scholarly journals It's About Time: Minimizing Hardware and Software Latencies in Speech Research With Real-Time Auditory Feedback

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (8) ◽  
pp. 2522-2534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwang S. Kim ◽  
Hantao Wang ◽  
Ludo Max
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Feedback Loop ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Methodological Issue ◽  
Scientific Rigor ◽  
Total Latency ◽  
Speech Research ◽  
Parameter Values ◽  
Audio Interfaces

Purpose Various aspects of speech production related to auditory–motor integration and learning have been examined through auditory feedback perturbation paradigms in which participants' acoustic speech output is experimentally altered and played back via earphones/headphones “in real time.” Scientific rigor requires high precision in determining and reporting the involved hardware and software latencies. Many reports in the literature, however, are not consistent with the minimum achievable latency for a given experimental setup. Here, we focus specifically on this methodological issue associated with implementing real-time auditory feedback perturbations, and we offer concrete suggestions for increased reproducibility in this particular line of work. Method Hardware and software latencies as well as total feedback loop latency were measured for formant perturbation studies with the Audapter software. Measurements were conducted for various audio interfaces, desktop and laptop computers, and audio drivers. An approach for lowering Audapter's software latency through nondefault parameter specification was also tested. Results Oft-overlooked hardware-specific latencies were not negligible for some of the tested audio interfaces (adding up to 15 ms). Total feedback loop latencies (including both hardware and software latency) were also generally larger than claimed in the literature. Nondefault parameter values can improve Audapter's own processing latency without negative impact on formant tracking. Conclusions Audio interface selection and software parameter optimization substantially affect total feedback loop latency. Thus, the actual total latency (hardware plus software) needs to be correctly measured and described in all published reports. Future speech research with “real-time” auditory feedback perturbations should increase scientific rigor by minimizing this latency.

scholarly journals Exposure to auditory feedback delay while speaking induces perceptual habituation but does not mitigate the disruptive effect of delay on speech auditory-motor learning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas M. Shiller ◽  
Takashi Mitsuya ◽  
Ludo Max
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Detrimental Effect ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Motor Adaptation ◽  
List Type ◽  
Disruptive Effect ◽  
Feedback Delay ◽  
Spectral Perturbation

ABSTRACTPerceiving the sensory consequences of our actions with a delay alters the interpretation of these afferent signals and impacts motor learning. For reaching movements, delayed visual feedback of hand position reduces the rate and extent of visuomotor adaptation, but substantial adaptation still occurs. Moreover, the detrimental effect of visual feedback delay on reach motor learning—selectively affecting its implicit component—can be mitigated by prior habituation to the delay. Auditory-motor learning for speech has been reported to be more sensitive to feedback delay, and it remains unknown whether habituation to auditory delay reduces its negative impact on learning. We investigated whether 30 minutes of exposure to auditory delay during speaking (a) affects the subjective perception of delay, and (b) mitigates its disruptive effect on speech auditory-motor learning. During a speech adaptation task with real-time perturbation of vowel spectral properties, participants heard this frequency-shifted feedback with no delay, 75 ms delay, or 115 ms delay. In the delay groups, 50% of participants had been exposed to the delay throughout a preceding 30-minute block of speaking whereas the remaining participants completed this block without delay. Although habituation minimized awareness of the delay, no improvement in adaptation to the spectral perturbation was observed. Thus, short-term habituation to auditory feedback delays is not effective in reducing the negative impact of delay on speech auditory-motor adaptation. Combined with previous findings, the strong negative effect of delay and the absence of an influence of delay awareness suggest the involvement of predominantly implicit learning mechanisms in speech.HIGHLIGHTSSpeech auditory-motor adaptation to a spectral perturbation was reduced by ~50% when feedback was delayed by 75 or 115 ms.Thirty minutes of prior delay exposure without perturbation effectively reduced participants’ awareness of the delay.However, habituation was ineffective in remediating the detrimental effect of delay on speech auditory-motor adaptation.The dissociation of delay awareness and adaptation suggests that speech auditory-motor learning is mostly implicit.

scholarly journals Cumulative Science via Bayesian Posterior Passing

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Olivia Brand ◽  
James Patrick Ounsley ◽  
Daniel Job Van der Post ◽  
Thomas Joshua Henry Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Statistical Technique ◽  
The Other ◽  
True Parameter ◽  
True Effect ◽  
Strong Candidate ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Parameter Values

This paper introduces a statistical technique known as “posterior passing” in which the results of past studies can be used to inform the analyses carried out by subsequent studies. We first describe the technique in detail and show how it can be implemented by individual researchers on an experiment by experiment basis. We then use a simulation to explore its success in identifying true parameter values compared to current statistical norms (ANOVAs and GLMMs). We find that posterior passing allows the true effect in the population to be found with greater accuracy and consistency than the other analysis types considered. Furthermore, posterior passing performs almost identically to a data analysis in which all data from all simulated studies are combined and analysed as one dataset. On this basis, we suggest that posterior passing is a viable means of implementing cumulative science. Furthermore, because it prevents the accumulation of large bodies of conflicting literature, it alleviates the need for traditional meta-analyses. Instead, posterior passing cumulatively and collaboratively provides clarity in real time as each new study is produced and is thus a strong candidate for a new, cumulative approach to scientific analyses and publishing.

scholarly journals Where You End and I Begin: Cognition and Continuity in Experimental Improvised Music and Dance

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Williams ◽  
Martin Sonderkamp
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Inner Ear ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Feedback Loop ◽  
Theoretical Foundation ◽  
Situated Cognition ◽  
Program Notes ◽  
Improvised Music

When we improvise together in music and dance, our bodies, instruments, and environments not only interact; they become mutually dependent. A bassist's shoulder shifts, bow slides, instrument rings . . . vibrations bounce off the walls, reach the dancer's inner ear, filling the lungs, lunging toward the bassist's shoulder: these sounds, movements, spaces, and perceptions form a real-time feedback loop that blurs where you end and I begin. Recent research in embodied and situated cognition by scholars such as Clark and Chalmers (1998), Gallagher (2005, 2007), Hutchins (1995), Noë (2004), and Suchman (2007) provides a theoretical foundation for formalizing this continuity. This literature has inspired us to reconsider how cognitive processes we tacitly know within a specific aesthetic framework are in fact at work throughout everyday life. In four videos taken from an hour-long studio session recorded in February 2012, we explore these processes once again in our own practice, and offer reflections in the form of program notes that invite the audience to perform these connections themselves.

A Real Time Topological Map Matching Methodology for GPS/GIS-Based Travel Behavior Studies

2015 ◽  
pp. 422-439
Author(s):  
Carola A. Blazquez ◽  
Pablo A. Miranda
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Travel Behavior ◽  
Map Matching ◽  
Gps Measurements ◽  
Case Scenario ◽  
Topological Map ◽  
Gis Environment ◽  
Control And Management ◽  
Parameter Values

The map matching problem arises when GPS measurements are incorrectly assigned to the roadway network in a GIS environment. This chapter presents a real-time topological decision rule-based methodology that detects and solves spatial mismatches as GPS measurements are collected. A real-time map matching methodology is required in several applications, such as fleet management, transit control and management, and travel behavior studies, in which decision-making must be performed simultaneously with the movement of vehicles, individuals, or objects. A computational implementation in a real case scenario in Chile indicates that the algorithm successfully resolves over 96% of the spatial mismatches encountered in real time. Various algorithmic parameter values were employed to test the performance of the algorithm for data collected every 5 and 10 seconds. Overall, the algorithm requires larger buffer sizes and speed ranges to obtain better results with lower spatial data qualities.

A New Model System for the Study of Complex Dynamical Enzyme Reactions. I. A Nonlinear Enzyme Reaction in a Chemical Gradient

1988 ◽  
Vol 43 (11) ◽  
pp. 987-994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerold Baier ◽  
Peter Urban ◽  
Klaus Wegmann
Keyword(s):  
Feedback Loop ◽  
Reaction Rate ◽  
Reaction Dynamics ◽  
Enzyme Reaction ◽  
Experimental System ◽  
Model System ◽  
Chemical Gradient ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Fixed Parameter ◽  
Parameter Values

Abstract An experimental system for the study of biochemical reaction dynamics is introduced and de­ scribed. A one-enzyme reaction is extended by an artificial feedback loop in an electrochemical device. Cyclic voltammetry is used to show that the reaction rate depends nonlinearly on the amount of cosubstrate offered. For some sets of fixed parameter values a damped oscillatory approach of the steady state was observed. The usefulness of the systems theoretical concepts is discussed.

scholarly journals Review of the therapeutic neurofeedback method using electroencephalography: EEG Neurofeedback

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Omejc ◽  
Bojan Rojc ◽  
Piero Paolo Battaglini ◽  
Uros Marusic
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Feedback Loop ◽  
Eeg Signal ◽  
Slow Cortical Potentials ◽  
Brain Functioning ◽  
Neuropsychological Disorders ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
Eeg Neurofeedback ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Opening Up

Electroencephalographic neurofeedback (EEG-NFB) represents a broadly used method that involves a real-time EEG signal measurement, immediate data processing with the extraction of the parameter(s) of interest, and feedback to the individual in a real-time. Using such a feedback loop, the individual may gain better control over the neurophysiological parameters, by inducing changes in brain functioning and, consequently, behavior. It is used as a complementary treatment for a variety of neuropsychological disorders and improvement of cognitive capabilities, creativity or relaxation in healthy subjects. In this review, various types of EEG-NFB training are described, including training of slow cortical potentials (SCPs) and frequency and coherence training, with their main results and potential limitations. Furthermore, some general concerns about EEG-NFB methodology are presented, which still need to be addressed by the NFB community. Due to the heterogeneity of research designs in EEG-NFB protocols, clear conclusions on the effectiveness of this method are difficult to draw. Despite that, there seems to be a well-defined path for the EEG-NFB research in the future, opening up possibilities for improvement.

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