Presence Of Auditory Stimulus Research Articles

Effects of Different Auditory Stimuli and Cognitive Tasks on Balance in Healthy Young Adults

Introduction: This study investigated the effect of different auditory stimuli and cognitive tasks on balance in healthy young adults. Methods: Thirty-three participants, aged 23.33 ± 2.43 years, were included in the study. The hearing levels of the participants were determined. Static and dynamic postural stability and limits of stability (LOS) tests were performed in the absence of auditory stimuli, in the presence of spondee word lists at 70 dB(A) and in the presence of spondee+white noise (−6 dB signal-to-noise ratio [SNR]), while auditory stimuli were presented bilaterally with supra-aural headphones. Participants were asked to repeat the words they listened to while performing balance-related tasks. Results: No significant differences between the three conditions were observed in the postural stability and LOS results. Increase in total repetition error was observed as the listening task became more difficult. Conclusion: The presence of auditory stimuli and the cognitive tasks did not cause any changes in the participants’ balance.

Decoding a Cognitive Performance State from Behavioral Data in the Presence of Auditory Stimuli.

Cognitive performance state is an unobserved state that refers to the overall performance of cognitive functions. Deriving an informative observation vector as well as the adaptive model and decoder would be essential in decoding the hidden performance. We decode the performance from behavioral observation data using the Bayesian state-space approach. Forming an observation from the paired binary response with the associated continuous reaction time may lead to an overestimation of the performance, especially when an incorrect response is accompanied by a fast reaction time. We apply the marked point process (MPP) framework such that the performance decoder takes the correct/incorrect responses and the reaction time associated with correct responses as an observation. We compare the MPP-based performance with two other decoders in which the pairs of binary and continuous signals are taken as the observation; one decoder considers an autoregressive (AR) model for the performance state, and the other one employs an autoregressive-autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (AR-ARCH) model which incorporates the time-varying and adaptive innovation term within the model. To evaluate decoders, we use the simulated data and the n-back experimental data in the presence of multiple music sessions. The Bayesian state-space approach is a promising way to decode the performance state. With respect to individual perspective, the estimated MPP-based and ARCH-based performance states outperform the AR-based estimation. Based on the aggregated data analysis, the ARCH-based performance decoder outperforms the other decoders. Performance decoders can be employed in educational settings and smart workplaces to monitor one's performance and contribute to developing a feedback controller in closed-loop architecture to improve cognitive performance.

Efficacy and efficiency of auditory discrimination procedures for children with autism spectrum disorder and typical development: A preliminary investigation

ABSTRACT An auditory discrimination involves differential behavior in the presence of auditory stimuli due to a history of reinforcement. A dearth of research on the instruction of auditory discrimination is in the behavior-analytic literature, so identifying strategies to teach this skill is necessary. This might be especially pertinent for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with impaired auditory discrimination repertoires. The current study evaluated the efficacy and efficiency of go/no-go, do this/do that, and auditory match-to-sample on the acquisition of novel auditory discrimination tasks with three children with ASD and two children of typical development in a total of ten comparisons. At least one condition was efficacious for all participants. The do this/do that procedure was more likely to be efficacious and efficient compared to go/no-go and auditory match-to-sample.

The Effect of Auditory Stimuli on User’s Meditation and Workload in a Brain–Computer Interface Game

Abstract The advancement of Brain–computer interface (BCI) technology allowed for the development of applications not only for physically-impaired users, but for entertainment purposes as well. However, there are still numerous challenges in the development of such applications, as it is not known to which extent external stimuli may interfere with the captured brain signals. Being so, understanding the possible limitations caused by these external stimuli may help developers and designers in the development of future BCI-based applications. This paper presents the results of a controlled experiment designed for investigating the effects of auditory stimuli (AS) on subjects playing a neurofeedback-based game. The experiment consisted of sixteen volunteer subjects who played a total of twelve game matches each, for a total of 144 matches, over the course of three experiment sessions. Statistical analysis and qualitative instruments were employed to investigate key features of the subjects’ interaction with the game over time, especially regarding the influence of AS in both subjects’ performance and self-assessed, subjective workload. It was concluded that the subjects’ level of meditation tends to increase over time, that the self-assessed workload tends to decrease over time, and that the game’s AS did neither significantly influenced the performance nor the subjective workload of the subjects. Research Highlights The influence of auditory stimuli (AS) was investigated with a brain–computer interface game. Meditation level and workload were assessed and evaluated in a controlled experiment setup. Subjects’ performance tends to increase over time, while self-assessed workload tends to decrease. The presence of AS did not influenced the subjects’ meditation level and workload.

Auditory stimulus has a larger effect on anticipatory postural adjustments in older than young adults during choice step reaction.

The study aim was to compare the influence of an auditory stimulus (AS) on anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) between young and older adults during a choice step reaction. Sixteen young and 19 older adults stepped forward in response to a visual imperative stimulus of an arrow. We used a choice reaction time (CRT) task and a Simon task which consisted of congruent and incongruent conditions. The direction of the presented arrow and its spatial location matched in the congruent condition while they did not in the incongruent condition. The AS was presented randomly and simultaneously with the visual stimulus. Incorrect weight shifts before lifting off the foot, termed APA errors, stepping errors, temporal parameters, and APA amplitudes were analyzed. The APA error rate was higher in trials with than without AS in all task conditions for the older group, while this increase occurred only in the incongruent condition for the young group. The stepping error rate was also increased in the presence of AS in the incongruent condition for the older group. Reaction times were faster with AS in both groups. The APA amplitude of erroneous APA trials became larger with AS in the incongruent condition for both groups, and this effect appeared greater for the older group. The effect of AS on APAs is larger in the elderly during a choice step reaction. In the presence of incongruent visual information, this effect becomes even greater, potentially inducing not only APA errors but also stepping errors.

Effects of auditory distraction on voluntary movements: exploring the underlying mechanisms associated with parallel processing

Highly demanding cognitive-motor tasks can be negatively influenced by the presence of auditory stimuli. The human brain attempts to partially suppress the processing of potential distractors in order that motor tasks can be completed successfully. The present study sought to further understand the attentional neural systems that activate in response to potential distractors during the execution of movements. Nineteen participants (9 women and 10 men) were administered isometric ankle-dorsiflexion tasks for 10 s at a light intensity. Electroencephalography was used to assess the electrical activity in the brain, and a music excerpt was used to distract participants. Three conditions were administered: auditory distraction during the execution of movement (auditory distraction; AD), movement execution in the absence of auditory distraction (control; CO), and auditory distraction in the absence of movement (stimulus-only; SO). AD was compared with SO to identify the mechanisms underlying the attentional processing associated with attentional shifts from internal association (task-related) to external (task-unrelated) sensory cues. The results of the present study indicated that the EMG amplitude was not compromised when the auditory stimulus was administered. Accordingly, EEG activity was upregulated at 0.368 s in AD when compared to SO. Source reconstruction analysis indicated that right and central parietal regions of the cortex activated at 0.368 s in order to reduce the processing of task-irrelevant stimuli during the execution of movements. The brain mechanisms that underlie the control of potential distractors during exercise were possibly associated with the activity of the frontoparietal network.

The suppression of crying in the human neonate: Response to human vocal tract stimuli

Amounts of crying were measured for two groups of infants in two states, calm and crying. The stimulus group was exposed to two test-cry stimuli (own-cry/other-cry) in both states. The control group was not exposed to the test-cry stimuli. For the stimulus group, results showed that there was no significant difference in the amount of crying during presentation of either the own-cry or other-cry test stimulus. However, the stimulus group did cry significantly less than the control group. This difference in the amount of crying was attributed to the capacity of the infant to suppress crying in the presence of auditory stimuli.

The Activation ot Oestrous Behaviour and the Plasma Concentration of Unconjugated Oestrogcns in the Pig after Subcutaneous Implantation of Oestradiol-I7β

The activation of estrous behavior and the plasma concentration of unconjugated estrogens in the pig after sc implantation of estradiol-17beta were investigated. 12 female pigs (4 gilts each with a littermate control 2 gilts which had been reared artificially in isolation before being ovariectomized at an early age and 2 mature sows) were included in the study. All of the gilts treated with estrogen revealed behavioral changes associated with normal estrus after a latent period of about 3 days. By the 5th day after implantation a definite standing reaction to back pressure occurred in the presence of auditory stimuli from a tape recording of boar sound. Mitotic figures in sections of vaginal tissue from a treated gilt indicated active proliferation while untreated gilts revealed low mucous membranes with few mitotic figures. Plasma radioimmunoassay for total unconjugated estrogens revealed levels of 5-20 pg/ml after the implantation of 20 mg estradiol-17beta. In a 2nd gilt which exhibited behavioral estrus after a 10 mg implantation total unconjugated estrogen levels remained less than 5 pg/ml. Total unconjugated estrogen levels reached 38 pg/ml in 1 of the sows during normal estrus. These results indicate that estrous behavior in the pig may be associated with plasma estrogen levels much lower than those seen during natural estrus although higher estrogen le vels may be essential for gonadotropin release at normal estrus. A discussion followed.

Thresholds of Hearing by Respiration Using a Polygraph

SEVERAL indirect methods for determining auditory thresholds are in use at the present time. The two most widely used electrophysiologic methods are electrodermal (EDR) audiometry and electroencephalograph (EEG) audiometry. These procedures, while designed to alleviate the problem of requiring an overt response from a patient, present special problems such as the noxious conditioning stimuli as used with EDR procedures or the complex instrumentation needed for EEG audiometry. A method which would be easy to administer, free of the special difficulties noted above, and capable of determining thresholds with at least the validity of present indirect methods would be an important contribution to auditory testing. It is to this end that we studied the feasibility of using changes in respiration as a means of indirectly estimating threshold for pure tone stimuli. Other investigators have also felt that measurement of respiratory changes in the presence of auditory stimuli might be a useful