Tone Intensity Research Articles

A pilot study augmenting cognitive behavioral therapy for panic disorder with attention bias modification: Clinical and psychophysiological outcomes

Background and objectivesStudies show that attentional bias towards threat is a key maintenance factor for panic disorder (PD). Attentional bias may be an important mechanism of symptom reduction, and thus, a useful target for optimizing outcomes. The current study examined whether an attention bias modification (ABM) task enhanced CBT outcomes. Multiple methods for assessing PD were used, including physiological measurement and clinician-rated assessment. MethodsAdults with panic disorder (N = 24) received seven sessions of CBT with either ABM or sham attention tasks. Psychophysiological reaction to a loud tones startle paradigm was assessed before and after treatment. ResultsAcross both groups, panic symptom severity decreased with CBT. The ABM group showed greater reductions in PD symptoms compared to the placebo group. Notably, however, changes in attentional bias were not associated with symptom reductions across groups. No significant group differences on psychophysiological assessment were observed. LimitationsThis study is limited by the small sample size, which rendered our power to investigate mediators and moderators insufficient. More research is needed to validate the effect of attention bias modification on attentional bias to threat. ConclusionsThis pilot study suggests that future research should investigate attentional bias in conjunction with CBT. A larger sample would provide opportunity to further investigate the mechanisms through which ABM works, along with potential moderating factors and the use of psychophysiological measurements in panic disorder.

Investigation on spatial distribution of acoustic resonance in annular cavity: Frequency and intensity

This paper studies the acoustic behavior inside the deep annular and cylindrical cavity at low Mach number. The turbulent shear layer above the cavity acts as a broadband noise source and drives resonant standing waves inside the cavity for various modes. According to previous investigation, those resonant standing waves inside the cavity play an important role in the aeroacoustic resonance of cavity noise, which gives perfect prediction of tonal frequency from the solution of wave equation. From the perspective of engineering application, it is more important to predict the spatial distribution of tonal intensity. It is needed to point out that the solution of the linear wave equation also provides the relative spatial distribution tonal intensity and the absolute value of tonal intensity can be determined from the acoustic experiments that is measured only at some locations. Based on this idea, a scheme is setup and validated to predict the amplitude spatial distribution of tonal intensity of aeroacoustic resonance. For example, an analytical model is established to provide the relative mode shape of aeroacoustic resonance in a simple geometry of cavity, which is realized by solving the wave equation with boundary conditions in a semi-closed space. This model considers the freestream velocity scaling and the depth correction factor varying with the Helmholtz number. The experimental aeroacoustic result is acquired by measuring the pressure fluctuation at some locations of cavity internal wall with the use of surface microphones. The experimental results are used to supplement and validate this analytical model. The amplitude spatial distribution at any freestream velocity (low Mach number) can be acquired by measuring the pressure fluctuation once at the leading edge or trailing edge of cavity bottom at an arbitrary Mach number, as the amplitude of most modes reaches its maximum here.

The short Sing-a-Song Stress Test: A practical and valid test of autonomic responses induced by social-evaluative stress.

The Sing-a-Song Stress Test (SSST) was recently developed as an alternative to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) to investigate autonomic nervous system responses to social-evaluative stress. In the SSST, participants are suddenly cued to sing a song in the presence of confederates. However, the SSST is still quite long (~15min) and the requirement for confederates makes it labor-intensive. The current study tested whether a shorter (~6.5min), single-experimenter, version of the SSST can still reliably elicit subjective and physiological stress reactivity. Our sample consisted of 87 healthy young adult participants (age range: 18-35years). During the short SSST and a speeded reaction time task, in which aversive loud tones were to be avoided (TA), we measured heart period (HP), sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity using pre-ejection-period (PEP), skin conductance level (SCL), and non-specific skin conductance responses (ns.SCR), and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity using respiratory-sinus-arrhythmia (RSA) and the root-mean-square of successive differences (RMSSD). The short SSST induced significant decreases in positive affect and increases in negative affect. MANOVAs on the clusters of SNS and PNS variables showed that the short SSST elicited significant HP (-118.46ms), PEP (-7.76ms), SCL (+4.85 μS), ns.SCR (+8.42 peaks/min) and RMSSD (-14.67) reactivity. Affective, SNS, and PNS reactivity to the new SSST social-evaluative stress task were of comparable magnitude to that evoked by the TA mental stressor. We conclude that the short SSST is a valid and cost-effective task for large scaled studies to induce social-evaluative stress to a sufficient degree to evoke measurable changes in PNS and SNS activity and affective state.

Comparative evaluation of different treatment schemes for aseptic meningoencephalitis in dogs of dwarf breeds

The article presents the results of treatment of aseptic meningoencephalitis in dogs of dwarf breeds. Diagnostics included a thorough neurological examination: assessment of mental status, ability to perform diagnostic tests, proprioceptive and postural reaction, the consistency and symmetry of cranial reflexes, including of pupil response to light and response to the threat, the presence of involuntary movements and forced poses, the intensity of the muscle tone and tendon reflexes. If an animal is suspected of having a brain lesion, other possible causes of encephalopathy were excluded. For this purpose, a General blood test was performed (to detect signs of inflammation, anemia); a detailed biochemical blood test (excluding renal and hepatic encephalopathy, indirect signs of the presence of a portosystemic shunt); if a portosystemic shunt was suspected, a blood test for bile acids was performed; when excluding all other causes of damage to the central nervous system. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain was performed with contrast with the use of the drug OmniScan. During the magnetic resonance imaging, multiple foci were detected in all parts of the brain, including in the thalamus and trunk; including in some animals, foci that have a tendency to decay and form a necrotic cavity. It was established that before the start of treatment, animals had a wobbly gait, convulsive signs, a comatose state in some dogs, and weak visual reflexes. As a result of studies of morphological and biochemical parameters of blood in dogs, it was found that all the data obtained were within the reference values and did not have significant significance in the diagnosis of aseptic meningoencephalitis. Against the background of etiotropic and symptomatic therapy, positive dynamics was observed in patients with aseptic meningoencephalitis.

„Tak bliscy mi, jak sam sobie jestem bliski”. Jachimowicz o Schulzu i borysławskim „zagłębiu poetyckim”

The paper is an extended comment on Marian Jachimowicz’s “Reminiscence of Bruno Schulz.” On the basis of ample unpublished archive materials, the author reconstructs Jachimowicz’s biography, paying the most attention to the period of 1938–1942, when Jachimowicz as an aspiring man of letters had close friendly contacts with Schulz as well as other artists and writers of the Drogobych and Borysław region, known as the “Borysław Poetry Zone” (Marek Zwillich, Anna Płockier, Henryk Wiciński, Juliusz Wit, Artur Rzeczyca, and others). It turns out that his relationship with Schulz was a formative literary experience for the young poet. As he admits, it was thanks to the access to Schulz’s library and his recommendations, that he came across the books by poets who became important for his own development. Meeting Schulz was also important for another reason: he was the first “great artist” whom Jachimowicz met in person, knowing his literary works – Cinnamon Shops and A Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass – and appreciating them highly. Jachimowicz’s attitude to Schulz was ambiguous, and this is what the present paper is mainly about. Starting with an analysis of an unpublished “source reminiscence” of 1948, the author approaches its subsequent versions published in journals (Twórczość, 1958 and Poezja, 1966). It was characteristic for Jachimowicz that his imagination and memory, fixed upon Schulz for several decades, pictured the Drogobych writer as “approaching.” Particularly in the first version of his text, Jachimowicz describes Schulz’s physique, doing it in a shockingly brutal, even abjectal, way. On the other hand, his essays demonstrate a more and more intense tone of mourning. The world of Drogobych and Borysław, to which both Jachimowicz and Schulz belonged before the war, appears in them as an irrevocably lost Arcadia, the only reality where the former did not feel all alone.

The influence of pre-treatment by priming on the CMY reproduction quality printed with ElectroInk

In order to achieve high-quality colour prints by using an electrophotography printing machine, it is necessary to prepare the printing substrate. Additional treatment may be needed to achieve the better substrate surface tension for optimally attaching the liquid electrophotography ink to the fine art paper. To ensure good adhesion of the ink to the printing substrate, a pre-treatment by application of surface tension regulating fluids (priming) may be used. In this paper, we will determine the possibility of realization of the CMY prints and the possibility of achieving an increased range of tone value in electrophotography digital printing. Based on the results, the new possible values of reproduced CMY tones will be determined so that a higher print quality can be achieved. The application of primers changes the optical properties of the paper printing substrate, which directly affects the colour reproduction. An additional 100 % increase of primer application will result in total colour changes of ΔEC (0,5g/m2 & 1g/m2) = 0,06, ΔEM (0,5g/m2 & 1g/m2) = 0,42, ΔEY (0,5g/m2 & 1g/m2) = 0,08. In this scenario, 1 g/m2 application of primer will produce the most intense full tones and therefore the highest quality prints for all three ElectroInk process colours.

Uterotonics in Elective Caesarean Delivery: A Randomised Noninferiority Study Comparing Carbetocin 20 and 100 µg

(Anaesthesia. 2019;74:190–196) Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is the most common cause of maternal mortality worldwide and accounts for 35% of maternal deaths. Active management of the third stage of labor is recommended in all parturients, with prophylactic uterotonic drug administration after delivery of the infant being the primary component of this active management. This strategy alone has been shown to decrease the incidence of PPH by up to 40%. The 2009 guidelines from the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) recommended a single 100 µg intravenous bolus dose of carbetocin as the uterotonic agent of choice, rather than an oxytocin infusion, to prevent PPH after elective cesarean delivery. The rationale for recommending this dose was based on the manufacturer’s recommendation and some clinical trials. Some more recent studies, however, have suggested that doses as low as 15 µg may be effective at preventing PPH after elective cesarean delivery. The current investigators believed a larger trial comparing this smaller dose with the standard 100 µg dose was warranted to confirm these findings. This study was undertaken to compare the uterine tone intensity achieved with 20 carbetocin versus 100 µg carbetocin in women at low risk of PPH undergoing elective cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia.

Vertical Mapping of Auditory Loudness: Loud is High, but Quiet is not Always Low

Abstract Although the perceptual association between verticality and pitch has been widely studied, the link between loudness and verticality is not fully understood yet. While loud and quiet sounds are assumed to be equally associated crossmodally with spatial elevation, there are perceptual differences between the two types of sounds that may suggest the contrary. For example, loud sounds tend to generate greater activity, both behaviourally and neurally, than quiet sounds. Here we investigated whether this difference percolates into the crossmodal correspondence between loudness and verticality. In an initial phase, participants learned one-to-one arbitrary associations between two tones differing in loudness (82dB vs. 56dB) and two coloured rectangles (blue vs. yellow). During the experimental phase, they were presented with the two-coloured stimuli (each one located above or below a central “departure” point) together with one of the two tones. Participants had to indicate which of the two-coloured rectangles corresponded to the previously-associated tone by moving a mouse cursor from the departure point towards the target. The results revealed that participants were significantly faster responding to the loud tone when the visual target was located above (congruent condition) than when the target was below the departure point (incongruent condition). For quiet tones, no differences were found between the congruent (quiet-down) and the incongruent (quiet-up) conditions. Overall, this pattern of results suggests that possible differences in the neural activity generated by loud and quiet sounds influence the extent to which loudness and spatial elevation share representational content.

Investigation on intensity of tones due to self-excited oscillation within the leading-edge slat cove at different incoming flow speeds

To provide further understanding of the low to mid frequency tonal noise characteristics of the leading-edge slat in the processes of take-off and landing, both experimental and numerical investigations are carried out on a two-dimensional high-lift configuration, with a stowed flap at varying incoming flow speeds (from 30 m/s to 60 m/s). The intensity variation of the low to mid frequency tonal noise is found to be closely related to the selection of the main mode of self-excited oscillation within the leading-edge slat cove. With increasing incoming flow speed, the main mode of the self-excited oscillation switches to a higher one. Meanwhile, the ratio of the self-excited oscillation period to the vortex shedding period is introduced to explain further the relationship between the main mode and incoming flow speed. As the incoming flow speed increases from 30 m/s to 60 m/s, the self-excited oscillation period is basically constant due to the flow similarity, whereas, the vortex shedding frequency is gradually increasing. The characteristic frequency of the shedding vortex near the cusp is found to be approximately proportional to 3/2 of the incoming flow speed power law.

Real-time computer-aided diagnosis of diminutive rectosigmoid polyps using an auto-fluorescence imaging system and novel color intensity analysis software

Objectives: An endoscopic technique that provides ≥90% negative predictive value (NPV) for differentiating neoplastic polyps is needed for the management of diminutive (≤5 mm) rectosigmoid polyps. This study aimed to assess whether a newly developed software can achieve ≥90% NPV for differentiating rectosigmoid diminutive polyps based on the green-to-red (G/R) ratio, obtained by dividing the green color tone intensity by the red color tone intensity on autofluorescence imaging (AFI).Methods: From December 2017 to May 2018, consecutive patients with known polyps who were scheduled for endoscopic treatment at our institution were prospectively recruited. All colorectal diminutive polyps were differentiated by computer-aided diagnosis using autofluorescence imaging (CAD-AFI) using a novel software-based automatic color intensity analysis; subsequent diagnosis was made by endoscopists based on trimodal imaging endoscopy (TME), which combines AFI, white-light imaging (WLI) and magnifying narrow-band imaging (M-NBI) findings. Thereafter, all polyps were removed endoscopically, and the histopathological diagnosis was evaluated.Results: Ninety-five patients with 258 diminutive rectosigmoid polyps and 171 diminutive non-rectosigmoid polyps were enrolled. Regarding diminutive rectosigmoid polyps, the NPV for differentiating neoplastic polyps was 93.4% (184/197) [95% confidence interval (CI), 89.0%–96.4%] with CAD-AFI and 94.9% (185/195) (95% CI, 90.8%–97.5%) with TME. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value for differentiating diminutive rectosigmoid neoplastic polyps by CAD-AFI were 91.5%, 80.0%, 95.3% and 85.2%, respectively.Conclusions: Real-time CAD-AFI was effective for differentiating diminutive rectosigmoid polyps. This objective technology, which does not require extensive training or endoscopic expertise, can contribute to the effective management of diminutive rectosigmoid polyps.

Investigation on tones due to self-excited oscillation within leading-edge slat cove at different angles of attack: Frequency and intensity

In an effort to understand the tonal noise characteristics of high-lift configurations, aero-acoustic experiments are conducted on a two-dimensional, three-element high-lift configuration model, with a stowed flap. As a less expensive aid to experimentation, the numerical simulation method is used to obtain flow parameters possibly related to tones. Experimental results show that the low-mid-frequency band tonal noise generated by the self-excited oscillation in the slat cove is the main far-field noise source. Based on the local flow field information obtained by numerical simulations, an improved empirical formula, as proposed by Terrocal, is adopted to predict the characteristic frequencies of self-excited oscillation within the slat cove, which agrees well with the tonal frequencies observed by wind tunnel testing at varying angles of attack. The intensity of these low to mid frequency band tones is also found to be dependent on the angle of attack, i.e., the primary tone of the self-excited oscillation switches from the second mode to the third mode, with increasing angles of attack. By investigating the local flow around the slat cove, the ratio of the shear layer length over the shear layer momentum thickness is determined, i.e., Lv/θ plays an important role in this transition of tonal intensity. As the angle of attack increases, both Lv and θ monotonous decrease, whereas Lv/θ increases and gives rise to a switch in the main characteristic frequency of the self-excited oscillation and a clear reduction in the overall sound pressure level.

Evaluation of gingival melanin pigmentation in pediatric population- An observational study.

Aim:The aim of this study is to evaluate the gingival melanin pigmentation in the Indian pediatric population. The aim of this study is to find any association between age and melanin distribution, age and intensity of melanin distribution, sex and melanin distribution, sex and intensity of melanin distribution, skin tone and melanin distribution, skin tone and intensity of melanin distribution and finally the association between melanin distribution and intensity.Background:Pigmentation on the interdental papilla, attached and marginal gingiva is commonly found in various races across the world. There is lack of literature for documentation of the same in the pediatric population.Materials and Methods:Intensity of melanin pigmentation was observed by the gingival melanin pigmentation index (class 1- class 6) as given by Ponnaiyan et al. This cross-sectional, observational study was conducted in the Institution. 100 children were selected from the age group of 1-12 years of age. The association between the various parameters were verified using Chi square test.Results:With the findings of the present study, it can be concluded that the distribution of melanin pigmentation is not affected by age, sex and skin color. The intensity of melanin pigmentation is not affected by age and sex. The skin colour can be used as a predictor to know the intensity of melanin pigmentation in both anteriors and posteriors.

Exploring the role of motor and non-motor predictive mechanisms in sensory attenuation: Perceptual and neurophysiological findings

Sounds that result from our own actions are perceptually and neurophysiologically attenuated compared to sounds with an external origin. This sensory attenuation phenomenon is commonly attributed to prediction processes implicated in motor control. However, accumulating evidence suggests that attenuation effects can also result from prediction processes beyond the motor domain. The aim of the present study was two-fold. First, we attempted to replicate the role of identity-specific motor predictions in sensory attenuation. Second, we set out to examine whether attenuation effects can be observed when tones cannot be predicted from preceding actions, but only from the non-motor cues accompanying them. Participants completed a two-alternative forced choice task on the loudness of tones whose pitch was congruent or incongruent with previously learned key-tone or cue-tone associations. No convincing evidence was observed for identity predictions on a perceptual level nor on a neurophysiological level. However, exploratory analyses revealed that attenuation was more pronounced for participants who first learned to rely on motor (instead of non-motor predictions). Together, these findings suggest that the role of motor identity predictions in sensory attenuation might have to be reconsidered.

Now listen to this! Evidence from a cross-spliced experimental design contrasting pressuring and supportive communications

Motivating communications are a frequent experience within daily life. Recently, it has been found that two types of motivations are spoken with distinct tones of voices: control (pressure) is spoken with a low pitched, loud tone of voice, fast speech rate, and harsh sounding voice quality; autonomy (support) is spoken with a higher pitched, quieter tone of voice and a slower speech rate. These two motivational tones of voice also differentially impact listeners' well-being. Yet, little is known about the brain mechanisms linked to motivational communications. Here, participants were asked to listen to semantically identical sentences spoken in controlling, neutral, or autonomy-supportive prosody. We also presented cross-spliced versions of these sentences for maximum control over information presentation across time. Findings showed listeners quickly detected whether a speaker was providing support, being pressuring, or not using motivating tones at all. Also, listeners who are pressured do not seem to respond anew when a supportive motivational context arises, but those who had been supported are affected by a newly pressuring environment. Findings are discussed in light of motivational and prosody literatures, and in terms of significance for the role of motivational communications on behavior.

Closed-loop system to enhance slow-wave activity

Objective. Recent evidence reports cognitive, metabolic, and sleep restoration benefits resulting from the enhancement of sleep slow-waves using auditory stimulation. Our objective is to make this concept practical for consumer use by developing and validating an electroencephalogram (EEG) closed-loop system to deliver auditory stimulation during sleep to enhance slow-waves. Approach. The system automatically detects slow-wave sleep with 74% sensitivity and 97% specificity and optimally delivers stimulation in the form of 50 ms-long tones separated by a constant one-second inter-tone interval at a volume that is dynamically modulated such that louder tones are delivered when sleep is deeper. The system was tested in a study involving 28 participants (18F, 10M; 36.9 ± 7.3 years old; median age: 40 years old) who used the system for ten nights (five nights in a sham condition and five in a stimulation condition). Four nights in each condition were recorded at-home and the fifth one in-lab. Main results. The analysis in two age groups defined by the median age of participants in the study shows significant slow wave activity enhancement (+16.1%, p < 0.01) for the younger group and absence of effect on the older group. However, the older group received only a fraction (57%) of the stimulation compared to the younger group. Changes in sleep architecture and EEG properties due to aging have influenced the amount of stimulation. The analysis of the stimulation timing suggests an entrainment-like phenomenon where slow-waves align to the stimulation periodicity. In addition, enhancement of spindle power in the stimulation condition was found. Significance. We show evidence of the viability of delivering auditory stimulation during sleep, at home, to enhance slow wave activity. The system ensures the stimulation delivery to be at the right time during sleep without causing disturbance.

Intra-auditory integration between pitch and loudness in humans: Evidence of super-optimal integration at moderate uncertainty in auditory signals

When a person plays a musical instrument, sound is produced and the integrated frequency and intensity produced are perceived aurally. The central nervous system (CNS) receives defective afferent signals from auditory systems and delivers imperfect efferent signals to the motor system due to the noise in both systems. However, it is still little known about auditory-motor interactions for successful performance. Here, we investigated auditory-motor interactions as multi-sensory input and multi-motor output system. Subjects performed a constant force production task using four fingers in three different auditory feedback conditions, where either the frequency (F), intensity (I), or both frequency and intensity (FI) of an auditory tone changed with sum of finger forces. Four levels of uncertainty (high, moderate-high, moderate-low, and low) were conditioned by manipulating the feedback gain of the produced force. We observed performance enhancement under the FI condition compared to either F or I alone at moderate-high uncertainty. Interestingly, the performance enhancement was greater than the prediction of the Bayesian model, suggesting super-optimality. We also observed deteriorated synergistic multi-finger interactions as the level of uncertainty increased, suggesting that the CNS responded to increased uncertainty by changing control strategy of multi-finger actions.

Intracochlear pressure measurements during acoustic shock wave exposure

IntroductionInjuries to the peripheral auditory system are among the most common results of high intensity impulsive acoustic exposure. Prior studies of high intensity sound transmission by the ossicular chain have relied upon measurements in animal models, measurements at more moderate sound levels (i.e. < 130 dB SPL), and/or measured responses to steady-state noise. Here, we directly measure intracochlear pressure in human cadaveric temporal bones, with fiber optic pressure sensors placed in scala vestibuli (SV) and tympani (ST), during exposure to shock waves with peak positive pressures between ∼7 and 83 kPa. MethodsEight full-cephalic human cadaver heads were exposed, face-on, to acoustic shock waves in a 45 cm diameter shock tube. Specimens were exposed to impulses with nominal peak overpressures of 7, 28, 55, & 83 kPa (171, 183, 189, & 192 dB pSPL), measured in the free field adjacent to the forehead. Specimens were prepared bilaterally by mastoidectomy and extended facial recess to expose the ossicular chain. Ear canal (EAC), middle ear, and intracochlear sound pressure levels were measured with fiber-optic pressure sensors. Surface-mounted sensors measured SPL and skull strain near the opening of each EAC and at the forehead. ResultsMeasurements on the forehead showed incident peak pressures approximately twice that measured by adjacent free-field and EAC entrance sensors, as expected based on the sensor orientation (normal vs tangential to the shock wave propagation). At 7 kPa, EAC pressure showed gain, calculated from the frequency spectra, consistent with the ear canal resonance, and gain in the intracochlear pressures (normalized to the EAC pressure) were consistent with (though somewhat lower than) previously reported middle ear transfer functions. Responses to higher intensity impulses tended to show lower intracochlear gain relative to EAC, suggesting sound transmission efficiency along the ossicular chain is reduced at high intensities. Tympanic membrane (TM) rupture was observed following nearly every exposure 55 kPa or higher. ConclusionsIntracochlear pressures reveal lower middle-ear transfer function magnitudes (i.e. reduced gain relative to the ear canal) for high sound pressure levels, thus revealing lower than expected cochlear exposure based on extrapolation from cochlear pressures measured at more moderate sound levels. These results are consistent with lowered transmissivity of the ossicular chain at high intensities, and are consistent with our prior report measuring middle ear transfer functions in human cadaveric temporal bones with high intensity tone pips.

Perceptual manifestations of auditory modulation during speech planning.

Recent studies have provided electrophysiological evidence that the auditory system's response to externally generated auditory stimuli during speech planning is modulated in comparison to its responses to identical stimuli during no-speaking control conditions. In this study, we examined whether such neural modulations during speech planning result in measurable perceptual modulations. In a two-interval forced choice intensity discrimination paradigm, participants were asked to judge the intensity of a standard tone (with constant intensity), played during a fixation period, relative to the intensity of a comparison tone (with varying intensity), played during speech planning or during no-speaking conditions (silent reading and passive listening). Psychometric functions were fitted to participants' responses in each condition; psychometric functions were used to calculate the point of subjective equality (as a measure of perceptual threshold) and the slope of the psychometric functions (as a measure of perceptual uncertainty). We found that the point of subjective equality in the speaking condition was statistically significantly larger than that in the no-speaking conditions. In addition, slope values in the speaking and listening conditions were statistically significantly smaller than slope value in the silent reading condition. Together, these results suggest that previously reported electrophysiological modulations of the auditory system during speech planning may have perceptual manifestations, such as increases in perceptual thresholds and uncertainty of perceptual thresholds in an intensity discrimination task.

Conditioned attenuation of auditory brainstem responses in dolphins warned of an intense noise exposure: Temporal and spectral patterns.

Conditioned reductions in hearing sensitivity were elicited in two bottlenose dolphins by pairing a 10-kHz tone (the conditioned stimulus) with a more intense tone (the unconditioned stimulus) at 20, 40, or 80 kHz. Hearing was assessed via noninvasive measurement of auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) to 20 - to 133-kHz tone bursts presented at randomized intervals from 1 to 3 ms. ABRs within each trial were obtained by averaging the instantaneous electroencephalogram, time-locked to tone burst onsets, over 2- to 3-s time intervals. In initial testing, ABR amplitudes were reduced (relative to baseline values) in one dolphin after the conditioned stimulus, but before the unconditioned stimulus, demonstrating conditioned hearing attenuation. In subsequent testing with both dolphins, ABRs were attenuated throughout the entire 31-s trial. Maximum ABR threshold shifts occurred at and above the unconditioned stimulus frequency and were above 40 dB for some conditions. The results (1) confirm that dolphins can be conditioned to reduce hearing sensitivity when warned of an impending noise exposure, (2) show that hearing attenuation occurs within the cochlea or auditory nerve, and (3) support the hypothesis that toothed whales can "self-mitigate" some effects of noise if warned of an impending exposure.

A SMARC Effect for Loudness.

Various reports suggest that the pitch height of musical tones may be represented along a mental space, with lower pitch heights represented on the left or lower sectors and higher pitch heights represented on the right or upper sectors of the mental space. Given that in Western languages the loudness of tones is often addressed spatially, with loud sounds referred to as “high” and quiet sounds referred to as “low,” here we investigated whether loudness might also have a spatial representation. Participants judged whether a tone was louder or quieter than a reference tone, by pressing two keys: one at the top and the other at the bottom of a response box. Participants were faster in a situation where they pressed the key at the top to report louder sounds, and the key at the bottom to report quieter sounds, than vice versa. This result supports the view that loudness, like other types of magnitudes, might be represented spatially.