Role of signals for unconditioned stimulus absence in the sensitivity of autoshaping to contingency.

Pigeons autoshape to a keylight conditioned stimulus (CS) that is poorly correlated with a food unconditioned stimulus (UCS) if UCSs occurring in the absence of the CS are signaled by some other cue. Three experiments examined if this is because signaling blocks context conditioning or because it converts the intertrial interval (ITI) into a predictor of UCS absence. Results indicated that cuing periods of UCS absence was not sufficient for acquisition. Signaling failed to produce acquisition if the signal also accompanied the CS, although this procedure converts the ITI into a predictor of UCS absence. The detrimental effect of compounding the signal with the CS occurred only if the signal was separately paired with the UCS, which suggests it was due to blocking of the CS by the signal. The results suggested that the signaling effect depends on blocking of the context by the signal, not on conversion of the ITI into a signal for UCS absence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Detection of auditory signals by frog inferior collicular neurons in the presence of spatially separated noise

Detection of auditory signals by frog inferior collicular neurons in the presence of spatially separated noise. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 2848-2859, 1998. Psychophysical studies have shown that the ability to detect auditory signals embedded in noise improves when signal and noise sources are widely separated in space; this allows humans to analyze complex auditory scenes, as in the cocktail-part effect. Although these studies established that improvements in detection threshold (DT) are due to binaural hearing, few physiological studies were undertaken, and very little is known about the response of single neurons to spatially separated signal and noise sources. To address this issue we examined the responses of neurons in the frog inferior colliculus (IC) to a probe stimulus embedded in a spatially separated masker. Frogs perform auditory scene analysis because females select mates in dense choruses by means of auditory cues. Results of the extracellular single-unit recordings demonstrate that 22% of neurons (A-type) exhibited improvements in signal DTs when probe and masker sources were progressively separated in azimuth. In contrast, 24% of neurons (V-type) showed the opposite pattern, namely, signal DTs were lowest when probe and masker were colocalized (in many instances lower than the DT to probe alone) and increased when the two sound sources were separated. The remaining neurons demonstrated a mix of these two types of patterns. An intriguing finding was the strong correlation between A-type masking release patterns and phasic neurons and a weaker correlation between V-type patterns and tonic neurons. Although not decisive, these results suggest that phasic units may play a role in release from masking observed psychophysically. Analysis of the data also revealed a strong and nonlinear interaction among probe, masker, and masker azimuth and that signal DTs were influenced by two factors: 1) the unit's sensitivity to probe in the presence of masker and 2) the criterion level for estimating DT. For some units, it was possible to examine the interaction between these two factors and gain insights into the variation of DTs with masker azimuth. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to signal detection in the auditory system.     

Auditory perception of position and speed.

2 experiments were carried out to test the ability of train drivers to use sounds for the recognition of position and speed. The procedure involved playing tape recordings of 2 steam locomotives leaving known points and traveling at known speeds to experienced train drivers in a laboratory situation. Results show that Ss were able to recognize the position recordings better than predicted by chance, and that they were able to rank the speed recordings relative to each other, but they were not able to assign accurate values to the latter in terms of miles per hour. There were no significant differences in respect of the 2 locomotives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Auditory sensitivity of the albino rat.

Determined the auditory sensitivity of the Sprague-Dawley albino rat by the conditioned suppression technique. The 3 Ss tested were found to have a range of hearing from 250 Hz to 80 kHz at 70 db (SPL). They were most sensitive to tones of 8 kHz but were almost as sensitive at 38 kHz. In contrast to previously published data, there was no evidence for a highly specialized tuning of the audiogram to tones in the 30–40 kHz region. In general, the audiogram of this strain of albino rat is quite typical of mammals of the same size and, furthermore, closely approximates the mammalian mean in most essential features. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Auditory temporal order perception in younger and older adults

This investigation examined the abilities of younger and older listeners to discriminate and identify temporal order of sounds presented in tonal sequences. It was hypothesized that older listeners would exhibit greater difficulty than younger listeners on both temporal processing tasks, particularly for complex stimulus patterns. It was also anticipated that tone order discrimination would be easier than tone order identification for all listeners. Listeners were younger and older adults with either normal hearing or mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing losses. Stimuli were temporally contiguous three-tone sequences within a 1/3 octave frequency range centered at 4000 Hz. For the discrimination task, listeners discerned differences between standard and comparison stimulus sequences that varied in tonal temporal order. For the identification task, listeners identified tone order of a single sequence using labels of relative pitch. Older listeners performed more poorly than younger listeners on the discrimination task for the more complex pitch patterns and on the identification task for faster stimulus presentation rates. The results also showed that order discrimination is easier than order identification for all listeners. The effects of hearing loss on the ordering tasks were minimal.     

Auditory stream segregation and the perception of across-frequency synchrony.

This study explored the extent to which sequential auditory grouping affects the perception of temporal synchrony. In Experiment 1, listeners discriminated between 2 pairs of asynchronous “target” tones at different frequencies, A and B, in which the B tone either led or lagged. Thresholds were markedly higher when the target tones were temporally surrounded by “captor tones” at the A frequency than when the captor tones were absent or at a remote frequency. Experiment 2 extended these findings to asynchrony detection, revealing that the perception of synchrony, one of the most potent cues for simultaneous auditory grouping, is not immune to competing effects of sequential grouping. Experiment 3 examined the influence of ear separation on the interactions between sequential and simultaneous grouping cues. The results showed that, although ear separation could facilitate perceptual segregation and impair asynchrony detection, it did not prevent the perceptual integration of simultaneous sounds. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Auditory and auditory-visual perception of clear and conversational speech

Research has shown that speaking in a deliberately clear manner can improve the accuracy of auditory speech recognition. Allowing listeners access to visual speech cues also enhances speech understanding. Whether the nature of information provided by speaking clearly and by using visual speech cues is redundant has not been determined. This study examined how speaking mode (clear vs. conversational) and presentation mode (auditory vs. auditory-visual) influenced the perception of words within nonsense sentences. In Experiment 1, 30 young listeners with normal hearing responded to videotaped stimuli presented audiovisually in the presence of background noise at one of three signal-to-noise ratios. In Experiment 2, 9 participants returned for an additional assessment using auditory-only presentation. Results of these experiments showed significant effects of speaking mode (clear speech was easier to understand than was conversational speech) and presentation mode (auditory-visual presentation led to better performance than did auditory-only presentation). The benefit of clear speech was greater for words occurring in the middle of sentences than for words at either the beginning or end of sentences for both auditory-only and auditory-visual presentation, whereas the greatest benefit from supplying visual cues was for words at the end of sentences spoken both clearly and conversationally. The total benefit from speaking clearly and supplying visual cues was equal to the sum of each of these effects. Overall, the results suggest that speaking clearly and providing visual speech information provide complementary (rather than redundant) information.     

"Pessimistic noise effects": The perception of reaction times in noise.

Used a between-group design to examine the effect of loud noise on a 2-choice discrete reaction task and the judgments Ss made about self-produced RTs under these conditions. In Exp I, 70 Ss (aged 26–39 yrs) completed a 2-choice RT task and a concurrent RT rating task of speed. White noise was presented to Ss in the experimental groups. RTs were unexpectedly faster in noise, but Ss used more "slow" categories in describing them. The effect was not apparent when the same RTs were rerated a 2nd time under instructions that indicated that they were random time intervals. Also, the effect was not apparent when a new group of 14 undergraduates in Exp II rated the original RT data, again in noise. Exp III showed that when asked to predict average RTs produced by a hypothetical S in noise, 30 uniformed Ss (aged 26–39 yrs) predicted slow RTs. Results are considered in the light of the hypothesis that pessimistic expectancies about likely effects of noise may be a factor influencing performance. (French abstract) (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of carboplatin pharmacokinetics in the absence and presence of paclitaxel

In a clinical trial of paclitaxel (Taxol) and carboplatin in combination, the severity of thrombocytopenia was less than would be expected with an equivalent dose of carboplatin alone. To determine whether a pharmacokinetic interaction was responsible for this observation, the effect of pretreatment with Taxol on the pharmacokinetics of carboplatin was examined in 11 patients. Each patient was randomized to one of two treatment groups that determined the order of drug treatments. The treatments were carboplatin as a 30-min infusion alone or immediately following 175 mg/m2 Taxol administered as a 3-h i.v. infusion. The treatments were separated by 1 week. The carboplatin dose was chosen to produce a target area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) of 3.75 mg-min/ml according to a previously published formula (A. H. Calvert et al., J. Clin Oncol., 7: 1748-1756, 1989). The mean administered dose of carboplatin was 338 mg. Serial blood samples were collected over 24 h and analyzed for total and free platinum, and, in some patients, Taxol. The pharmacokinetics of carboplatin (i.e., total clearance and volume of distribution at steady state), was not significantly affected by pretreatment with Taxol. Total clearances of carboplatin were 67.2 +/- 28.8 ml/min and 64.6 +/- 27.9 ml/min in the absence and presence of Taxol, respectively (P = 0.56). The AUC of free carboplatin (3.45 mg-min/ml) obtained in the absence of Taxol was not significantly different from that measured in the presence of Taxol (3.27 mg-min/ml). The AUC of carboplatin in both the absence and presence of Taxol agreed with the projected target AUC of 3.75 mg-min/ml. In conclusion, the application of an individualized dosing strategy is valid for the calculation of the carboplatin dose in this combination. The pharmacokinetics of carboplatin is not altered by pretreatment with Taxol at a standard dose, and a pharmacokinetic interaction is not responsible for the altered toxicity of the combination.     

Spatial effects in speech perception in the absence of spatial competition

Two synthetic speech syllables, differing in pitch, were presented over one loudspeaker situated at one of the following azimuths: 0 degrees (in from of the subject); 45 degrees, 90 degrees, and 135 degrees to the left or to the right; and 180 degrees. The subject's task was to report the high-pitch syllable. The pattern of performance can be described in terms of two component effects: a decreasing anterior-posterior gradient, and right-side advantage. Competition between messages from one direction only appears to be as effective in determining auditory spatial effects as competition between spatially distinct sources.     

Auditory perception of conspecific and heterospecific vocalizations in birds: Evidence for special processes.

Budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus), canaries (Serinus canaria), and zebra finches (Poephila guttata castanotis) were tested for their ability to discriminate among distance calls of each species. For comparison, starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) were tested on the same sounds. Response latencies to detect a change in a repeating background of sound were taken as a measure of the perceptual similarity among calls. All 4 species showed clear evidence of 3 perceptual categories corresponding to the calls of the 3 species. Also, budgerigars, canaries, and zebra finches showed an enhanced ability to discriminate among calls of their own species over the calls of others. Starlings discriminated more efficiently among canary calls than among budgerigar or zebra finch calls. Results show species differences in discrimination of species-specific acoustic communication signals and provide insight into the nature of specialized perceptual processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Auditory coding, cues, and coherence in phonetic perception.

C. T. Best, M. Studdert-Kennedy, S. Manuel, and J. Rubin-Spitz (1989) reported that listeners given speech labels showed categorical-like perception of a series of complex tone analogs to a /la/-/ra/ speech series, whereas nonspeech listeners were unable to classify the stimuli consistently. In 2 experiments, a new training and testing procedure was used with adult listeners given nonspeech instructions. They classified the /la/-/ra/ tone analogs consistently, showed categorical-like perception, and generalized their training to a new, /li/-/ri/ tone analog series. Two sets of auditory attributes were described for coding the /l/-/r/ distinction, and 1 was shown to quantitatively predict listeners' classification of both series. These results are consistent with models of perception in which a rich, abstract auditory code is computed and forms the basis for both speech and nonspeech auditory categories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

有菌和无菌体系下辉铜矿氧化电化学

运用循环伏安曲线、稳态极化曲线和Tafel曲线等电化学手段以及X射线光电能谱（XPS）法研究了辉铜矿在有菌和无菌体系下氧化过程的电化学行为.研究结果验证了辉铜矿在有菌体系和无菌体系下的两步氧化溶解机理,第一步氧化反应为辉铜矿不断氧化生成缺铜的中间产物Cu_xS（1≤x<2）,直至生成CuS,在较低电位下即可进行;第二步反应为中间产物CuS的氧化,需要在较高电位下才可进行,反应速率较慢,是整个氧化反应的限制性步骤.循环伏安实验显示有菌体系电流密度明显大于无菌体系,表明细菌加快了辉铜矿的氧化速率.稳态极化实验显示辉铜矿点蚀电位较低,无菌体系第一段反应活化区电位范围小于有菌体系,表明辉铜矿氧化过程生成的中间产物硫膜具有钝化效应,细菌可以通过自身氧化作用破坏硫膜,减弱辉铜矿表面的钝化效果,加快辉铜矿的氧化溶解速率.X射线光电子能谱分析显示电极表面钝化层物质组成复杂,包含了CuS、多硫化物（S_n^2-）、（S⁰）和含（SO₄^2-）的氧化中间产物等多种物质,其中主要的钝化物为CuS,表明辉铜矿的氧化遵循多硫化物途径.     

Auditory filter shapes of normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners in continuous broadband noise

Listeners with sensorineural hearing impairment typically exhibit auditory processing deficits such as reduced frequency and/or temporal resolution. Such deficits may represent separate sequela of auditory pathology or may result directly from the sensitivity loss and the requirement to listen at high levels. To assess the impact of increased thresholds on frequency resolution, auditory filter characteristics were determined for hearing-impaired and normal-hearing listeners at 500 and 2000 Hz in the presence of continuous broadband noise meant as a rough simulation of hearing loss. In the fitting procedure, the low-frequency skirt of the derived auditory filter was allowed to vary as a function of signal level, permitting different filter shapes to be estimated at high versus low signal levels. Listeners with moderate hearing losses at 2000 Hz demonstrated near-normal auditory filter shapes for lower signal levels, but increasingly broad and asymmetric filters as signal level was raised. At 500 Hz, where hearing losses were mild, filter bandwidths increased little at the higher signal levels. The presence of broadband noise had essentially no effect on filter shapes of either listener group. The filter shape abnormalities demonstrated by listeners with moderate hearing loss, which were not observed in normal-hearing listeners at the same signal levels, indicate that poor frequency resolution in these patients for high-intensity stimuli does not follow directly from decreased sensitivity, but instead reflects an independent pathology.     

Auditory temporal pattern perception in 6- and 12-month-old infants.

A go/no-go conditioned head-turn paradigm was used to examine 20 6- and 20 12-mo-olds' abilities to discriminate changes in temporal grouping and their perception of absolute and relative timing information when listening to patterns of white-noise bursts. 6-mo-olds performed absolute timing discriminations both when the number of groupings of a pattern were changed and when the number of groupings remained invariant and the duration parameters of elements comprising a single group were altered. They did not, however, reliably discriminate changes in relative timing information that resulted in the number of groups remaining invariant while the number of elements comprising a group changed. 12-mo-olds readily performed both types of temporal grouping discriminations, demonstrating equally high performance for absolute and relative timing-discrimination conditions. For the absolute timing parameters tested, there was no evidence of any age-related change in the temporal resolving power of the auditory system. Ss at both ages reliably performed signal–silence duration discriminations spanning .04–.06 to .10–.15 sec. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)