ABSTRACT
Abstract Introduction The mismatch negativity (MMN) is a negative long-latency auditory potential elicited by any discriminable change in a repetitive aspect of auditory stimulation. This evoked potential can provide cortical information about the sound processing, including in children who use cochlear implants. Objective To identify MMN characteristics regarding latency, amplitude, and wave area in cochlear implanted children and to identify associations among language development, speech perception and family involvement. Methods This is a descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study, which compared two groups: study group-children with cochlear implant, and control group-hearing children. The children were submitted to MMN evaluation with non-verbal tone burst stimulus, differing in frequency in sound field at 70 dBHL, with SmartEP equipment (Intelligent Hearing Systems, Miami, FL, USA). Speech perception and language development questionnaires were also applied, and the family participation in the rehabilitation process was classified. Results The occurrence ofMMNwas 73.3% for the control group and 53.3% for the study group. Values of latency, amplitude and area of MMN of children using cochlear implants were similar tothose ofhearingchildren, anddidnot differbetweengroups. The occurrence of MMN was not correlated to the variables of hearing, language and family categories. Conclusion Children with cochlear implants showed similar MMN responses to those of the children in the control group, withmean latency, amplitude andarea of 208.9ms (±12.8), -2.37 μV (±0.38) and 86.5 μVms (±23.4), respectively. There was no correlation between the presence of MMN and children's performance in the auditory and language development tests or family involvement during rehabilitation.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Child, Preschool , Child , Pitch Discrimination , Pitch Perception , Cochlear Implants , Evoked Potentials, Auditory , Speech Perception , Acoustic Stimulation , Family , Epidemiology, Descriptive , Cross-Sectional Studies , Electric Stimulation , Language DevelopmentABSTRACT
RESUMO Introdução: A qualidade da emissão vocal é dependente da integridade do mecanismo de retroalimentação auditiva. A presença de eventuais falhas nesse mecanismo está relacionada à indução do abuso e/ ou mau uso vocal e, por conseguinte, do surgimento de quadros de disfonia. Objetivo: Avaliar a influência da retroalimentação auditiva na intensidade e na frequência da voz, em indivíduos sem queixas vocais. Métodos: Participaram da pesquisa 40 sujeitos do gênero feminino, sem queixas vocais e com limiares auditivos dentro dos padrões de normalidade. As participantes foram submetidas a uma avaliação auditiva, composta por audiometria tonal liminar, imitanciometria e por uma avaliação acústica vocal dos parâmetros de intensidade e frequência, realizada em três momentos: antes, durante e após a exposição ao ruído branco. Resultados: Houve diferença significativa na relação das médias obtidas na intensidade e entre o limiar dos reflexos acústicos contralaterais e as frequências vocais, nos três momentos da avaliação acústica. Conclusão: Os achados sugerem que a retroalimentação auditiva interfere no controle da intensidade e frequência vocal.
ABSTRACT Introduction: The quality of the vocal emission is dependent on the integrity of the auditory feedback mechanism of the presence of eventual failures is related to the induction of abuse and / or vocal misuse, and therefore of the surgeon of dysphonia. Purpose: To evaluate the influence of auditory feedback in voice intensity and frequency in individuals with no vocal complaints. Methods: Participants were 40 female subjects without vocal and auditory thresholds within normal standards complaints. Participants underwent an auditory evaluation composed of pure tone audiometry, tympanometry and a vocal acoustic assessment of intensity and frequency parameters, carried out in three stages: before, during and after exposure to white noise. Results: There was significant difference in the average of the ratio obtained in intensity and between the threshold of contralateral acoustic reflexes and vocal frequencies in the three moments of acoustic evaluation. Conclusion: Thus, the findings suggest that auditory feedback interferes with the control of the intensity and vocal frequency.
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Auditory Perception , Pitch Discrimination , Voice Quality , Audiometry, Pure-Tone , Auditory Threshold , Feedback , Reflex, Acoustic , StapediusABSTRACT
RESUMO Introdução Verifica-se um crescente interesse de pesquisadores por instrumentos designados para avaliação da percepção da fala. Objetivo Construir um instrumento de identificação perceptual de contrastes fônicos do Português Brasileiro para crianças a partir de 4 anos de idade. Métodos A construção do instrumento envolveu quatro procedimentos: a) delineamento da tarefa experimental; b) seleção dos estímulos que constituíram o instrumento; c) operacionalização do teste; d) estabelecimento dos critérios de análise. Foi utilizado um computador acoplado a um fone de ouvidos e o software PERCEVAL. Resultados O instrumento proposto compreende um subconjunto de quatro experimentos que avaliam, separadamente, a identificação de contrastes entre segmentos vocálicos e entre segmentos consonantais oclusivos, fricativos e soantes. O teste envolve três etapas: fase de reconhecimento de palavras, fase treino e fase teste, com duração total de 15 minutos, aproximadamente. A análise do desempenho perceptivoauditivo das crianças é feita a partir de três critérios: acurácia, tempo de reação e padrão de identificação dos contrastes fônicos, sendo registrada em um protocolo específico. Conclusão Estudos que têm utilizado o PERCEFAL em sua metodologia reportam baixa porcentagem de não resposta por parte das crianças (entre 2% e 5%), o que indica que a tarefa mostra-se apropriada para a sua finalidade. Encoraja-se o uso do instrumento nas diversas regiões do país, para averiguar, não somente sua aplicabilidade, dada à diversidade linguística do país, como também para verificar sua sensibilidade e especificidade.
ABSTRACT Introduction: There is a growing interest of researchers in instruments designed for assessment of speech perception. Purpose: To develop an instrument to perceptual identification of phonemic contrasts in the Brazilian Portuguese for children over 4 years of age. Methods: The construction of the instrument involved four procedures: a) design of the experimental task; b) stimuli selection which constituted the instrument; c) operationalization of the test; and d) establishing the analysis criteria. It was used a computer attached to a headphone and PERCEVAL software. Results: The proposed instrument comprises a subset of four experiments that evaluate separately the identification of contrasts between vowel segments and between stops consonant segments, fricative and sonorant consonant segments. The test presents includes three stages: word recognition stage, training stage and testing stage, with an approximate 15-minute overall duration. The analysis of children's auditory perceptual performance is carried out based on three criteria: accuracy, reaction time and pattern of phonic contrasts identification, being recorded following a specific protocol. Conclusion: Studies that have used the PERCEFAL in their methodology have reported a low percentage of non-response by children (between 2 and 5%), which indicates that the task is appropriate for its purpose. It is encouraged the use of the instrument in different regions of the country in order to inquire not only its applicability, due to the existing linguistic diversity in the country; but also, to determine its sensitivity and specificity.
Subject(s)
Humans , Child , Pitch Discrimination , Speech Perception , Persons With Hearing Impairments , Speech Recognition SoftwareABSTRACT
Recent studies reported that central processing duration influences processing order of two tasks in the psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm. This study examined whether the duration of response execution influences the processing of task order. For this purpose, a tone discrimination task was combined with a letter discrimination task. Both tasks were presented in random order using different stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs). In one condition, participants responded to each stimulus with a single key press (easy response condition). In the other condition, the tone task required a single key press, whereas the letter task required a more time-consuming key press-sequence (hard response condition). The results showed that participants tend to perform the tone task first more often when the response requirement for the letter task is hard, rather than easy. This result is consistent with the notion that participants optimize response scheduling in dual-task situations.
Bajo el paradigma de periodo refractario psicológico (PRP), recientes estudios han hallado que la duración del procesamiento central influye en el orden en el que dos tareas son procesadas. En el presente trabajo se examinó si la duración de la respuesta también influye en el orden en el que dos tareas se ejecutan. Para este propósito, se utilizó una tarea de discriminación auditiva en combinación con una tarea de discriminación visual. En el experimento se varió el orden de presentación de las tareas de forma aleatoria así como se utilizaron diferentes intervalos entre estímulos (stimulus onset asynchrony; SOA) En una condición, los participantes respondieron a cada estímulo pulsando una tecla (condición de respuesta simple). En la otra condición, mientras que a la tarea auditiva se respondía de nuevo pulsando una tecla, la respuesta a la tarea visual requería pulsar una secuencia de teclas, aumentando la duración de la respuesta (condición de respuesta compleja). Los resultados mostraron que los participantes tienden a ejecutar más a menudo la tarea auditiva en primer lugar cuando la respuesta de la tarea visual es más compleja. Este resultado apoya la noción de que, en escenarios de doble tarea, los participantes pueden invertir sus respuestas si con ello optimizan su ejecución.
Subject(s)
Pitch Discrimination , Cognitive ScienceABSTRACT
Similar to the visual dual-pathway model, neurophysiological studies in non-human primates have suggested that the dual-pathway model is also applicable for explaining auditory cortical processing, including the ventral "what" pathway for object identification and the dorsal "where" pathway for spatial localization. This review summarizes evidence from human neuroimaging studies supporting the dual-pathway model for auditory cortical processing in humans.
Subject(s)
Animals , Humans , Auditory Cortex , Physiology , Auditory Pathways , Physiology , Auditory Perception , Physiology , Macaca , Physiology , Models, Neurological , Neurons , Physiology , Pitch Discrimination , Physiology , Sound Localization , Physiology , Space Perception , PhysiologyABSTRACT
Automatic speaker gender identification based on voice feature is an important task in voice processing and analysis fields. In this paper non-linear parameters such as fractal dimension are applied to be one part of feature space for improving the ability of describing speaker gender feature through conventional linear parameters method. Pitch is picked using lifting scheme, and audio fractal dimension is extracted. Then based on Takens theory, the time delay method is used to reconstruct the phase space of fractal dimension sequence. And fractal dimension complexity is obtained by calculating Approximate Entropy. Three dimension feature vectors, including the pitch, the fractal dimension and the fractal dimension complexity, are applied to speaker gender identification. Experiment results show that through adding non-linear parameters, compared with the linear parameter using one dimension only such as pitch, the proposed method is more accurate and robust, and thus provides a new way for speaker gender identification.
Subject(s)
Humans , Algorithms , Artificial Intelligence , Biometry , Methods , Nonlinear Dynamics , Pattern Recognition, Automated , Methods , Pitch Discrimination , Sex Characteristics , Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted , Speech , Speech Acoustics , VoiceABSTRACT
TEMA: ordenação e resolução temporal. OBJETIVO: comparar o desempenho de cantores que recebem orientação profissional, cantores amadores independentes e cantores amadores desafinados nos testes de padrão de freqüência sonora e teste de detecção de gap (Random Gap Detection Test). MÉTODO: participaram 78 indivíduos, de ambos os gêneros, com idade variando entre 18 e 55 anos. Foram incluídos cantores com audição normal, comprovada por meio de exame audiológico e com ausência de queixas de linguagem, fala, voz ou audição. Cada indivíduo respondeu a um questionário fornecendo várias informações, entre elas, a sua própria percepção auditiva sobre sua voz cantada; o tempo de canto com orientação profissional, dificuldade para cantar novas músicas e o de estudo de teoria musical. Para a avaliação foram utilizados o Teste de Padrão de Freqüência Sonora (TPF) e o Teste de Detecção de Gap Randomizado (RGDT) a fim de avaliar as habilidades de ordenação temporal e a resolução temporal respectivamente. RESULTADOS: no que se refere ao teste de detecção de gap randomizado (RGDT) não houve diferença estatisticamente significante entre as respostas por grupo e por variável. Em relação ao desempenho do TPF foi observado que o grupo que recebe orientação profissional possui desempenho superior e estatisticamente significante em relação ao grupo de amadores independentes e estes melhor do que o grupo de amadores desafinados. O desempenho no teste de padrão de freqüência teve relação com o treinamento especializado e com o estudo de teoria musical. CONCLUSÃO: o teste de detecção de gap (RGDT) não se mostrou sensível para distinguir cantores com orientação profissional de amadores, ao contrário do teste de padrão de freqüência sonora. O desempenho no teste de padrão de freqüência reflete o maior treinamento auditivo especializado e de estudo de teoria musical.
BACKGROUND: temporal ordering and temporal resolution. AIM: to compare the performance of professional singers with that of well tuned and out of tune amateur singers in the pitch pattern test (PPT) and in the Random Gap Detection Test (RGDT). METHOD: participants were 78 individuals, male and female, with ages ranging from 18 to 55 years. All of the participants were singers with normal hearing - previously assessed using pure tone and speech audiometry - and had no language, speech, voice or hearing complaints. Each individual answered a questionnaire concerning, among other subjects, perception about own voice when singing, number of years of professional singing, difficulties when singing new songs and number of years of music study. For the objective assessment the PPT and the RGDT were used in order to investigate temporal ordering and temporal resolution respectively. RESULTS: regarding the RGDT, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups and variables. As for the PPT, it was observed that professional singers presented a better performance, with statistic significance, when compared to well tuned amateur singers and these a better performance when compared to out of tune amateur singers. The performance in the PPT was related to specialized training and study of music theory. CONCLUSION: the RGDT did not prove to be a sensitive test to distinguish professional and amateur singers. On the other hand, the PPT did. The performance in the PPT reflects the number of years of specialized auditory training and music theory study.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Audiometry, Pure-Tone , Audiometry, Speech , Auditory Threshold/physiology , Hearing Tests , Occupations , Voice Training , Aptitude , Differential Threshold/physiology , Occupations/statistics & numerical data , Pitch Discrimination , Sex Distribution , Statistics, NonparametricABSTRACT
A relaçäo entre habilidades auditivas e aprendizagem, especialmente entre discriminaçäo auditiva e dificuldades na leitura e na escrita, é matéria controvertida, o que motivou a pesquisa apresentada neste artigo. Nela, foram estudados 23 alunos da primeira série escolar, separados em dois grupos, que se diferenciavam quanto ao rendimento escolar, e aos quais se aplicou prova de discriminaçäo auditiva para sons verbais
Subject(s)
Humans , Child, Preschool , Child , Hearing Disorders , Pitch Discrimination/physiology , Verbal Learning , Learning DisabilitiesABSTRACT
Objetivo: comparar os escores do reconhecimento de fonemas em situação de silêncio e na presença de ruído competitivo (ruído branco, relação sinal/ruído de +10dB). Método: cinco crianças em idade escolar com deficiência auditiva neurossensorial pós-lingual de grau moderado até severo foram testadas utilizando um aparelho de amplificação sonora individual (AASI) analógico e um aparelho de amplificação sonora individual híbrido com múltipla memória e múltiplos canais. Resultados: não houve diferença entre os escores obtidos com a utilização do aparelho de amplificação sonora individual analógico e os obtidos com o aparelho de amplificação sonora individual híbrido, nas diferentes programações, para ambas situações avaliadas. Conclusão: na amostra avaliada recursos como a múltipla memória e compressão multicanal não melhoraram a performance de reconhecimento de fala no silêncio e na presença de ruído.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Child , Hearing Aids , Hearing Loss, Sensorineural , Audiometry , Auditory Threshold , Loudness Perception , Pitch Discrimination/physiology , Acoustic Impedance Tests/methodsABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge of the spiral ganglion in relation to hearing, discrimination, normal deterioration of age, and other pathologies encountered in the study of the temporal bones. After a brief analysis of previous research on the spiral ganglion the author builds a model to study different available methods of assessign spiral ganglion population. Counting ganglion cells in one of each 10 section, 20 microns width seems to be the best method. From the collection of more than 900 temporal bones of Prof Schuknbecht at the Mass. Eye & Ear Infirmary, one hundred cases were selected. Ninety eight to these cases had a previous audiogram with discrimination priorto death. Pathology of these cases had been studied by Prof. Schuknecht. At the same time, some anatomical and hystological observations were made, studying the normal deterioration of the ganglion cells according to age, and its relation to hearing and discrimination. In relation to age, a linear deterioration from the first to the ningth decade of life was found uniformly distributed among the segments. The minimum number of cells necessary to preserve hearing was also determined. For instante, 22.000 cells are required for 10 dB or better hearing: 10.000 cells are necessary for 50 dB or better hearing. Although it is hard to relate ganglion cells to discrimination, it appears that to attain a PB Score of 80 percent or better, at least 18.000 cells are required. When comparing the number of ganglion cells of each segment with discrimination, a closer relation with the apical segment is apparent. The total number of cells and the number of cells in each segment of three normal subjects under 10 year of age was compared with the following cases: Under 80 years old, neural prebycusis, strial atrophy. Meniere's disease, otoesclerosis and middle age individuals with normal hearing. No significant variations among these pathologies were found. In contrast, guinea pigs with experimentally induced labyrinthine hydrosp showed and evident ganglion cell loss in the apical coil. Each of the findings of this study are discussed in relation to previous reports
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Spiral Ganglion/anatomy & histology , Pitch Discrimination/physiology , Temporal Bone/anatomy & histology , Spiral Ganglion/physiopathology , Hearing Disorders/physiopathologyABSTRACT
La presente investigación intentó conocer la relación que existe entre la estimulación auditiva con o sin apoyo musicoterapeútico y los niveles de discriminación auditiva alcanzados por niños entre 5 y 12 años de edad con hipoacusias perceptivas de grado severo y profundo, y equipados. La hipótesis planteada fue que, aquellos niños que recibían un programa de estimulación auditiva con apoyo musicterapeútico alcanzarían un mayor nivel de discriminación auditiva en relación a los niños que recibían estimulación auditiva sin apoyo musicoterapeutico. Las principales variables con que se trabajó fueron, justamente, la estimulación auditiva con o sin apoyo musicoterapeútico y los niveles de discriminación auditiva alcanzados por los niños. Además se tuvieron en cuenta las siguientes variables intervinientes: sexo, edad, escolaridad, integración a escuela común, tipo y grado de la hipoacusia (que luego se delimitó la población específicamente a aquellos niños que tenían una hipoacusia perceptiva de grado severo y profundo), etiología de la hipoacusia, continuidad del tratamiento, edad de ingreso al instituto o consultorio fonoaudiológico y patología asociada. El presente trabajo se llevó a cabo con niños hipoacúsicos que concurrían a I.A.D.A.L de la ciudad de Buenos Aires, a I.R.A.L. y al consultorio fonoaudiológico Puerta del Sol, ambos de la ciudad de Rosario. En los mismos se investigó la discriminación auditiva de distintos sonidos (y sus cualidades: altura, timbre, intensidad y duración), vocales, palabras y frases simples, a campo abierto y con formato cerrado. Se tuvieron en cuenta las respuestas correctas de los niños al responder sobre qué era lo que escuchaban, y de allí se determinó si el nivel de discriminación auditiva alcanzado era alto, medio o bajo. Los resultados obtenidos indicaron que la mayoría de los niños hipoacúsicos que concurrían a I.A.D.A.L. (en donde tenían estimulación auditiva con apoyo musicoterapeútico) y al consultorio fonoaudiológico "Puerta del Sol" (donde, a pesar de no tener apoyo musicoterapeútico, estos niños estaban integrados a una escuela común y además recibían un sólido apoyo fonoaudiológico), alcanzaron un alto nivel de discriminación auditiva en relación a los niños hipoacúsicos que concurrían a I.R.A.L. (donde recibían estimulación auditiva pero en forma asistemática y sin apoyo musicoterapeútico, además del desuso y mal uso de los audífonos de parte de los alumnos)...
Subject(s)
Humans , Child, Preschool , Child , Music Therapy , Pitch Discrimination , Hearing Disorders/diagnosis , Hearing Disorders/physiopathology , Hearing Disorders/pathologyABSTRACT
Se realiza una encuesta a 18 residentes de Pediatria en dos hospitales de tercer nivel del sistema, investigando sus actitudes, opiniones y tendencias; las misma que muestran un grado de insatisfaccion en el 66 por ciento con ausencia de interes de los medicos de planta hacia los residentes, falta de programas y material didactico y ademas de otros problemas. Sus relaciones de trabajo son aparentemente buenas en las mayorias de los casos, aunque tambien se reporta un porcenatje menor con ausencia de relacion entre el personal del hospital. La calidad de atencion y la calidad de ensenanza de servicios nos muestra diferencia importante, senalando sin embargo que la practica medica, predominatemente en los hospitales es estimulante, humanitaria de alta calidad y progresista. Asi mismo la calidad de atencion no se deja influir con la parte economica e influencia personal.