Use Of Auditory Feedback Research Articles

Effectiveness of a Variable-Speed Control Based on Auditory Feedback: Is It Possible?

Variable-speed control in the field is challenging for motion science. Tests were performed to evaluate speed, Froude number, and oxygen consumption if these varied when using the same frequency of steps. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of auditory feedback to control variable speed on the treadmill and track during acceleration cycles around the transition speed. Twenty-four trained men participated. The protocol was based on 5 ramps of 50seconds each around 80%, 90%, 100%, 110%, and 120% of the walking-running transition speed, recording the frequency of steps with a mobile phone during the treadmill test. The tests were replicated on the track using auditory feedback. When evaluating each speed of the protocols separately for the same frequency of steps, the average speed on the track was always higher on average at 54.7% compared to the laboratory (P < .050), and on the track, it was 16.2% higher than in the laboratory (P > .050). It cannot be considered that the same frequency of steps is equivalent to the same speed in the laboratory and on the track. These results point to the importance of reliable speed control during open field tests.

Event-Related Potential Correlates of Learning to Produce Novel Foreign Phonemes.

Learning to pronounce a foreign phoneme requires an individual to acquire a motor program that enables the reproduction of the new acoustic target sound. This process is largely based on the use of auditory feedback to detect pronunciation errors to adjust vocalization. While early auditory evoked neural activity underlies automatic detection and adaptation to vocalization errors, little is known about the neural correlates of acquiring novel speech targets. To investigate the neural processes that mediate the learning of foreign phoneme pronunciation, we recorded event-related potentials when participants (N = 19) pronounced native or foreign phonemes. Behavioral results indicated that the participants' pronunciation of the foreign phoneme improved during the experiment. Early auditory responses (N1 and P2 waves, approximately 85-290 ms after the sound onset) revealed no differences between foreign and native phonemes. In contrast, the amplitude of the frontocentrally distributed late slow wave (LSW, 320-440 ms) was modulated by the pronunciation of the foreign phonemes, and the effect changed during the experiment, paralleling the improvement in pronunciation. These results suggest that the LSW may reflect higher-order monitoring processes that signal successful pronunciation and help learn novel phonemes.

Impact of interface design on drivers’ behavior in partially automated cars: An on-road study

In partially automated vehicles, the driver and the automated system share control of the vehicle. Consequently, the driver may have to switch between driving and monitoring activities. This can critically impact the driver’s situational awareness. The human–machine interface (HMI) is responsible for efficient collaboration between driver and system. It must keep the driver informed about the status and capabilities of the automated system, so that he or she knows who or what is in charge of the driving. The present study was designed to compare the ability of two HMIs with different information displays to inform the driver about the system’s status and capabilities: a driving-centered HMI that displayed information in a multimodal way, with an exocentric representation of the road scene, and a vehicle-centered HMI that displayed information in a more traditional visual way. The impact of these HMIs on drivers was compared in an on-road study. Drivers’ eye movements and response times for questions asked while driving were measured. Their verbalizations during the test were also transcribed and coded. Results revealed shorter response times for questions on speed with the exocentric and multimodal HMI. The duration and number of fixations on the speedometer were also greater with the driving-centered HMI. The exocentric and multimodal HMI helped drivers understand the functioning of the system, but was more visually distracting than the traditional HMI. Both HMIs caused mode confusions. The use of a multimodal HMI can be beneficial and should be prioritized by designers. The use of auditory feedback to provide information about the level of automation needs to be explored in longitudinal studies.

Compensation to Altered Auditory Feedback in Children With Developmental Language Disorder and Typical Development.

Purpose Developmental language disorder (DLD), an unexplained problem using and understanding spoken language, has been hypothesized to have an underlying auditory processing component. Auditory feedback plays a key role in speech motor control. The current study examined whether auditory feedback is used to regulate speech production in a similar way by children with DLD and their typically developing (TD) peers. Method Participants aged 6-11 years completed tasks measuring hearing, language, first formant (F1) discrimination thresholds, partial vowel space, and responses to altered auditory feedback with F1 perturbation. Results Children with DLD tended to compensate more than TD children for the positive F1 manipulation and compensated less than TD children in the negative shift condition. Conclusion Our findings suggest that children with DLD make atypical use of auditory feedback.

Accommodative dynamics and attention: the influence of manipulating attentional capacity on accommodative lag and variability.

There is evidence that attention can modulate ocular dynamics, but its effects on accommodative dynamics have yet to be fully determined. We investigated the effects of manipulating the capacity to focus on task-relevant stimuli, using two levels of dual-tasking (arithmetic task) and auditory feedback, on the accommodative dynamics at three different target distances (500, 40 and 20cm). The magnitude and variability of the accommodative response were objectively measured in 20 healthy young adults using the Grand Seiko WAM-5500 autorefractor. In randomised order, participants fixated on a Maltese cross while 1) performing an arithmetic task with two levels of complexity (low and high mental load); 2) being provided with two levels of auditory feedback (low and high feedback); and 3) without performing any mental task or receiving feedback (control). Accommodative and pupil dynamics were monitored for 90seconds during each of the 15 trials (5 experimental conditions x 3 target distances). The lag of accommodation was sensitive to the attentional state (p=0.001), where a lower lag of accommodation was observed for the high feedback condition compared to the control (corrected p-value=0.009). The imposition of mental load while fixating on a distant target led to a greater accommodative response (corrected p-value=0.010), but no effects were found for the near targets. There was a main effect of the experimental manipulation on the accommodative variability (p<0.001), with the use of auditory feedback improving the accuracy of the accommodative system. Our data show that accommodative dynamics is affected by varying the capacity to focus on task-relevant stimuli, observing an improvement in accommodative stability and response with auditory feedback. These results highlight an association between attention and ocular dynamics and provide new insight into the control of accommodation.

The use of auditory feedback and edible reinforcement to decrease toe walking among children with autism.

We replicated and extended previous research on the use of auditory feedback to decrease toe walking exhibited by 3 children with autism. After pretreatment screening analyses suggested that toe walking occurred independent of social consequences, we attached squeakers to the heels of each participants' shoes. The squeakers provided auditory feedback when participants walked appropriately (i.e., with a heel-to-toe gait). For all participants, the auditory feedback itself produced increases in appropriate walking. For 1 participant, this feedback was sufficient to reduce toe walking to clinically acceptable levels; however, for 2 other participants, delivery of edible items paired with the auditory feedback was necessary. Intervention effects maintained when the schedule for edible delivery was thinned for all participants. In addition, for 2 participants, effects maintained when the intervention was implemented in a different setting and with a different person with no edibles or a thin schedule of edibles.

Singing Without Hearing

Singing is a universal form of music expression. However, the extent of skill in carrying a tune and maintaining correct timing varies across people. Differences have been reported between professional singers and non-singers; however, whether singing accuracy depends on specialized vocal training or more general types of music training has not been investigated before. In this study, singers, instrumentalists, and nonmusicians sang Happy Birthday under conditions where they could or could not hear themselves singing. The main purpose of the study was to determine the influence of vocal versus instrumental training on pitch and timing accuracy when singing with and without auditory feedback. The results for pitch and tempo showed that singers depended on auditory feedback less than nonmusicians and instrumentalists alike, and were better able to use kinesthetic feedback in the absence of auditory feedback. Instrumentalists have had considerable ear and instrumental practice with feedback, but this did not transfer to pitch control when singing without auditory feedback, suggesting the ability to use kinesthesia for singing is enhanced through the kinds of practice/training singers receive. Rhythmic stability across all conditions and groups suggested that rhythmic calculations do not depend on music training or on use of auditory feedback.

Scanning for Digital Content

The widespread availability of digital media has changed the way that people consume information and has impacted the consumption of auditory information. Despite this recent popularity among sighted people, the use of auditory feedback to access digital information is not new for visually impaired users. However, its sequential nature undermines both blind and sighted people’s ability to efficiently find relevant information in the midst of several potentially useful items. We propose taking advantage of the Cocktail Party Effect , which states that people are able to focus on a single speech source among several conversations, but still identify relevant content in the background. Therefore, in contrast to one sequential speech channel, we hypothesize that people can leverage concurrent speech channels to quickly get the gist of digital information. In this article, we present an experiment with 46 (23 blind, 23 sighted) participants, which aims to understand people’s ability to search for relevant content listening to two, three, or four concurrent speech channels. Our results suggest that both blind and sighted people are able to process concurrent speech in scanning scenarios. In particular, the use of two concurrent sources may be used both to identify and understand the content of the relevant sentence. Moreover, three sources may be used for most people depending on the task intelligibility demands and user characteristics. Contrasting with related work, the use of different voices did not affect the perception of concurrent speech but was highly preferred by participants. To complement the analysis, we propose a set of scenarios that may benefit from the use of concurrent speech sources, for both blind and sighted people, toward a Design for All paradigm.

Attentional demands modulate sensorimotor learning induced by persistent exposure to changes in auditory feedback.

Hearing one's own voice is important for regulating ongoing speech and for mapping speech sounds onto articulator movements. However, it is currently unknown whether attention mediates changes in the relationship between motor commands and their acoustic output, which are necessary as growth and aging inevitably cause changes to the vocal tract. In this study, participants produced vocalizations while they heard their vocal pitch persistently shifted downward one semitone in both single- and dual-task conditions. During the single-task condition, participants vocalized while passively viewing a visual stream. During the dual-task condition, participants vocalized while also monitoring a visual stream for target letters, forcing participants to divide their attention. Participants' vocal pitch was measured across each vocalization, to index the extent to which their ongoing vocalization was modified as a result of the deviant auditory feedback. Smaller compensatory responses were recorded during the dual-task condition, suggesting that divided attention interfered with the use of auditory feedback for the regulation of ongoing vocalizations. Participants' vocal pitch was also measured at the beginning of each vocalization, before auditory feedback was available, to assess the extent to which the deviant auditory feedback was used to modify subsequent speech motor commands. Smaller changes in vocal pitch at vocalization onset were recorded during the dual-task condition, suggesting that divided attention diminished sensorimotor learning. Together, the results of this study suggest that attention is required for the speech motor control system to make optimal use of auditory feedback for the regulation and planning of speech motor commands.

Efectos a corto plazo del entrenamiento de la marcha en una órtesis robótica (Lokomat®) con retroalimentación auditiva en pacientes con lesión medular incompleta crónica

IntroductionGait training on a robotic orthosis has shown good results in patients with chronic incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). Auditory feedback in these patients can replace the information normally given by the sensory pathways. ObjectiveTo evaluate the effects of gait training on a robotic orthosis with auditory feedback in patients with chronic SCI. Material and methodsWe studied 31 patients with chronic incomplete SCI, who were randomized to 2 groups. Control group was trained on a robotic orthosis and experimental group received auditory feedback added to robotic orthosis training. Auditory feedback consisted on a metronome whose frequency was equal to gait cadence. The variables measured were spatiotemporal gait (by an instrumented mat), torque, spasticity, and range of motion in the hips and knees (by a robotic orthosis) before and after the assigned treatment. Calculation of variance, covariance and bivariate correlation were conducted for the analysis of results. ResultsWe found a statistically significant improvement in gait speed and cadence, range of motion, torque and spasticity in the experimental group and a positive and significant change in the use of assistive devices for walking. ConclusionsThe proposed program improved gait pattern in patients with chronic SCI. Further studies are needed to assess the persistence of these changes in the long-term, as well as the use of auditory feedback in other disorders.

Auditory-perceptual learning improves speech motor adaptation in children.

Auditory feedback plays an important role in children's speech development by providing the child with information about speech outcomes that is used to learn and fine-tune speech motor plans. The use of auditory feedback in speech motor learning has been extensively studied in adults by examining oral motor responses to manipulations of auditory feedback during speech production. Children are also capable of adapting speech motor patterns to perceived changes in auditory feedback; however, it is not known whether their capacity for motor learning is limited by immature auditory-perceptual abilities. Here, the link between speech perceptual ability and the capacity for motor learning was explored in two groups of 5- to 7-year-old children who underwent a period of auditory perceptual training followed by tests of speech motor adaptation to altered auditory feedback. One group received perceptual training on a speech acoustic property relevant to the motor task while a control group received perceptual training on an irrelevant speech contrast. Learned perceptual improvements led to an enhancement in speech motor adaptation (proportional to the perceptual change) only for the experimental group. The results indicate that children's ability to perceive relevant speech acoustic properties has a direct influence on their capacity for sensory-based speech motor adaptation.

On the role of auditory feedback in robot-assisted movement training after stroke: review of the literature.

The goal of this paper is to address a topic that is rarely investigated in the literature of technology-assisted motor rehabilitation, that is, the integration of auditory feedback in the rehabilitation device. After a brief introduction on rehabilitation robotics, the main concepts of auditory feedback are presented, together with relevant approaches, techniques, and technologies available in this domain. Current uses of auditory feedback in the context of technology-assisted rehabilitation are then reviewed. In particular, a comparative quantitative analysis over a large corpus of the recent literature suggests that the potential of auditory feedback in rehabilitation systems is currently and largely underexploited. Finally, several scenarios are proposed in which the use of auditory feedback may contribute to overcome some of the main limitations of current rehabilitation systems, in terms of user engagement, development of acute-phase and home rehabilitation devices, learning of more complex motor tasks, and improving activities of daily living.

Children's Development of Self-Regulation in Speech Production

Species-specific vocalizations fall into two broad categories: those that emerge during maturation, independent of experience, and those that depend on early life interactions with conspecifics. Human language and the communication systems of a small number of other species, including songbirds, fall into this latter class of vocal learning. Self-monitoring has been assumed to play an important role in the vocal learning of speech and studies demonstrate that perception of your own voice is crucial for both the development and lifelong maintenance of vocalizations in humans and songbirds. Experimental modifications of auditory feedback can also change vocalizations in both humans and songbirds. However, with the exception of large manipulations of timing, no study to date has ever directly examined the use of auditory feedback in speech production under the age of 4. Here we use a real-time formant perturbation task to compare the response of toddlers, children, and adults to altered feedback. Children and adults reacted to this manipulation by changing their vowels in a direction opposite to the perturbation. Surprisingly, toddlers' speech didn't change in response to altered feedback, suggesting that long-held assumptions regarding the role of self-perception in articulatory development need to be reconsidered.

Disrupting vagal feedback affects birdsong motor control.

Coordination of different motor systems for sound production involves the use of feedback mechanisms. Song production in oscines is a well-established animal model for studying learned vocal behavior. Whereas the online use of auditory feedback has been studied in the songbird model, very little is known about the role of other feedback mechanisms. Auditory feedback is required for the maintenance of stereotyped adult song. In addition, the use of somatosensory feedback to maintain pressure during song has been demonstrated with experimentally induced fluctuations in air sac pressure. Feedback information mediating this response is thought to be routed to the central nervous system via afferent fibers of the vagus nerve. Here, we tested the effects of unilateral vagotomy on the peripheral motor patterns of song production and the acoustic features. Unilateral vagotomy caused a variety of disruptions and alterations to the respiratory pattern of song, some of which affected the acoustic structure of vocalizations. These changes were most pronounced a few days after nerve resection and varied between individuals. In the most extreme cases, the motor gestures of respiration were so severely disrupted that individual song syllables or the song motif were atypically terminated. Acoustic changes also suggest altered use of the two sound generators and upper vocal tract filtering, indicating that the disruption of vagal feedback caused changes to the motor program of all motor systems involved in song production and modification. This evidence for the use of vagal feedback by the song system with disruption of song during the first days after nerve cut provides a contrast to the longer-term effects of auditory feedback disruption. It suggests a significant role for somatosensory feedback that differs from that of auditory feedback.

From central pattern generator to sensory template in the evolution of birdsong

Central nervous networks, be they a part of the human brain or a group of neurons in a snail, may be designed to produce distinct patterns of movement. Central pattern generators can account for the development and production of normal vocal signals without auditory feedback in non-songbirds. Songbirds need auditory feedback to develop and maintain the normal song of their species. The prerequisite for the use of auditory feedback for the control of song is a set of acoustic criteria or a template to which voice must match. The template method perhaps evolved to free birds from fixed central pattern generators, resulting in the evolution of diverse and complex songs among oscine songbirds. The evolution of human speech may have followed a similar course.

Comparisons of stuttering frequency during and after speech initiation in unaltered feedback, altered auditory feedback and choral speech conditions

Stuttering is prone to strike during speech initiation more so than at any other point in an utterance. The use of auditory feedback (AAF) has been found to produce robust decreases in the stuttering frequency by creating an electronic rendition of choral speech (i.e., speaking in unison). However, AAF requires users to self-initiate speech before it can go into effect and, therefore, it might not be as helpful as true choral speech during speech initiation. To examine how AAF and choral speech differentially enhance fluency during speech initiation and in subsequent portions of utterances. Ten participants who stuttered read passages without altered feedback (NAF), under four AAF conditions and under a true choral speech condition. Each condition was blocked into ten 10 s trials separated by 5 s intervals so each trial required 'cold' speech initiation. In the first analysis, comparisons of stuttering frequencies were made across conditions. A second, finer grain analysis involved examining stuttering frequencies on the initial syllable, the subsequent four syllables produced and the five syllables produced immediately after the midpoint of each trial. On average, AAF reduced stuttering by approximately 68% relative to the NAF condition. Stuttering frequencies on the initial syllables were considerably higher than on the other syllables analysed (0.45 and 0.34 for NAF and AAF conditions, respectively). After the first syllable was produced, stuttering frequencies dropped precipitously and remained stable. However, this drop in stuttering frequency was significantly greater (approximately 84%) in the AAF conditions than in the NAF condition (approximately 66%) with frequencies on the last nine syllables analysed averaging 0.15 and 0.05 for NAF and AAF conditions, respectively. In the true choral speech condition, stuttering was virtually (approximately 98%) eliminated across all utterances and all syllable positions. Altered auditory feedback effectively inhibits stuttering immediately after speech has been initiated. However, unlike a true choral signal, which is exogenously initiated and offers the most complete fluency enhancement, AAF requires speech to be initiated by the user and 'fed back' before it can directly inhibit stuttering. It is suggested that AAF can be a viable clinical option for those who stutter and should often be used in combination with therapeutic techniques, particularly those that aid speech initiation. The substantially higher rate of stuttering occurring on initiation supports a hypothesis that overt stuttering events help 'release' and 'inhibit' central stuttering blocks. This perspective is examined in the context of internal models and mirror neurons.

Comparisons of stuttering frequency during and after speech initiation in unaltered feedback, altered auditory feedback and choral speech conditions

Background: Stuttering is prone to strike during speech initiation more so than at any other point in an utterance. The use of auditory feedback (AAF) has been found to produce robust decreases in the stuttering frequency by creating an electronic rendition of choral speech (i.e., speaking in unison). However, AAF requires users to self-initiate speech before it can go into effect and, therefore, it might not be as helpful as true choral speech during speech initiation. Aims: To examine how AAF and choral speech differentially enhance fluency during speech initiation and in subsequent portions of utterances. Methods & Procedures: Ten participants who stuttered read passages without altered feedback (NAF), under four AAF conditions and under a true choral speech condition. Each condition was blocked into ten 10 s trials separated by 5 s intervals so each trial required ‘cold’ speech initiation. In the first analysis, comparisons of stuttering frequencies were made across conditions. A second, finer grain analysis involved examining stuttering frequencies on the initial syllable, the subsequent four syllables produced and the five syllables produced immediately after the midpoint of each trial. Outcomes & Results: On average, AAF reduced stuttering by approximately 68% relative to the NAF condition. Stuttering frequencies on the initial syllables were considerably higher than on the other syllables analysed (0.45 and 0.34 for NAF and AAF conditions, respectively). After the first syllable was produced, stuttering frequencies dropped precipitously and remained stable. However, this drop in stuttering frequency was significantly greater (approximately 84%) in the AAF conditions than in the NAF condition (approximately 66%) with frequencies on the last nine syllables analysed averaging 0.15 and 0.05 for NAF and AAF conditions, respectively. In the true choral speech condition, stuttering was virtually (approximately 98%) eliminated across all utterances and all syllable positions. Conclusions & Implications: Altered auditory feedback effectively inhibits stuttering immediately after speech has been initiated. However, unlike a true choral signal, which is exogenously initiated and offers the most complete fluency enhancement, AAF requires speech to be initiated by the user and ‘fed back’ before it can directly inhibit stuttering. It is suggested that AAF can be a viable clinical option for those who stutter and should often be used in combination with therapeutic techniques, particularly those that aid speech initiation. The substantially higher rate of stuttering occurring on initiation supports a hypothesis that overt stuttering events help ‘release’ and ‘inhibit’ central stuttering blocks. This perspective is examined in the context of internal models and mirror neurons.

Using auditory feedback during vocalization: Different mechanisms for utterance onset and pitch maintenance.

During vocalization, auditory feedback is used to attain and maintain a desired fundamental frequency (F0). The use of auditory feedback to control vocalization has been studied using adaptation studies, in which an F0 feedback alteration is maintained across many trials, and using midutterance perturbations, where a brief F0 change is introduced during an ongoing utterance. Participants vocalized during two blocks. In an adaptation block, a one semitone F0 shift was maintained for 40 trials, and midutterance perturbations were introduced by removing the feedback alteration. In a control block, a midutterance perturbation was introduced in trials, which were either unshifted or shifted randomly by one semitone at before the onset of vocalization (similar to the adaptation trials). F0 compensation to midutterance perturbations was identical in all conditions, and was always smaller than the compensation to a shift at utterance onset. These results are explained by a change in the control strategy at uttera...

Use of auditory feedback and audio queues in the realization of a personal virtual assistant

A method, apparatus and computer program product for providing auditory feedback in a personal virtual assistant (PVA) is presented. A user communication is received at the PVA. A determination is made whether an event sound is required in response to the receiving a user communication and upon determination that an event sound is required, an event sound is provided to the user and upon determination that an event sound is not required an event sound is not provided to the user. A response to the communication received from the user is determined and is transmitted to the user.

“Writing with music”

We investigate the use of auditory feedback in pen-gesture interfaces in a series of informal and formal experiments. Initial iterative exploration showed that gaining performance advantage with auditory feedback was possible using absolute cues and state feedback after the gesture was produced and recognized. However, gaining learning or performance advantage from auditory feedback tightly coupled with the pen-gesture articulation and recognition process was more difficult. To establish a systematic baseline, Experiment 1 formally evaluated gesture production accuracy as a function of auditory and visual feedback. Size of gestures and the aperture of the closed gestures were influenced by the visual or auditory feedback, while other measures such as shape distance and directional difference were not, supporting the theory that feedback is too slow to strongly influence the production of pen stroke gestures. Experiment 2 focused on the subjective aspects of auditory feedback in pen-gesture interfaces. Participants' rating on the dimensions of being wonderful and stimulating was significantly higher with musical auditory feedback. Several lessons regarding pen gestures and auditory feedback are drawn from our exploration: a few simple functions such as indicating the pen-gesture recognition results can be achieved, gaining performance and learning advantage through tightly coupled process-based auditory feedback is difficult, pen-gesture sets and their recognizers can be designed to minimize visual dependence, and people's subjective experience of gesture interaction can be influenced using musical auditory feedback. These lessons may serve as references and stepping stones toward future research and development in pen-gesture interfaces with auditory feedback.