scholarly journals Sensorimotor adaptation and aftereffect to frequency-altered feedback in Mandarin-speaking vocalists and non-vocalists

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-147
Author(s):  
Li-Hsin Ning
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Stimulus Type ◽  
Test Phase ◽  
Automatic Process ◽  
Sensorimotor Adaptation ◽  
Training Phase ◽  
Training Experience ◽  
Vocal Training ◽  
Downward Shift ◽  
Motor Representations

Abstract This research examined sensorimotor adaptation and aftereffect in trained vocalists and non-vocalists whose native language is Mandarin. The adaptive frequency-altered feedback paradigm involving a baseline of normal auditory feedback, a training phase of incrementally or decrementally changed feedback, and a test phase of normal auditory feedback was administered. The participants were asked to produce the sustained vowel /a/, Mandarin /ma1/ (“mother”), and Mandarin /ma2/ (“hemp”). The results show that the vocalists compensated less than the non-vocalists, suggesting that the vocalists’ audio-motor representations for pitch could be more entrenched than the non-vocalists’. All the participants displayed sensorimotor adaptation, indicating that online recalibration is an innate and automatic process. The presence of the aftereffect, however, depended on the stimulus type and vocal training experience. It appeared in all speakers’ responses to downward shift of /ma1/ and /ma2/, but only in the non-vocalists’ responses to /a/.

scholarly journals Abnormal Speech Motor Control in Individuals with 16p11.2 Deletions

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carly Demopoulos ◽  
Hardik Kothare ◽  
Danielle Mizuiri ◽  
Jennifer Henderson-Sabes ◽  
Brieana Fregeau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Spectral Peak ◽  
Motor Deficits ◽  
Speech Motor Control ◽  
Sensorimotor Adaptation ◽  
Speech And Language ◽  
Vowel Production ◽  
Identity Changes ◽  
Speech Motor

AbstractSpeech and motor deficits are highly prevalent (>70%) in individuals with the 600 kb BP4-BP5 16p11.2 deletion; however, the mechanisms that drive these deficits are unclear, limiting our ability to target interventions and advance treatment. This study examined fundamental aspects of speech motor control in participants with the 16p11.2 deletion. To assess capacity for control of voice, we examined how accurately and quickly subjects changed the pitch of their voice within a trial to correct for a transient perturbation of the pitch of their auditory feedback. When compared to sibling controls, 16p11.2 deletion carriers show an over-exaggerated pitch compensation response to unpredictable mid-vocalization pitch perturbations. We also examined sensorimotor adaptation of speech by assessing how subjects learned to adapt their sustained productions of formants (speech spectral peak frequencies important for vowel identity), in response to consistent changes in their auditory feedback during vowel production. Deletion carriers show reduced sensorimotor adaptation to sustained vowel identity changes in auditory feedback. These results together suggest that 16p11.2 deletion carriers have fundamental impairments in the basic mechanisms of speech motor control and these impairments may partially explain the deficits in speech and language in these individuals.

scholarly journals Estimating Forest Stock Volume in Hunan Province, China, by Integrating In Situ Plot Data, Sentinel-2 Images, and Linear and Machine Learning Regression Models

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Hu ◽  
Xuelei Xu ◽  
Fayun Wu ◽  
Zhongqiu Sun ◽  
Haoming Xia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Test Phase ◽  
Hunan Province ◽  
Training Phase ◽  
Computing Platform ◽  
Cloud Computing Platform ◽  
Stock Volume ◽  
Sentinel 2 ◽  
Mlr Model

The forest stock volume (FSV) is one of the key indicators in forestry resource assessments on local, regional, and national scales. To date, scaling up in situ plot-scale measurements across landscapes is still a great challenge in the estimation of FSVs. In this study, Sentinel-2 imagery, the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud computing platform, three base station joint differential positioning technology (TBSJDPT), and three algorithms were used to build an FSV model for forests located in Hunan Province, southern China. The GEE cloud computing platform was used to extract the imagery variables from the Sentinel-2 imagery pixels. The TBSJDPT was put forward and used to provide high-precision positions of the sample plot data. The random forests (RF), support vector regression (SVR), and multiple linear regression (MLR) algorithms were used to estimate the FSV. For each pixel, 24 variables were extracted from the Sentinel-2 images taken in 2017 and 2018. The RF model performed the best in both the training phase (i.e., R2 = 0.91, RMSE = 35.13 m3 ha−1, n = 321) and in the test phase (i.e., R2 = 0.58, RMSE = 65.03 m3 ha−1, and n = 138). This model was followed by the SVR model (R2 = 0.54, RMSE = 65.60 m3 ha−1, n = 321 in training; R2 = 0.54, RMSE = 66.00 m3 ha−1, n = 138 in testing), which was slightly better than the MLR model (R2 = 0.38, RMSE = 75.74 m3 ha−1, and n = 321 in training; R2 = 0.49, RMSE = 70.22 m3 ha−1, and n = 138 in testing) in both the training phase and test phase. The best predictive band was Red-Edge 1 (B5), which performed well both in the machine learning methods and in the MLR method. The Blue band (B2), Green band (B3), Red band (B4), SWIR2 band (B12), and vegetation indices (TCW, NDVI_B5, and TCB) were used in the machine learning models, and only one vegetation index (MSI) was used in the MLR model. We mapped the FSV distribution in Hunan Province (3.50 × 108 m3) based on the RF model; it reached a total accuracy of 63.87% compared with the official forest report in 2017 (5.48 × 108 m3). The results from this study will help develop and improve satellite-based methods to estimate FSVs on local, regional and national scales.

scholarly journals Integration of auditory and somatosensory error signals in the neural control of speech movements

2011 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 667-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongqiang Feng ◽  
Vincent L. Gracco ◽  
Ludo Max
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Neural Control ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Feedback Signal ◽  
Sensorimotor Adaptation ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Articulatory Movements ◽  
Jaw Opening ◽  
Jaw Position

We investigated auditory and somatosensory feedback contributions to the neural control of speech. In task I, sensorimotor adaptation was studied by perturbing one of these sensory modalities or both modalities simultaneously. The first formant (F1) frequency in the auditory feedback was shifted up by a real-time processor and/or the extent of jaw opening was increased or decreased with a force field applied by a robotic device. All eight subjects lowered F1 to compensate for the up-shifted F1 in the feedback signal regardless of whether or not the jaw was perturbed. Adaptive changes in subjects' acoustic output resulted from adjustments in articulatory movements of the jaw or tongue. Adaptation in jaw opening extent in response to the mechanical perturbation occurred only when no auditory feedback perturbation was applied or when the direction of adaptation to the force was compatible with the direction of adaptation to a simultaneous acoustic perturbation. In tasks II and III, subjects' auditory and somatosensory precision and accuracy were estimated. Correlation analyses showed that the relationships 1) between F1 adaptation extent and auditory acuity for F1 and 2) between jaw position adaptation extent and somatosensory acuity for jaw position were weak and statistically not significant. Taken together, the combined findings from this work suggest that, in speech production, sensorimotor adaptation updates the underlying control mechanisms in such a way that the planning of vowel-related articulatory movements takes into account a complex integration of error signals from previous trials but likely with a dominant role for the auditory modality.

Effects of vocal training on involuntary responses to pitch-shifted voice auditory feedback

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sona Patel ◽  
Cristina Nishimura ◽  
Charles R. Larson
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Vocal Training

scholarly journals When Additional Training Isn't Enough: Further Evidence That Unpredictable Speech Inhibits Adaptation

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 1700-1711
Author(s):  
Kaitlin L. Lansford ◽  
Stephanie A. Borrie ◽  
Tyson S. Barrett ◽  
Cassidy Flechaus
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Training Phase ◽  
Perceptual Adaptation ◽  
Training Experience ◽  
Perceptual Training ◽  
Somatosensory Feedback ◽  
Vocal Imitation ◽  
Standard Training ◽  
Training Protocol

Purpose Robust improvements in intelligibility following familiarization, a listener-targeted perceptual training paradigm, have been revealed for talkers diagnosed with spastic, ataxic, and hypokinetic dysarthria but not for talkers with hyperkinetic dysarthria. While the theoretical explanation for the lack of intelligibility improvement following training with hyperkinetic talkers is that there is insufficient distributional regularity in the speech signals to support perceptual adaptation, it could simply be that the standard training protocol was inadequate to facilitate learning of the unpredictable talker. In a pair of experiments, we addressed this possible alternate explanation by modifying the levels of exposure and feedback provided by the perceptual training protocol to offer listeners a more robust training experience. Method In Experiment 1, we examined the exposure modifications, testing whether perceptual adaptation to an unpredictable talker with hyperkinetic dysarthria could be achieved with greater or more diverse exposure to dysarthric speech during the training phase. In Experiment 2, we examined feedback modifications, testing whether perceptual adaptation to the unpredictable talker could be achieved with the addition of internally generated somatosensory feedback, via vocal imitation, during the training phase. Results Neither task modification led to improved intelligibility of the unpredictable talker with hyperkinetic dysarthria. Furthermore, listeners who completed the vocal imitation task demonstrated significantly reduced intelligibility at posttest. Conclusion Together, the results from Experiments 1 and 2 replicate and extend findings from our previous work, suggesting perceptual adaptation is inhibited for talkers whose speech is largely characterized by unpredictable degradations. Collectively, these results underscore the importance of integrating signal predictability into theoretical models of perceptual learning.

scholarly journals Investigating habits in humans with a symmetrical outcome revaluation task

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Poppy Watson ◽  
Thomas Edward Gladwin ◽  
sanne de wit
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Investigation ◽  
Instrumental Learning ◽  
Test Phase ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Training Phase ◽  
Behavioural Flexibility ◽  
Stimulus Response ◽  
Extended Training

To investigate the balance between goal-directed and habitual control in controlled experimental settings, animal researchers developed the outcome-revaluation paradigm. The translation of this paradigm to humans has yielded interesting insights but proven to be challenging. We present a novel, symmetrical outcome-revaluation task in which outcomes are both devalued and upvalued to reveal the disadvantage and advantage of habit formation. During the instrumental learning phase, participants learned to respond (Go) to certain stimuli to collect valuable outcomes (and points) while refraining to respond (NoGo) to stimuli signalling not-valuable outcomes. Half of the stimuli were short-trained, while the other half were long-trained. Subsequently, in the test phase, the signalled outcomes were either value-congruent with training (still-valuable and still-not-valuable), or incongruent (devalued and upvalued). The change in outcome value on incongruent trials meant that participants had to flexibly adjust their behaviour. At the end of the training phase, participants completed the self-report behavioural automaticity index – providing an automaticity score for each stimulus-response association. We conducted two experiments using this task, that both provided evidence for stimulus-driven habits as reflected in better performance on congruent than on incongruent test trials. While self-reported automaticity increased with longer training, behavioural flexibility was intact. After extended training (Experiment 2), higher levels of self-reported automaticity when responding to stimuli signalling valuable outcomes was related to more ‘slips of action’ when the associated outcome was subsequently devalued. We conclude that the symmetrical outcome revaluation task provides a promising paradigm for the experimental investigation of habits in humans.

scholarly journals Behavioural preview effect with faces

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Huber ◽  
David Melcher
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Model ◽  
Saccadic Eye Movements ◽  
Test Phase ◽  
Training Phase ◽  
Training Design ◽  
Visual Stability ◽  
Mixed Model Analysis ◽  
Subsequent Test ◽  
The World ◽  
Predictive Processes

The world around us appears stable and continuous despite saccadic eye movements. This apparent visual stability is achieved by trans-saccadic perception leading at the behavioural level to preview effects: Performance in processing a foveal stimulus is better if the stimulus remained unchanged (valid) compared to when it changed (invalid) during the saccade that brought it into focus. Trans-saccadic perception is known to predictively adapt to the statistics of the environment. Here, we asked whether the behavioural preview effect shows the same characteristics, employing a between-participants training design. Participants made saccades to faces which could change their orientation (upright/inverted) during the saccade. In addition, the post-saccadic face was slightly tilted and participants reported this tilt upon fixation. In a training phase, one group of participants conducted only invalid trials whereas another group conducted only valid trials. In a subsequent test phase with 50% valid and 50% invalid trials, we measured the preview effect. Invalid training eliminated the preview effect. With a mixed-model analysis, we could show how this training effect gradually declines in the course of the test phase. These results show that the behavioural preview effect adapts to the statistics of the environment suggesting that it results from predictive processes.

scholarly journals Suppression of Emotional and Nonemotional Content in Memory

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 441-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendan E. Depue ◽  
Marie T. Banich ◽  
Tim Curran
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Test Phase ◽  
Emotional Content ◽  
Training Phase ◽  
Experimental Phase

Two experiments utilized a think/no-think paradigm to examine whether cognitive control of memories differs depending on whether they contain information with negative or neutral emotional content. During a training phase, participants learned face-word pairs (Experiment 1) or face-picture pairs (Experiment 2). In a subsequent experimental phase, participants were shown faces and told to think of the items paired with some of the faces and to try not to think of the items paired with other faces. Finally, in a test phase, participants were again shown each face and asked to recall the item with which it had been paired previously. Results for both verbal (Experiment 1) and nonverbal (Experiment 2) items indicated that the facilitatory and inhibitory influences of cognitive control were larger for negative than neutral items.

scholarly journals Nonhomogeneous transfer reveals specificity in speech motor learning

2012 ◽  
Vol 107 (6) ◽  
pp. 1711-1717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amélie Rochet-Capellan ◽  
Lara Richer ◽  
David J. Ostry
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Speech Production ◽  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Transfer Of Learning ◽  
Training Phase ◽  
Speech Output ◽  
Speech Learning ◽  
Speech Motor ◽  
Adaptation Phase

Does motor learning generalize to new situations that are not experienced during training, or is motor learning essentially specific to the training situation? In the present experiments, we use speech production as a model to investigate generalization in motor learning. We tested for generalization from training to transfer utterances by varying the acoustical similarity between these two sets of utterances. During the training phase of the experiment, subjects received auditory feedback that was altered in real time as they repeated a single consonant-vowel-consonant utterance. Different groups of subjects were trained with different consonant-vowel-consonant utterances, which differed from a subsequent transfer utterance in terms of the initial consonant or vowel. During the adaptation phase of the experiment, we observed that subjects in all groups progressively changed their speech output to compensate for the perturbation (altered auditory feedback). After learning, we tested for generalization by having all subjects produce the same single transfer utterance while receiving unaltered auditory feedback. We observed limited transfer of learning, which depended on the acoustical similarity between the training and the transfer utterances. The gradients of generalization observed here are comparable to those observed in limb movement. The present findings are consistent with the conclusion that speech learning remains specific to individual instances of learning.

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