Visual benefit in bimodal training with highly distorted speech sound

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (0) ◽  
pp. 157
Author(s):  
Mika Sato ◽  
Tetsuaki Kawase ◽  
Shuichi Sakamoto ◽  
Yôiti Suzuki ◽  
Toshimitsu Kobayashi

Artificial auditory devices such as cochlear implants (CIs) and auditory brainstem implants (ABIs) have become standard means to manage profound sensorineural hearing loss. However, because of their structural limitations compared to the cochlea and the cochlear nucleus, the generated auditory sensations are still imperfect. Recipients need postoperative auditory rehabilitation. To improve these rehabilitation programs, this study evaluated the effects of bimodal (audio–visual) training under seven experimental conditions of distorted speech sound, named noise-vocoded speech sound (NVSS), which is similarly processed with a speech processor of CI/ABI. Word intelligibilities under the seven conditions of two-band noise-vocoded speech were measured for auditory (A), visual (V) and auditory–visual (AV) modalities after a few hours of bimodal (AV) training. The experiment was performed with 56 subjects with normal hearing. Performance of A and AV word recognition was significantly different under the seven auditory conditions. The V word intelligibility was not influenced by the condition of combined auditory cues. However, V word intelligibility was correlated with AV word recognition under all frequency conditions. Correlation between A and AV word intelligibilities was ambiguous. These findings suggest the importance of visual cues in AV speech perception under extremely degraded auditory conditions, and underscore the importance of the possible effectiveness of bimodal audio–visual training in postoperative rehabilitation for patients with postlingual deafness who have undergone artificial auditory device implantation.

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-222
Author(s):  
Miguel Lázaro ◽  
Víctor Illera ◽  
Javier Sainz

AbstractWhether morphological processing of complex words occurs beyond orthographic processing is a matter of intense debate. In this study, morphological processing is examined by presenting complex words (brujería -> brujo –witchcraft -> witch), as well as simple (brujaña->brujo) and complex pseudowords (brujanza ->brujo), as primes in three masked lexical decision tasks. In the first experiment, the three experimental conditions facilitated word recognition in comparison to the control condition, but no differences emerged between them. Given the importance of the surface frequency effect observed, a second experiment was conducted. The results fully replicate those observed in the first one, but this time with low frequency targets. In the third experiment, vowels were removed from the stems of primes to reduce the orthographic overlap between primes and targets and, therefore, the influence of the embedded stem effect. The results show facilitative effects only for complex words. However, paired comparisons show no differences between experimental conditions. The overall results show the central role played by the processing of stems in visual word recognition and are explained in terms of current models of morphological processing.


1993 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Mittelstaedt ◽  
S. Glasauer

This contribution examines the consequences of two remarkable experiences of subjects in weightlessness, 1) the missing of sensations of trunk tilt and of the respective concomitant reflexes when the head is tilted with respect to the trunk, and 2) the persistence of a perception of “up” and “down,” that is, of the polarity of the subjective vertical (SV) in the absence of, as well as in contradiction to, visual cues. The first disproves that the necessary head-to-trunk coordinate transformation be achieved by adding representations of the respective angles gained by utricles and neck receptors, but corroborates an extant model of cross-multiplication of utricular, saccular, and neck receptor components. The second indicates the existence of force-independent components in the determination of the SV. Although the number of subjects is still small and experimental conditions are not as homogeneous as desired, measurements and/or reports on the ground, in parabolic, and in space flight point to the decisive role of the saccular z-bias, that is, of a difference of the mean resting discharges of saccular units polarized in the rostrad and the caudad (±z-) direction.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Stanley Burger ◽  
Susan L. Johnson

Increases in portion size lead to increases in energy intake, yet the mechanisms behind this ‘portion size effect’ are unclear. This study tested possible mechanisms of the portion size effect i.e., bite size and visual cues in 30 over- and normal-weight individuals (15 men, 15 women). A 2x2 repeated measures, within-subject design was used to test the effects of portion size (410g vs. 820g of a pasta dish) and visual cues (blindfolded vs. visible) on energy intake. At each meal participants were exposed to one of four experimental conditions (small portion/visible; small portion/blindfold; large portion/visible; large portion/blindfold). Participant characteristics, food intake, number of bites, meal duration, palatability measures and hunger and fullness were assessed. In response to a doubling of the portion presented, entrée energy intake increased 26% (220kcal P < 0.001) and mean bite size increased 2.4g/bite (P < 0.05). Overweight individuals consumed 40% (334kcal) more of the entrée in response to the large portion condition (P < 0.05), while lean individuals’ intakes did not differ (P < 0.56). A 12% (122kcal) decrease in entrée intake was observed in the blindfolded condition (P < 0.01), but no portion by visual cue interaction was found; indicating that blindfolding did not attenuate the portion size effect. These data suggest that the portion size effect is greater in overweight individuals and occurs via changes in bite size.


2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chhayakanta Patro ◽  
Lisa Lucks Mendel

PurposeThe main goal of this study was to investigate the minimum amount of sensory information required to recognize spoken words (isolation points [IPs]) in listeners with cochlear implants (CIs) and investigate facilitative effects of semantic contexts on the IPs.MethodListeners with CIs as well as those with normal hearing (NH) participated in the study. In Experiment 1, the CI users listened to unprocessed (full-spectrum) stimuli and individuals with NH listened to full-spectrum or vocoder processed speech. IPs were determined for both groups who listened to gated consonant-nucleus-consonant words that were selected based on lexical properties. In Experiment 2, the role of semantic context on IPs was evaluated. Target stimuli were chosen from the Revised Speech Perception in Noise corpus based on the lexical properties of the final words.ResultsThe results indicated that spectrotemporal degradations impacted IPs for gated words adversely, and CI users as well as participants with NH listening to vocoded speech had longer IPs than participants with NH who listened to full-spectrum speech. In addition, there was a clear disadvantage due to lack of semantic context in all groups regardless of the spectral composition of the target speech (full spectrum or vocoded). Finally, we showed that CI users (and users with NH with vocoded speech) can overcome such word processing difficulties with the help of semantic context and perform as well as listeners with NH.ConclusionWord recognition occurs even before the entire word is heard because listeners with NH associate an acoustic input with its mental representation to understand speech. The results of this study provide insight into the role of spectral degradation on the processing of spoken words in isolation and the potential benefits of semantic context. These results may also explain why CI users rely substantially on semantic context.


2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (24) ◽  
pp. jeb236489
Author(s):  
G. Capshaw ◽  
D. Soares ◽  
J. Christensen-Dalsgaard ◽  
C. E. Carr

ABSTRACTThe tympanic middle ear is an adaptive sensory novelty that evolved multiple times in all the major terrestrial tetrapod groups to overcome the impedance mismatch generated when aerial sound encounters the air–skin boundary. Many extant tetrapod species have lost their tympanic middle ears, yet they retain the ability to detect airborne sound. In the absence of a functional tympanic ear, extratympanic hearing may occur via the resonant qualities of air-filled body cavities, sensitivity to seismic vibration, and/or bone conduction pathways to transmit sound from the environment to the ear. We used auditory brainstem response recording and laser vibrometry to assess the contributions of these extratympanic pathways for airborne sound in atympanic salamanders. We measured auditory sensitivity thresholds in eight species and observed sensitivity to low-frequency sound and vibration from 0.05–1.2 kHz and 0.02–1.2 kHz, respectively. We determined that sensitivity to airborne sound is not facilitated by the vibrational responsiveness of the lungs or mouth cavity. We further observed that, although seismic sensitivity probably contributes to sound detection under naturalistic scenarios, airborne sound stimuli presented under experimental conditions did not produce vibrations detectable to the salamander ear. Instead, threshold-level sound pressure is sufficient to generate translational movements in the salamander head, and these sound-induced head vibrations are detectable by the acoustic sensors of the inner ear. This extratympanic hearing mechanism mediates low-frequency sensitivity in vertebrate ears that are unspecialized for the detection of aerial sound pressure, and may represent a common mechanism for terrestrial hearing across atympanic tetrapods.


2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-405
Author(s):  
Lindsey A Wilhelm

Abstract Older adults commonly experience hearing loss that negatively affects the quality of life and creates barriers to effective therapeutic interactions as well as music listening. Music therapists have the potential to address some needs of older adults, but the effectiveness of music interventions is dependent on the perception of spoken and musical stimuli. Nonauditory information, such as contextual (e.g., keywords, picture related to song) and visual cues (e.g., clear view of singer’s face), can improve speech perception. The purpose of this study was to examine the benefit of contextual and visual cues on sung word recognition in the presence of guitar accompaniment. The researcher tested 24 community-dwelling older adult hearing aid (HA) users recruited through a university HA clinic and laboratory under 3 study conditions: (a) auditory stimuli only, (b) auditory stimuli with contextual cues, and (c) auditory stimuli with visual cues. Both visual and contextual nonauditory cues benefited participants on sung word recognition. Participants’ music background and training were predictive of success without nonauditory cues, and visual cues provided greater benefit than contextual cues. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that music therapists increase the accessibility of music interventions reliant upon lyric recognition through the incorporation of clear visual and contextual cues.


1974 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. Winefield

The performance of rats over 12 brightness discrimination reversals was studied under two experimental conditions. Under one condition all visual cues external to the apparatus were eliminated so that only the relative positions of the discriminanda could serve as a visual cue to spatial position. Under the other condition all visual cues to position were eliminated. Under the former condition performance deteriorated with successive reversals but under the latter condition performance improved. Implications of these results for theories of successive reversal improvement were discussed and two possible explanations were suggested.


1969 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 293 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Pritchard

The oviposition of Queensland fruit fly is described and the distribution of eggs within and between fruits is analysed. Olfactory and visual cues direct females to fruit. A brief exploratory phase then follows after which the female applies the ventral surface of her head to areas of fruit surface and then moves forward to probe these same areas with her ovipositor. The female lays her eggs into the fruit either after piercing the cuticle with her ovipositor or through existing holes such as previous oviposition holes or holes made by codling moth larvae. As many as 70% of the eggs laid into hard, shiny fruits were laid into existing holes, but in softer fruits with protuberances over the surface less than 20% were laid in this way. The difference is related to a backward component in the push by the ovipositor, leading to difficulty in piercing hard, smooth unbroken skin. Ovipositions are further grouped on single fruits owing to the favourability of certain areas in relation to such physical factors as wind and illumination. In the laboratory it was not possible under any circumstances to achieve a uniform dispersion of ovipositions when a succession of single females was given the choice of a number of oviposition sites. Contagious distributions were the rule, although randomness of oviposition was exhibited in certain experimental designs. In the field, under natural and experimental conditions, oviposition holes were generally contagiously distributed between fruit. The data offer no support to the hypothesis that oviposition by D. tryoni is affected, in a limiting way, by previous acts of oviposition by other females. An alternative hypothesis for egg limitation at high density, based on aggressive interactions between females on fruit, is suggested.


1983 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 675-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic F. Gullo ◽  
Carol Bersani

60 3-, 4-, and 5-yr.-old children were asked to coordinate visual perspectives in three conditions: (1) Piaget and Inhelder's “Three Mountain Task,” (2) identify objects a doll could see against the side of two intersecting walls, and (3) choose a picture which represented which objects the doll could see. Both condition and age effects were significant. For all age groups there were significant differences between the “Three Mountain Task” and the other two tasks, with significantly more children responding correctly on the two object-identification conditions. No significant differences between the two object-identification conditions were found. While 5-yr.-olds performed significantly better on both object-identification conditions, no differences were found between the 3- and 4-yr.-olds on these tasks. No age effect was found on the “Three Mountain Task.” Children of all groups found this task too difficult. 3-, 4-, and 5-yr.-olds seem better at coordinating visual perspectives than suggested earlier. Greater success on present tasks may be due to the reduced number of visual cues that represented alternate visual perspectives. Differences in cognitive demands of each condition were analyzed.


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