Minimal Reaction Times for Phonatory Initiation

1978 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 638-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Izdebski ◽  
Thomas Shipp
Keyword(s):  
Lung Volume ◽  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Maximum Speed ◽  
Vocal Responses ◽  
Preparatory Interval ◽  
Computer Controlled ◽  
Neurologically Normal ◽  
Normal Adults

The maximum speed at which voluntary vocal and digital responses can be initiated was investigated in 15 male and 15 female neurologically normal adults using simple reaction time (RT) methodology. All subjects were pretrained to respond as quickly as possible to stimulus onset following a computer-controlled preparatory interval. Voluntary minimal RTs for phonation initiation were studied as a function of (1) stimulus type (auditory and somesthetic), (2) prephonatory vocal-fold position (abducted and adducted), and (3) subject’s lung volume (75%, 50%, and 25% VC). The average minimal vocal RT across subjects was 195 msec, and the fastest recorded vocal RT was 120 msec. Although vocal responses to an auditory stimulus were somewhat shorter than to a somesthetic stimulus, neither these differences nor the RTs between sexes were statistically significant except that females had shorter vocal RTs from an abducted prephonatory vocal-fold position. Shorter vocal RTs were obtained when phonation was initiated at midlung volume than at the lung volume extremes, and for both sexes the average digital RTs were significantly shorter than vocal RTs.

Focusing of Visuospatial Attention

2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 256-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caterina Pesce ◽  
Rainer Bösel
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Times ◽  
Visual Space ◽  
Spatial Relation ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Visuospatial Attention ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Behavioral Studies ◽  
Task Conditions ◽  
Simple Rt

Abstract In the present study we explored the focusing of visuospatial attention in subjects practicing and not practicing activities with high attentional demands. Similar to the studies of Castiello and Umiltà (e. g., 1990) , our experimental procedure was a variation of Posner's (1980) basic paradigm for exploring covert orienting of visuospatial attention. In a simple RT-task, a peripheral cue of varying size was presented unilaterally or bilaterally from a central fixation point and followed by a target at different stimulus-onset-asynchronies (SOAs). The target could occur validly inside the cue or invalidly outside the cue with varying spatial relation to its boundary. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and reaction times (RTs) were recorded to target stimuli under the different task conditions. RT and ERP findings showed converging aspects as well as dissociations. Electrophysiological results revealed an amplitude modulation of the ERPs in the early and late Nd time interval at both anterior and posterior scalp sites, which seems to be related to the effects of peripheral informative cues as well as to the attentional expertise. Results were: (1) shorter latency effects confirm the positive-going amplitude enhancement elicited by unilateral peripheral cues and strengthen the criticism against the neutrality of spatially nonpredictive peripheral cueing of all possible target locations which is often presumed in behavioral studies. (2) Longer latency effects show that subjects with attentional expertise modulate the distribution of the attentional resources in the visual space differently than nonexperienced subjects. Skilled practice may lead to minimizing attentional costs by automatizing the use of a span of attention that is adapted to the most frequent task demands and endogenously increases the allocation of resources to cope with less usual attending conditions.

scholarly journals Giving Subjects the Eye and Showing Them the Finger: Socio-Biological Cues and Saccade Generation in the Anti-Saccade Task

Perception ◽  
10.1068/p7085 ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola J Gregory ◽  
Timothy L Hodgson
Keyword(s):  
Opposite Direction ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Oculomotor System ◽  
Short Soas ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Saccade Direction ◽  
Saccade Task ◽  
Saccadic Reaction Times ◽  
Saccadic Responses ◽  
Gaze Cues

Pointing with the eyes or the finger occurs frequently in social interaction to indicate direction of attention and one's intentions. Research with a voluntary saccade task (where saccade direction is instructed by the colour of a fixation point) suggested that gaze cues automatically activate the oculomotor system, but non-biological cues, like arrows, do not. However, other work has failed to support the claim that gaze cues are special. In the current research we introduced biological and non-biological cues into the anti-saccade task, using a range of stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs). The anti-saccade task recruits both top–down and bottom–up attentional mechanisms, as occurs in naturalistic saccadic behaviour. In experiment 1 gaze, but not arrows, facilitated saccadic reaction times (SRTs) in the opposite direction to the cues over all SOAs, whereas in experiment 2 directional word cues had no effect on saccades. In experiment 3 finger pointing cues caused reduced SRTs in the opposite direction to the cues at short SOAs. These findings suggest that biological cues automatically recruit the oculomotor system whereas non-biological cues do not. Furthermore, the anti-saccade task set appears to facilitate saccadic responses in the opposite direction to the cues.

Tussen Lezen En Luisteren

1992 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 27-38
Author(s):  
Ton Dijkstra
Keyword(s):  
Stimulus Onset Asynchrony ◽  
Divided Attention ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Race Model ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Sublexical Processing ◽  
Temporal Aspects ◽  
Onset Asynchrony ◽  
Processing Differences

Two divided attention experiments investigated whether graphemes and phonemes can mutually activate each other during bimodal sublexical processing. Dutch subjects reacted to target letters and/or speech sounds in single-channel and bimodal stimuli. In some bimodal conditions, the visual and auditory targets were congruent (e.g., visual A, auditory /a:/), in others they were not (e.g., visual U, auditory /a:/). Temporal aspects of cross-modal activation were examined by varying the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) of visual and auditory stimulus components. Processing differences among stimuli (e.g., the letters A and U) were accounted for by correcting the obtained bimodal reaction times by means of the predictions of an independent race-model. Comparing the results of the adapted congruent and incongruent conditions for each SOA, it can be concluded that (a) cross-modal activation takes place in this task situation; (b) it is bidirectional, i.e. it spreads from grapheme to phoneme and vice versa; and (c) it occurs very rapidly.

Respiratory and Laryngeal Measures of Children and Women With Bilateral Vocal Fold Nodules

1994 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 1229-1243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine M. Sapienza ◽  
Elaine T. Stathopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Lung Volume ◽  
Respiratory Function ◽  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Multidimensional Analysis ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Laryngeal Function ◽  
Voice Production ◽  
Normal Voice ◽  
Vocal Fold Nodules ◽  
Simultaneous Assessment

Simultaneous assessment of laryngeal and respiratory function was completed on 8 children and 10 women with bilateral vocal fold nodules and compared to that of 8 children and 10 women with normal voice production. Laryngeal function for the individuals with bilateral vocal fold nodules was characterized by significantly higher peak, altemating, and minimum glottal airflow. The presence of the high glottal airflow was accompanied by a significantly larger lung volume excursion. Both the children with nodules and those with normal voice showed laryngeal and respiratory function differences when compared to adults. All subject groups demonstrated appropriate laryngeal and respiratory function when increasing intensity from comfortable to loud speech. Simultaneous measurement of laryngeal and respiratory function using a multidimensional analysis of voice production is advocated in the evaluation of voice disorders because it can provide specific information regarding which of the subsystems of voice production are compromised.

scholarly journals Differential Influence of Attention on Gaze and Head Movements

2009 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 198-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aarlenne Z. Khan ◽  
Gunnar Blohm ◽  
Robert M. McPeek ◽  
Philippe Lefèvre
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Times ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Head Movements ◽  
Neck Muscle ◽  
Gaze Shifts ◽  
Opposite Pattern ◽  
Saccade Onset ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Onset Asynchrony ◽  
Electromyographic Signals

A salient peripheral cue can capture attention, influencing subsequent responses to a target. Attentional cueing effects have been studied for head-restrained saccades; however, under natural conditions, the head contributes to gaze shifts. We asked whether attention influences head movements in combined eye–head gaze shifts and, if so, whether this influence is different for the eye and head components. Subjects made combined eye–head gaze shifts to horizontal visual targets. Prior to target onset, a behaviorally irrelevant cue was flashed at the same (congruent) or opposite (incongruent) location at various stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA) times. We measured eye and head movements and neck muscle electromyographic signals. Reaction times for the eye and head were highly correlated; both showed significantly shorter latencies (attentional facilitation) for congruent compared with incongruent cues at the two shortest SOAs and the opposite pattern (inhibition of return) at the longer SOAs, consistent with attentional modulation of a common eye–head gaze drive. Interestingly, we also found that the head latency relative to saccade onset was significantly shorter for congruent than that for incongruent cues. This suggests an effect of attention on the head separate from that on the eyes.

Cardiac Cycle Phase and Movement and Reaction Times

1976 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 767-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matti J. Saari ◽  
Bruce A. Pappas
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Cardiac Cycle ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Cycle Phase ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Time Task

The EKG was recorded while Ss differentially responded to auditory or visual stimuli in a reaction time task. The EKG record was analyzed by dividing each R-R interval encompassing a stimulus presentation into 9 equal phases. Reaction times were determined as a function of the phase encompassing stimulus onset while movement times were determined for the phase in which the response was initiated. Only reaction time significantly varied with cardiac cycle, with reactions during the second phase being slower than later phases.

Dynamic Aspects of Phonatory Control in Spasmodic Dysphonia

1987 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christy L. Ludlow ◽  
Nadine P. Connor
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Fold ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Movement Control ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Spasmodic Dysphonia ◽  
Maximum Phonation Time ◽  
Precise Control ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Intensity Control ◽  
Normal Controls

To understand the voluntary laryngeal movement disorder in spasmodic dysphonia (SD), SD patients were compared with normal controls on speech tasks with different laryngeal motor-control demands. Nine patients with idiopathic chronic SD and no other speech, otolaryngologic, neurologic, or psychiatric disorders were compared with 15 control subjects who were free of such disorders. Speech production tasks required different degrees of dynamic and precise control of vocal fold movement. Phonatory off times were increased in the SD patients, while maximum phonation time, phonatory on time, frequency and intensity control, and reaction times for CV syllables were not affected. On a reaction-time task, the onset of laryngeal movement was not delayed in the SD patients, however, the time between the onset of laryngeal movement and phonatory onset was significantly increased in the SD patients in comparison with the controls. Therefore, SD patients had no difficulty with the onset of laryngeal movement but were slow to achieve phonation, indicating a movement-control disorder affecting vocal fold adduction for phonation onset.

scholarly journals Done in 100 ms: Path-dependent visuomotor transformation in the human upper limb

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Gu ◽  
J. Andrew Pruszynski ◽  
Paul L. Gribble ◽  
Brian D. Corneil
Keyword(s):  
Upper Limb ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Movement Trajectory ◽  
Cortical Processing ◽  
Mental Chronometry ◽  
Motor Actions

ABSTRACTA core assumption underlying mental chronometry is that more complex tasks increase cortical processing, prolonging reaction times. Here we show that increases in task complexity alter the magnitude, rather than the latency, of the output for a circuit that rapidly transforms visual information into motor actions. We quantified visual stimulus-locked responses (SLRs), which are changes in upper limb muscle recruitment that evolve at a fixed latency ∼100 ms after novel visual stimulus onset. First, we studied the underlying reference frame of the SLR, by dissociating initial eye and hand position. Despite its quick latency, we found that the SLR was expressed in a hand-centric reference frame, suggesting that the circuit mediating the SLR integrated retinotopic visual information with body configuration. Next, we studied the influence of planned movement trajectory, requiring participants to prepare and generate curved or straight reaches in the presence of obstacles to attain the same visual stimulus. We found that SLR magnitude reflected the initial planned movement trajectory, regardless of the ensuing movement curvature. Based on these results, we suggest that the circuit mediating the SLR lies in parallel to other well-studied corticospinal pathways. Although the fixed latency of the SLR precludes extensive cortical processing, inputs conveying information relating to task complexity, such as body configuration and planned movement trajectory, can pre-set nodes within the circuit underlying to the SLR to modulate its magnitude.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTA core assumption underlying mental chronometry is that more complex tasks increase cortical processing, prolonging reaction times. Here, we showed that increases in task complexity altered the magnitude, rather than the latency, of a circuit that rapidly transforms visual information into motor actions. We focus on stimulus-locked responses (SLRs), which are changes in upper limb muscle recruitment that evolve at a fixed latency ∼100 ms after novel visual stimulus onset. We showed that despite is quick latency, the circuitry mediating the SLR transformed a retinotopic visual signal into a hand-centric motor command suitable to contribute to the initial movement trajectory. We suggest that this circuit lies in parallel to other well-studied corticospinal pathways.

scholarly journals Beliefs in being unlucky and deficits in executive functioning: An ERP study

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Martin del Campo ◽  
John Maltby ◽  
Giorgio Fuggetta
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Top Down

The present study tested the Dysexecutive Luck hypothesis by examining whether deficits in the early stage of top down attentional control led to an increase of neural activity in later stages of response related selection process among those who thought themselves to be unlucky. Individuals with these beliefs were compared to a control group using an Event-Related Potential (ERP) measure assessing underlying neural activity of semantic inhibition while completing a Stroop test. Results showed stronger main interference effects in the former group, via greater reaction times and a more negative distributed scalp late ERP component during incongruent trials in the time window of 450 – 780 ms post stimulus onset. Further, less efficient maintenance of task set among the former group was associated with greater late ERP response-related activation to compensate for the lack of top-down attentional control. These findings provide electrophysiological evidence to support the Dysexecutive Luck hypothesis.

Enhancing Mucus Clearance by Cough Through Repeated Pulses

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Duygu L. Tuna ◽  
Mehmet Altay Ünal ◽  
Fikret Arı ◽  
Peter Krumpe ◽  
Cahit A. Evrensel
Keyword(s):  
Maximum Velocity ◽  
Sharp Decrease ◽  
Single Pulse ◽  
Maximum Speed ◽  
Chronic Obstructive ◽  
Moderate Increase ◽  
Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽  
Mucus Clearance ◽  
Air Volume ◽  
Computer Controlled

Abstract The aim of this study is to investigate the potential increase in the efficiency of the mucus clearance by repeated pulses of the same maximum speed and total air volume compared to single pulse simulated cough and to explore the effect of mucus simulant rheology and duration between repeated pulses on it. Experiments are conducted to study the behavior and clearance of a mucus simulant through a D-shaped rigid plexiglass horizontal tracheal model by approximately rectangular pulses. Mucus simulants with viscoelastic properties like mucus of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or similar illnesses, a moderate increase in elastic modulus, and a sharp decrease in viscosity with increasing frequency were prepared by locust bean gum and borax-de-ionized water solutions (Ragavan, A. J., Evrensel, C. A., and Krumpe, P., 2010, “Interactions of Airflow Oscillation, Tracheal Inclination, and Mucus Elasticity Significantly Improve Simulated Cough Clearance,” Chest, 137(2), pp. 355–361). Displacement of 0.3 ml mucus simulant aliquot is measured during single or repeated airflow pulses with a total air volume of about 1.1 L and the same maximum velocity. The desired flow pattern is generated by a compressor set at 4.5 bar and a computer-controlled on–off valve. Displacement of the same volume of mucus aliquot increases with the increasing number of pulses with the same total volume of air and maximum velocity and increasing of elasticity of mucus simulants. The increased maximum airflow velocity of repeated pulses affects the displacement of mucus aliquot positively. Moreover, when the duration length between the repeated pulses increased up to 100 ms, the displacement of aliquot increased up to but after 100 ms to 150 ms started to decrease.

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