Hearing impairment fitting: study of an auditory prosthesis with 7 entirely programmable filters

We designed a 7-filter digital auditory prosthesis table prototype. For each of these filters frequency band width, amplification and compression were programmable in order to adapt these parameters to the deaf patient's audiometric particularities. We compared the hearing improvement it was possible to obtain with our prototype as a function of the number of filters (3, 4 or 7) and their frequency band width programmability. We tested 21 patients suffering from middle or severe neurosensory hearing loss. This study allows to demonstrate that a 7 programmable-width-filter strategy seems to be the most appropriate.     

Auditory babble and cognitive efficiency: Role of number of voices and their location.

Four experiments investigated the disruptive effect on short-term memory of irrelevant babble speech. With monaural presentation, 1 voice and 2 voices produced roughly the same degree of disruption, but babble of 6 voices reduced errors significantly. The same pattern was shown when the speech was in a language that the participants did not understand. As the number of voices in the babble was increased from 1 to 6, the function relating the number of voices to errors was monotonic only over part of the range. Allocating each voice to a different spatial location restored its disruptive capacity, compared with a condition where 6 voices came from the 1 location. In practice, the disruptive effect of irrelevant speech will be less where the number of voices is greater (such as in large office spaces), but acoustic conditions that help localization of individual voices will increase disruption. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Re-evaluation of choice alternatives as a function of their number and qualitative similarity.

6th-grade school children were given systematically varied choices from among several toys in order to test 2 derivations from Festinger's theory of psychological dissonance (see 32: 347). This theory states: "the magnitude of dissonance and consequent amount of increased liking for the chosen alternative and decreased liking for the unchosen alternative increases with (a) the qualitative dissimilarity of alternatives, and (b) the number of alternatives." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Notch in contrast sensitivity function of optical origin: diffraction effects of acrylic filters

It was for the first time that of the fifth year of monitoring of Plantago lanceolata L., reproduced within the thirty-kilometer zone of Chernobyl NPP disaster, the authors discovered high incidence of seedlings with various morphological abnormalities. It is suggested that the damages observed are related to the cumulative effect of radiation.     

Perceptual organization of complex auditory sequences: Effect of number of simultaneous subsequences and frequency separation.

Previous findings on streaming are generalized to sequences composed of more than 2 subsequences. A new paradigm identified whether listeners perceive complex sequences as a single unit (integrative listening) or segregate them into 2 (or more) perceptual units (stream segregation). Listeners heard 2 complex sequences, each composed of 1, 2, 3, or 4 subsequences. Their task was to detect a temporal irregularity within 1 subsequence. In Experiment 1, the smallest frequency separation under which listeners were able to focus on 1 subsequence was unaffected by the number of co-occurring subsequences; nonfocused sounds were not perceptually organized into streams. In Experiment 2, detection improved progressively, not abruptly, as the frequency separation between subsequences increased from 0.25 to 6 auditory filters. The authors propose a model of perceptual organization of complex auditory sequences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment and reflective function: their role in self-organization

The paper traces the relationship between attachment processes and the development of the capacity to envision mental states in self and others. We suggest that the ability to mentalize, to represent behavior in terms of mental states, or to have "a theory of mind" is a key determinant of self-organization which is acquired in the context of the child's early social relationships. Evidence for an association between the quality of attachment relationship and reflective function in the parent and the child is reviewed and interpreted in the context of current models of theory of mind development. A model of the development of self-organization is proposed which has at its core the caregiver's ability to communicate understanding of the child's intentional stance. The implications of the model for pathological self-development are explored, with specific reference to the consequences of maltreatment.     

Intensity coding of auditory stimuli: an fMRI study

The effect of stimulus intensity (sound pressure level, SPL) of auditory stimuli on the BOLD response in the auditory cortex was investigated in 14 young and healthy subjects, with no hearing abnormalities, using echo-planar, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a verbal and a non-verbal auditory discrimination task. The stimuli were presented block-wise at three different intensities: 95, 85 and 75 dB (SPL). All subjects showed fMRI signal increases in superior temporal gyrus (STG) covering primary and secondary auditory cortex. Most importantly, the spatial extent of the fMRI response in STG increased with increasing stimulus intensity. It is hypothesized that spreading of excitation is associated with the encoding of increasing stimulus intensity levels. In addition, we found bifrontal activation supposedly evoked by the auditory-articulary loop of working memory. The results presented here should assist in the design of optimal activation strategies for studying the auditory cortex with fMRI paradigms and may help in understanding intensity coding of auditory stimuli.     

Activation of human auditory cortex in retrieval experiments: an fMRI study

The medical profession in America would benefit from including aromatherapy with massage in its care of elderly and hospice patients. The appropriate use of these modalities will enhance the quality of patient care and will compliment conventional treatment regimens. Currently, the medical profession in America treats the pathophysiological diseases of patients, but falls short in treating their emotional needs. Aromatherapy and massage can be used to fill this gap, as well as to improve the patient's response to traditional treatment routines. While there is an abundance of literature extolling the use of essential oils, the articles reflect subjective, individual findings and don't account for the multitude of influencing environmental factors which would include such things as the patient's degree of pain, personality of the person administering care and that of the patient, or even the temperature of the room itself. Further research needs to be made so that scientific, qualitative measurements can be proven and documented.     

Guinea-pig vocalizations: their structure, causation and function

A colony of approximately 150 adult and infant guinea-pigs was studied in order to investigate the structure, causation and function of guinea-pig vocalizations. Behaviour and sound recording were made in a wide variety of contexts and sounds were analysed on the Kay Electric Sonagraph 6061 B. Sonagrams were measured, and on the basis of physical structure alone, 11 call types were distinguished. Behavioural records were examined and it was suggested that 5 functional categories existed. The significance of vocal communication in guinea-pig social behaviour was discussed.     

Loading of a unilateral temporomandibular joint prosthesis: a three-dimensional mathematical study

The load on the prosthetic side and the influence of the design on the remaining natural contralateral TMJ must be known before a unilateral temporomandibular joint (TMJ) prosthesis can be developed. The aim of the present study was to determine the maximum loading of the TMJ prosthetic side and the natural contralateral TMJ and to investigate the influence of the location of the center of rotation of the prosthesis on the maximum loading. For this purpose, a mathematical model of the mandible with a unilateral TMJ prosthesis with a fixed center of rotation (CR) was developed. The location of the CR of the TMJ prosthesis was varied from the middle of the natural mandibular condyle to 15 mm inferior to this location. Although the maximum joint reaction forces changed as a result of a unilateral TMJ prosthesis, the trend of the loading curves was similar to that of an intact mandible. A unilateral TMJ prosthesis resulted in a 50% higher loading of the prosthetic side, while the load on the natural contralateral TMJ remained within normal limits. The maximum load on the prosthetic side occurred during molar bites and could reach 100 N in the cranial direction, 30 N in the ventral direction, and 25 N in the medio-lateral direction. The location of the CR did not have a significant influence on the loading of the TMJ prosthesis and the natural contralateral TMJ.     

Prospective randomized comparative study of tracheoesophageal voice prosthesis: Blom-Singer versus Provox

OBJECTIVES: Compare the most commonly used types of tracheoesophageal voice prostheses, Blom Singer and Provox. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study of 113 prostheses placed in 52 patients randomly selected to receive Blom-Singer and Provox. METHODS: Postoperative voice was recorded at 1 and 4 months after valve placement. Survival time of the prosthesis and four objective voice parameters were analyzed. Eight judges rated all recordings in a random order for six subjective voice parameters. Subgroup analysis for primary versus secondary placements and type of procedure was performed. In addition, patients were asked for their subjective assessment. RESULTS: Overall, Blom-Singer and Provox prostheses give very similar voice quality, lifetime, and patient satisfaction. Cleaning management is somewhat better for Provox, but there is a trend toward better overall voice quality for the Blom-Singer prosthesis. In subgroup analysis secondarily placed prostheses score somewhat better than primary placements, and patients with total laryngectomy have better voices than patients with extended laryngectomy combined with partial pharyngectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Given the equal and good results in terms of voice quality, other factors (e.g., costs, surgery-related factors, maintenance, patient preference) should be taken into account when deciding which type of tracheoesophageal voice prosthesis to use.