Speaking rate and fundamental frequency as speech cues to perceived age.

This study aimed to specify a set of acoustic cues fundamental to vocal aging and to establish their perceptual relevance, using acoustic analysis and perceptual testing. Three experiments were conducted to identify the perceptual correlates of the aging voice. The first experiment analyzed important voice parameters that signal a person's age for 16 older males and 14 younger males. In the second and third experiments, these acoustic patterns were systematically shifted through resynthesis to see if perceived age would be significantly influenced. In the second experiment, the older and younger male voices were resynthesized by manipulating speaking rate and fundamental frequency to shift the perceived age of the groups toward each other. In the third experiment, older and middle-aged male voices were resynthesized in a similar manner. In both perceptual studies, an age estimation task with naive listeners was used. The results of the first experiment showed that, in older speakers, sentence, word, and diphthong durations were all significantly longer and mean fundamental frequency was significantly higher than for the younger group. In the second experiment, only the manipulation of speaking rate resulted in a significant shift in perceived age, and it did so only for the older subjects. In the third experiment, a significant shift in age estimates was observed for the middle-aged, but not the older, voices when speaking rate was manipulated. The results of both perception tests suggest that speaking rate, but possibly not fundamental frequency, is a perceptually relevant cue to age in voice.

Comfortable effort level in young children's speech.

The variability in comfortable effort level across experimental sessions as assessed by measures of speaking fundamental frequency (SFF) and vocal intensity (VI) has been reported for normal adult speakers. However, no such data are available for young children. The goal of this study was to determine the variability in SFF and VI seen in normally developing young children. Fifteen males and 14 females between the ages of 3 and 4 years were asked to repeat a vowel, a sentence, and four words at a comfortable speaking level on 3 separate days, each 1 week apart. SFF and VI were determined for each utterance. Statistical treatment of the data revealed that when combining all the data, there were no significant differences for mean SFF or VI across test sessions. However, the young females generally spoke with greater VI than young males. These results suggest that normal-speaking children at a very young age are, on the average, similar in the degree of variability to adults for SFF and VI across experimental sessions when asked to set their own level of output. These findings provide a baseline for the extent of variability in SFF and VI seen in normally developing young children.

Effects of vocal training on respiratory kinematics during singing tasks.

This longitudinal study determined the effects of vocal training (VT) on respiratory kinematics and muscle activity during singing tasks. Four voice students, 3 females and 1 male, were recorded during singing tasks once a semester for 3 consecutive semesters. Respiratory kinematic measures included lung volume, rib cage (RCE) and abdominal excursions (ABE). Surface electromyographic measures included burst duration (BD) and peak amplitude (PA) of the pectoralis major, rectus abdominis and external oblique muscles. Descriptive statistics revealed that RCE and ABE increased from the 1st to the 2nd semester, but decreased from the 2nd to the 3rd semester of VT. Overall, mean BD decreased from the 1st to the 2nd semester and increased from the 2nd to the 3rd semester. Mean PA increased from the 1st to the 2nd semester and decreased from the 2nd to the 3rd semester of VT. RCE and muscle force generation of the above muscles increased as the demand level and the length of the phonatory tasks increased. Interpretation of the results suggests that the respiratory system is highly responsive to VT, after only 3 semesters of training.

Effects of singing training on the speaking voice of voice majors.

This longitudinal study gathered data with regard to the question: Does singing training have an effect on the speaking voice? Fourteen voice majors (12 females and two males; age range 17 to 20 years) were recorded once a semester for four consecutive semesters, while sustaining vowels and reading the "Rainbow Passage." Acoustic measures included speaking fundamental frequency (SFF) and sound pressure level (SLP). Perturbation measures included jitter, shimmer, and harmonic-to-noise ratio. Temporal measures included sentence, consonant, and diphthong durations. Results revealed that, as the number of semesters increased, the SFF increased while jitter and shimmer slightly decreased. Repeated measure analysis, however, indicated that none of the acoustic, temporal, or perturbation differences were statistically significant. These results confirm earlier cross-sectional studies that compared singers with nonsingers, in that singing training mostly affects the singing voice and rarely the speaking voice.

Effects of vocal training on the acoustic parameters of the singing voice.

Vocal training (VT) has, in part, been associated with the distinctions in the physiological, acoustic, and perceptual parameters found in singers' voices versus the voices of nonsingers. This study provides information on the changes in the singing voice as a function of VT over time. Fourteen college voice majors (12 females and 2 males; age range, 17-20 years) were recorded while singing, once a semester, for four consecutive semesters. Acoustic measures included fundamental frequency (F0) and sound pressure level (SPL) of the 10% and 90% levels of the maximum phonational frequency range (MPFR), vibrato pulses per second, vibrato amplitude variation, and the presence of the singer's formant. Results indicated that VT had a significant effect on the MPFR. F0 and SPL of the 90% level of the MPFR and the 90-10% range increased significantly as VT progressed. However, no vibrato or singers' formant differences were detected as a function of training. This longitudinal study not only validates previous cross-sectional research, ie, that VT has a significant effect on the singing voice, but also it demonstrates that these effects can be acoustically detected by the fourth semester of college vocal training.

Spectral changes due to performance environment in singers, nonsingers, and actors.

From postrecording interviews of professional singers, it was hypothesized that recording environments, i.e., sound-treated environment versus an auditorium, may induce different vocal behaviors. To test this hypothesis, three groups consisting of nonsingers, singers, and actors were recorded in two different recording environments: a sound-treated booth (IAC) and an auditorium (AUD). Three recordings were obtained from each participant: recording one (IAC) and two (AUD1) required the participants to read in a normal voice; recording three (AUD2) required participants to pretend that they were "performing" before a full house. Results indicated that only the singers and the actors exhibited significant spectral and/or frequency/duration differences from one recording environment to another, with the most dramatic differences exhibited by the singers. It was concluded that the environment in which we record experimental samples from professional voice users, especially singers, should be considered as a variable that can affect results.

Interhemispheric Stroop effects in partial and complete agenesis of the corpus callosum.

Previous research had demonstrated diminished interhemispheric Stroop effects in individuals with agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC), suggesting an important role for the callosum in interhemispheric color-word and color-patch interactions. However, this outcome rested on the results of only 1 ACC participant, who had normal intelligence and a minimum of other neuropathology. In the research reported herein, the role of the corpus callosum in interhemispheric Stroop interference and facilitation was investigated in 9 individuals with complete or partial ACC and normal intelligence, and in non-ACC controls. Congruent, incongruent, or neutral stimulus pairs were presented either unilaterally (color-patch and color-word in the same visual field) or bilaterally (color-patch and color-word in different visual fields). Both unilateral and bilateral (interhemispheric) Stroop interference were found for both ACC and non-ACC groups, with no significant difference in magnitude, indicating that extracallosal pathways are sufficient for mediating this phenomenon. It is suggested that the anterior commissure is a more likely candidate for the interhemispheric transmission of the semantic information resulting in Stroop interference.

Intraoral air pressure discrimination under conditions of partial and complete resistance.

This study assessed a sample of normal-speaking individuals' ability to discriminate differences in their self-generated intraoral air pressures. Two conditions were employed: (1) open tube in which subjects had to sustain an expiratory breath stream to maintain the target pressure, and (2) closed tube in which there was complete resistance to the subjects' breath stream. Analysis of variance revealed no significant difference (p > 0.05) in subjects' ability to discriminate differences in their self-generated intraoral air pressure as a function of open or closed tube conditions. However, subjects' discrimination scores significantly increased (p < 0.05) as the standard pressure was increased.

Singer's formant in sopranos: fact or fiction?

Although it is generally agreed that the singer's formant (F(S)) is a prerequisite for successful stage performance, the results of this research do not support its presence in the soprano voices of trained female singers. Results are based on a recent investigation testing 10 advanced/professional sopranos in two groups singing sustained vowels at three frequencies: high (932 Hz), mid (622 Hz), and low (261 Hz). Spectrographic analysis shows that the nature of harmonic energy varies in relation to pitch. A resonance band somewhat resembling the tenor F(S) was usually evident in vowels sung at low and mid pitch. However, unlike the F(S) of typically less than 1 kHz bandwidth associated with tenors, sopranos singing similar pitches produced corresponding bandwidths which were significantly broader, usually at least 2-kHz wide. Vowels sung by sopranos at high-pitch levels exhibited strong fundamental frequency production with strong reinforcement of adjacent harmonics extending to 5 kHz and beyond. This type of production in essence nullifies the necessity for a typical F(S). Absence of the F(S) in strong soprano voices might also imply the adaptation of a sufficiently different overall vocal tract configuration, so that techniques geared to developing maximal projection should not be the same as those developed to maximize the F(S) in other voices.

Acoustic analyses of trained singers perceptually identified from speaking samples.

This study investigated selected acoustic cues in the speaking voices of five professional singers; cues that may have enabled naïve listeners to differentiate them from nonsingers and other trained singers who were not consistently identified from their speaking voices. Subjects were divided into three groups based on listeners' perceptual judgments. Group I, the identified singers, consisted of five professional singers, three males and two females, with an average identification score, from their speaking utterances, of 79%. Group II, the unidentified singers, consisted of 15 trained singers, seven males and eight females, who, as a group, were identified correctly from their speaking utterances only 52% of the time. Group III consisted of 20 nonsingers who were incorrectly identified from their speaking utterances as singers only 36% of the time, that is, they were correctly identified as nonsingers from their speech 64% of the time. Acoustic parameters chosen for measurement from vowel productions were: (1) percent jitter, (2) percent shimmer, and (3) noise-to-harmonic ratio. The second sentence of the "Rainbow Passage" was selected to compare several frequency and duration measures between the three groups. These were: (1) mean speaking fundamental frequency, (2) standard deviation of the fundamental frequency, (3) sentence duration, (4) word duration, and (5) consonant/vowel ratio. The data indicated that the acoustic parameters that most consistently distinguished the identified singers from the unidentified singers and the nonsingers were fundamental frequency variation and durational differences. The identified singers varied their speaking fundamental frequency significantly more than did both the unidentified singers and the nonsingers. The identified singers also had longer vocalic segments than did the others.

The impact of lay pastoral telecare on the spiritual well-being of church attenders.

Examines the efficacy of Lay Pastoral Telecare (LPT) on the spiritual well-being and church satisfaction of churchgoers (N = 207). Compares an experimental and a control group and concludes that the use of telephone by lay pastoral caregivers can be a means of promoting interpersonal support and enhancement of spiritual well-being within a church congregations.

Perceptual and acoustic study of professionally trained versus untrained voices.

Acoustic and perceptual analyses were completed to determine the effect of vocal training on professional singers when speaking and singing. Twenty professional singers and 20 nonsingers, acting as the control, were recorded while sustaining a vowel, reading a modified Rainbow Passage, and singing "America the Beautiful." Acoustic measures included fundamental frequency, duration, percent jitter, percent shimmer, noise-to-harmonic ratio, and determination of the presence or absence of both vibrato and the singer's formant. Results indicated that, whereas certain acoustic parameters differentiated singers from nonsingers within sex, no consistently significant trends were found across males and females for either speaking or singing. The most consistent differences were the presence or absence of the singer's vibrato and formant in the singers versus the nonsingers, respectively. Perceptual analysis indicated that singers could be correctly identified with greater frequency than by chance alone from their singing, but not their speaking utterances.

Cryptococcal arthritis in an immunocompetent host.

Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic pathogen that occasionally causes indolent disease in the immunocompetent. Cryptococcal arthritis is especially rare, and diagnosis is typically delayed. Fungal arthritis should be considered in cases of chronic, indolent joint inflammation. To our knowledge, this report documents the first use of fluconazole for treatment of cryptococcal infection confined to a joint.

Associations between circulating sex steroid hormones and cognition in normal elderly women.

OBJECTIVE: To provide exploratory analyses of associations between levels of several sex hormones and cognitive performance in elderly women. BACKGROUND: Sex steroid hormones are implicated in the cognitive processes of the adult brain. Comparing cognitive performance across or between conditions associated with different hormone levels, such as phases of the menstrual cycle, surgical menopause, and estrogen replacement therapy suggests conditions with higher levels of estrogen are associated with better verbal memory and possibly worse visuospatial ability. METHOD: The authors measured circulating sex hormone levels in 39 highly educated, nondemented, predominantly white elderly women. Levels were correlated with neuropsychological performance, controlling for age, education, frequency of prior testing, use of estrogen replacement, and depression. RESULTS: High estradiol levels were associated with better delayed verbal memory and retrieval efficiency, whereas low levels were associated with better immediate and delayed visual memory. Levels of testosterone were related positively to verbal fluency. Levels of progesterone and androstenedione were unrelated to cognitive performance. CONCLUSIONS: Both estrogen and testosterone showed associations with cognitive performance. Estrogen may enhance, and depress, specific cognitive skills.

Normal development of bilateral field advantage and evoked potential interhemispheric transmission time.

Implications of the developmental progression of myelination of the corpus callosum were studied using evoked potential interhemispheric transmission time (EP-IHTT) and the bilateral field advantage (BFA) in letter matching. Forty-two normal children aged 7 to 17 years were asked to respond regarding whether 2 letters matched when presented either unilaterally (both in the same visual field) or bilaterally (1 letter in each field). Evoked potentials were recorded with bilateral midparietal electrodes during unilateral presentations of the letter-matching task. Age-related changes were found for both EP-IHTT and BFA. BFA in reaction time in the visual letter-matching task increased significantly with age. Decreasing EP-IHTT with age was also evident (although only in a statistical trend). These findings lend support to the hypothesis that increased callosal myelination during late childhood has functional significance. Callosal maturation appears to result in faster interhemispheric transfer and increasing ability to integrate information across the midline.

Bilateral field advantage and evoked potential interhemispheric transmission in commissurotomy and callosal agenesis.

The role of the corpus callosum versus other cerebral commissures in the interhemispheric integration of visual information was studied in four individuals with complete agenesis of the corpus callosum, two individuals with partial agenesis, one total commissurotomy patient, and normal individuals. Evoked potential (EP) indices of interhemispheric transmission of visual sensory responses were observed during matching of unilateral and bilateral visual field letters and patterns. Neither the commissurotomy nor any of the acallosal patients had ipsilateral hemisphere visual EPs (P1 and N1), demonstrating that the posterior callosum is necessary for interhemispheric transmission of these components of visual evoked potentials. While the commissurotomy patient could not compare bilaterally presented letters, the anterior commissure of the acallosal patients appeared to be sufficient for interhemispheric comparison of single letters. However, bilateral comparison of more complex visual patterns resulted in considerable difficulty for complete agenesis patients, while comparison of patterns was more nearly normal when anterior callosal fibers were present (partial agenesis).

Continuous-processing related ERPS in adult schizophrenia: continuity with childhood onset schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Previous work with schizophrenic children disclosed deficits on two continuous performance tests (CPTs) and ERP indices of reduced attentional resource allocation. METHODS: The two CPTs were administered to adult schizophrenics and matched control subjects. The simple CPT required only that the subject respond whenever the target digit was displayed. The complex version required a response whenever any digit was displayed on two successive trials. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during task performance. RESULTS: Schizophrenics had fewer hits on both CPT versions, showed a greater drop in performance from the simple to the complex CPT, and took longer to respond than controls. The processing negativity (Np) showed a greater amplitude increase from nontarget to target in normals than in schizophrenics, and the overlapping P2 component was more negative in normals. P3 latency was longer in schizophrenics, but P3 amplitude did not differ. CONCLUSIONS: Group performance and processing negativity effects replicated those from an earlier study of schizophrenic and normal children administered the same versions of the CPT, suggesting similar abnormalities in the allocation and modulation of information processing resources.

Normalizing hematocrit in dialysis patients improves brain function.

Recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) treatment has been shown to improve brain and cognitive function in anemic dialysis patients. Significant debate continues, however, regarding the appropriate target hematocrit (Hct) that will lead to the greatest benefits while considering possible side effects and costs of rHuEPO. Current practice results in an Hct averaging only 31% to 32% in dialysis patients, a level less than that achieved in the initial clinical trials and well less than normal. This study was designed to evaluate dialysis patients at the current practice Hct levels versus normal Hct levels (40% to 45%) to see if improvement in brain function resulted. Twenty patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) currently being treated with rHuEPO (mean Hct, 31.6%) were administered additional rHuEPO to reach normal Hct levels (mean, 42. 8%). Electroencephalogram (EEG) frequency analysis showed a significant decrease in EEG slowing at greater Hct values, and the auditory oddball and Continuous Performance Task tasks yielded significant electrode and time-by-electrode effects for P300 amplitude. Changes in P300 latency significantly correlated with increased Hct in the auditory oddball task. These findings suggest that further correction of anemia to normal Hct levels may result in continued improvement in neurocognitive function by improving the ability to sustain attention in easier tasks and by enhancing the ability to recognize, discriminate, and hold stimuli in memory for more difficult tasks.