Sensory modification of nonpropositional speech: Excessive emotional vocalization disorder with dementia.

Studied the effects of bright light and noise interventions on excessive emotional vocalization behavior. Combinations of a 72-yr-old male inpatient's routine illumination level vs bright lighting and low vs moderate intensity of white noise were used while recording the frequency and intensity of the S's vocalizations. In addition, the duration of visual orienting responses within the left and the right hemispace was recorded. Bright light increased the number of syllables emitted and the duration of time spent orienting toward the right hemispace. In contrast, noise reliably increased the intensity of emotional tone, decreased the number of syllables emitted, and increased the duration of time spent orienting toward the left hemispace. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)