptive responses to vibratory stimulation had already occurred.

Influence of hearing on vestibulospinal control in healthy subjects. German version

Balance control is based on multisensory interaction. In addition to vestibular, proprioceptive and visual information, it seems that auditory input also plays an important role. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of hearing on vestibulospinal coordination and to obtain deeper knowledge about mechanisms of audiovestibular interaction. In normal hearing, healthy subjects who performed the Unterberger (Fukuda) stepping test with and without frontal presentation of noise, the distance of displacement, the angle of displacement and the angle of rotation were measured by means of ultrasound based cranio-corpo-graphy (CCG). Additionally, subjective estimation of the effect of auditory input was compared to objective test results. In the noise condition, there was asignificant improvement in the distance of displacement (mean with noise 66.9 cm ± 33.5 standard deviation, SD, mean without noise 77.0 cm ± 32.7 SD, p < 0.001) and in the angle of rotation (mean with noise 14.2° ± 10.1 SD, mean without noise 28.3° ± 20.2 SD, p < 0.001), while no difference was found within the conditions regarding the angle of displacement (mean with noise 29.1° ± 33.5 SD, mean without noise 30.0° ± 34.0 SD, p = 0.641). Side-specific analysis revealed apositive correlation between angle of displacement and angle of rotation in the condition without noise (Spearman r = 0.441, p < 0.001). The rate of agreement between subjective estimation of noise influence and objective test results ranged between only 43% and 63%, depending on the question and endpoint. Hearing had aclearly beneficial effect of auditory inputs on vestibulospinal coordination, especially for distance of displacement and angle of rotation.

Auditory input modulates sleep: an intra-cochlear-implanted human model

To properly demonstrate the effect of auditory input on sleep of intra-cochlear-implanted patients, the following approach was developed. Four implanted deaf patients were recorded during four nights: two nights with the implant OFF, with no auditory input, and two nights with the implant ON, that is, with normal auditory input, being only the common night sounds present, without any additional auditory stimuli delivered. The sleep patterns of another five deaf people were used as controls, exhibiting normal sleep organization. Moreover, the four experimental patients with intra-cochlear devices and the implant OFF also showed normal sleep patterns. On comparison of the night recordings with the implant ON and OFF, a new sleep organization was observed for the recordings with the implant ON, suggesting that brain plasticity may produce changes in the sleep stage percentages while maintaining the ultradian rhythm. During sleep with the implant ON, the analysis of the electroencephalographic delta, theta and alpha bands in the frequency domain, using the Fast Fourier Transform, revealed a diversity of changes in the power originated in the contralateral cortical temporal region. Different power shifts were observed, perhaps related to the exact position of the implant inside the cochlea and the scalp electrode location. In conclusion, this pilot study shows that the auditory input in humans can introduce changes in central nervous system activity leading to shifts in sleep characteristics, as previously demonstrated in guinea pigs. We are postulating that an intra-cochlear-implanted deaf patient may have a better recovery if the implant is maintained ON during the night, that is, during sleep.

Don't Stand So Close to Me: The Effect of Auditory Input on Interpersonal Space

We provide preliminary evidence that listening to music through headphones alters the perception of space around the body -- specifically, the interpersonal distance maintained between the self and others. In comparison to an external auditory environment, wearing headphones or earplugs increased the amount of space maintained between the wearer and another person during an active approach paradigm. This finding suggests that, when external cues to spatial location (such as sound) are removed, people compensate by increasing the distance between themselves and others. The implications of this research for navigating busy urban environments and for the social interactions of wearers of personal music systems are discussed.

Effects of auditory input in individuation tasks

Under many conditions auditory input interferes with visual processing, especially early in development. These interference effects are often more pronounced when the auditory input is unfamiliar than when the auditory input is familiar (e.g. human speech, pre-familiarized sounds, etc.). The current study extends this research by examining how auditory input affects 8- and 14-month-olds' performance on individuation tasks. The results of the current study indicate that both unfamiliar sounds and words interfered with infants' performance on an individuation task, with cross-modal interference effects being numerically stronger for unfamiliar sounds. The effects of auditory input on a variety of lexical tasks are discussed.

Visual processing speed: effects of auditory input on visual processing

The ability to process simultaneously presented auditory and visual information is a necessary component underlying many cognitive tasks. While this ability is often taken for granted, there is evidence that under many conditions auditory input attenuates processing of corresponding visual input. The current study investigated infants' processing of visual input under unimodal and cross-modal conditions. Results of the three reported experiments indicate that different auditory input had different effects on infants' processing of visual information. In particular, unfamiliar auditory input slowed down visual processing, whereas more familiar auditory input did not. These results elucidate mechanisms underlying auditory overshadowing in the course of cross-modal processing and have implications on a variety of cognitive tasks that depend on cross-modal processing.

Acoustic cues and postural control

The effect of auditory input on postural control was evaluated in separate experiments performed in three groups of healthy volunteers. Auditory input took the form either of feedback signals generated by a force platform in response to the subject's postural control movements, or of field orientation (frame of reference) input provided by repeated clicks emitted by loudspeakers in a normally reverberative environment. The effect of these acoustic cues was measured in terms of body sway recorded on a force platform during stance perturbations induced by vibratory stimuli applied to the calf muscles either at low (120mW) or high (850 mW) intensity, the subject standing with eyes closed or open, as instructed. In the presence of feedback auditory input, body sway in response to low intensity vibratory stimulation was significantly reduced, but not that in response to high intensity stimulation. This may be due to the fact that the head and body movements induced by high intensity vibratory stimulation are so rapid and powerful that they override the information available or to the subject using other strategies for postural control in which auditory feedback, at least in the form used here, does not contribute useful information. The availability of field orientation input did not reduce body sway in response to vibratory stimulation at low intensity. This was probably due to the cognitive lag which precluded use being made of the input before the fast proprioceptive responses to vibratory stimulation had already occurred.

The effect of auditory input on cerebral laterality

Cerebral laterality was examined for third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade deaf and hearing subjects. The experimental task involved the processing of word and picture stimuli presented singly to the right and left visual hemifields. The analyses indicated the deaf children were faster than the hearing children in overall processing efficiency, and that they performed differently in regard to hemispheric lateralization. The deaf children processed the stimuli more efficiently in the right hemisphere, while the hearing children demonstrated a left-hemisphere proficiency. This finding is discussed in terms of the hypothesis that cerebral lateralization is influenced by auditory processing.