scholarly journals Decomposing neural responses to melodic surprise in musicians and non-musicians: evidence for a hierarchy of predictions in the auditory system

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.R. Quiroga-Martinez ◽  
N.C. Hansen ◽  
A. Højlund ◽  
M. Pearce ◽  
E. Brattico ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Auditory System ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
List Type ◽  
Sensory Adaptation ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Probabilistic Prediction ◽  
Pitch Interval ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Auditory Responses ◽  
Musical Context

AbstractNeural responses to auditory surprise are typically studied with highly unexpected, disruptive sounds. Consequently, little is known about auditory prediction in everyday contexts that are characterized by fine-grained, non-disruptive fluctuations of auditory surprise. To address this issue, we used IDyOM, a computational model of auditory expectation, to obtain continuous surprise estimates for a set of newly composed melodies. Our main goal was to assess whether the neural correlates of non-disruptive surprising sounds in a musical context are affected by musical expertise. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), auditory responses were recorded from musicians and non-musicians while they listened to the melodies. Consistent with a previous study, the amplitude of the N1m component increased with higher levels of computationally estimated surprise. This effect, however, was not different between the two groups. Further analyses offered an explanation for this finding: Pitch interval size itself, rather than probabilistic prediction, was responsible for the modulation of the N1m, thus pointing to low-level sensory adaptation as the underlying mechanism. In turn, the formation of auditory regularities and proper probabilistic prediction were reflected in later components: the mismatch negativity (MMNm) and the P3am, respectively. Overall, our findings reveal a hierarchy of expectations in the auditory system and highlight the need to properly account for sensory adaptation in research addressing statistical learning.Highlights- In melodies, sound expectedness (modeled with IDyOM) is associated with the amplitude of the N1m.- This effect is not different between musicians and non-musicians.- Sensory adaptation related to melodic pitch intervals explains better the N1m effect.- Auditory regularities and the expectations captured by IDyOM are reflected in the MMNm and P3am.- Evidence for a hierarchy of auditory predictions during melodic listening.

scholarly journals Because space matters: conceptual framework to help distinguish slum from non-slum urban areas

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. e001267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Lilford ◽  
Catherine Kyobutungi ◽  
Robert Ndugwa ◽  
Jo Sartori ◽  
Samuel I Watson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Slum ◽  
List Type ◽  
Slum Area ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Basic Approaches

Despite an estimated one billion people around the world living in slums, most surveys of health and well-being do not distinguish between slum and non-slum urban residents. Identifying people who live in slums is important for research purposes and also to enable policymakers, programme managers, donors and non-governmental organisations to better target investments and services to areas of greatest deprivation. However, there is no consensus on what a slum is let alone how slums can be distinguished from non-slum urban precincts. Nor has attention been given to a more fine-grained classification of urban spaces that might go beyond a simple slum/non-slum dichotomy. The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework to help tackle the related issues of slum definition and classification of the urban landscape. We discuss:The concept of space as an epidemiological variable that results in ‘neighbourhood effects’.The problems of slum area definition when there is no ‘gold standard’.A long-list of variables from which a selection must be made in defining or classifying urban slum spaces.Methods to combine any set of identified variables in an operational slum area definition.Two basic approaches to spatial slum area definitions—top-down (starting with a predefined area which is then classified according to features present in that area) and bottom-up (defining the areal unit based on its features).Different requirements of a slum area definition according to its intended use.Implications for research and future development.

scholarly journals Neural correlates of early sound encoding and their relationship to speech in noise perception

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily B.J. Coffey ◽  
Alexander M.P. Chepesiuk ◽  
Sibylle C. Herholz ◽  
Sylvain Baillet ◽  
Robert J. Zatorre
Keyword(s):  
Auditory System ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
List Type ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Feed Forward ◽  
Frequency Following Response ◽  
Language Functions ◽  
Speech In Noise ◽  
Complementary Role

AbstractSpeech-in-noise (SIN) perception is a complex cognitive skill that affects social, vocational, and educational activities. Poor SIN ability particularly affects young and elderly populations, yet varies considerably even among healthy young adults with normal hearing. Although SIN skills are known to be influenced by top-down processes that can selectively enhance lower-level sound representations, the complementary role and of feed-forward mechanisms and their relationship to musical training is poorly understood. Using a paradigm that eliminates the main top-down factors that have been implicated in SIN performance, we aimed to better understand how robust encoding of periodicity in the auditory system (as measured by the frequency-following response) contributes to SIN perception. Using magnetoencephalograpy, we found that the strength of encoding at the fundamental frequency in the brainstem, thalamus, and cortex is correlated with SIN accuracy, as was the amplitude of the slower cortical P2 wave, and these enhancements were related to the extent and timing of musicianship. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that basic feed-forward sound encoding affects SIN perception by providing better information to later processing stages, and that modifying this process may be one mechanism through which musical training might enhance the auditory networks that subserve both musical and language functions.Highlights–Enhancements in periodic sound encoding are correlated with speech-in-noise ability–This effect is observed in the absence of contextual cues and task demands–Better encoding is observed throughout the auditory system and is right-lateralized–Stronger encoding is related to stronger subsequent secondary auditory cortex activity–Musicianship is related to both speech-in-noise perception and enhanced MEG signals

scholarly journals Experience-dependent coding of frequency-modulated trajectories by offsets in auditory cortex

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly K Chong ◽  
Alex G Dunlap ◽  
Dorottya B Kacsoh ◽  
Robert C Liu
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Meaningful Information ◽  
Auditory Responses ◽  
Inherent Feature ◽  
Cortical Responses ◽  
Natural Sound ◽  
Sound Category ◽  
Sound Learning ◽  
Frequency Modulations

SUMMARYFrequency modulations are an inherent feature of many behaviorally relevant sounds, including vocalizations and music. Changing trajectories in a sound’s frequency often conveys meaningful information, which can be used to differentiate sound categories, as in the case of intonations in tonal languages. However, it is not clear what features of the neural responses in what parts of the auditory cortical pathway might be more important for conveying information about behaviorally relevant frequency modulations, and how these responses change with experience. Here we uncover tuning to subtle variations in frequency trajectories in mouse auditory cortex. Surprisingly, we found that auditory cortical responses could be modulated by variations in a pure tone trajectory as small as 1/24th of an octave. Offset spiking accounted for a significant portion of tuned responses to subtle frequency modulation. Offset responses that were present in the adult A2, but not those in Core auditory cortex, were plastic in a way that enhanced the representation of an acquired behaviorally relevant sound category, which we illustrate with the maternal mouse paradigm for natural communication sound learning. By using this ethologically inspired sound-feature tuning paradigm to drive auditory responses in higher-order neurons, our results demonstrate that auditory cortex can track much finer frequency modulations than previously appreciated, which allows A2 offset responses in particular to attune to the pitch trajectories that distinguish behaviorally relevant, natural sound categories.

scholarly journals Expression of transcription factors in MEN1-associated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasutaka Takeda ◽  
Yukihiro Fujita ◽  
Kentaro Sakai ◽  
Tomoe Abe ◽  
Tomonobu Nakamura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Cell Differentiation ◽  
Neuroendocrine Tumors ◽  
Immunohistochemical Analysis ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Histopathological Analysis ◽  
List Type ◽  
Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors ◽  
Hormone Production ◽  
Head Of The Pancreas

Summary MEN1-associated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs) may potentially express distinct hormones, but the mechanism has not been elucidated. Transcription factors such as MafA and Pdx1 have been identified to lead to beta cell differentiation, while Arx and Brn4 to alpha cell differentiation in developing pancreas. We hypothesized those transcription factors are important to produce specific hormones in pNETs, similarly to developing pancreas, and examined the expression of transcription factors in a case of MEN1 who showed immunohistological coexistence of several hormone-producing pNETs including insulinoma. A 70-year-old woman was found to manifest hypoglycemia with non-suppressed insulinemia and hypercalcemia with elevated PTH level. She was diagnosed as MEN1 based on the manifestation of primary hyperparathyroidism, pituitary adenoma and insulinoma, with genetic variation of MEN1 gene. She had pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy because CT scan and SACI test indicated that insulinoma was localized in the head of the pancreas. Histopathological finding was MEN1-associated NET, G1. Interestingly, immunohistological examination of the resected pancreas revealed that two insulinomas, a glucagon-positive NET and a multiple hormone-positive NET coexisted. Hence, we examined the expression of transcription factors immunohistochemically to elucidate the role of the transcription factors in MEN1-associated hormone-producing pNETs. We observed homogeneous expressions of MafA and Pdx1 in insulinomas and Arx in glucagon-positive NET, respectively. Moreover, multiple hormone-positive NETs expressed several transcription factors heterogeneously. Collectively, our results suggested that transcription factors could play important roles in the production of specific hormones in MEN1-associated pNETs, similar to islet differentiation. Learning points: To date, it has been shown that different hormone-producing tumors coexist in MEN1-associated pNETs; however, the underlying mechanism of the hormone production in MEN1-associated pNETs has not been well elucidated. Although this case presented symptomatic hypoglycemia, several hormone-producing pNETs other than insulinoma also coexisted in the pancreas. Immunohistochemical analysis showed MafA and Pdx1 expressions distinctly in insulinoma, and Arx expression particularly in a glucagon-positive NET, while a multiple hormone-positive NET expressed MafA, Pdx1 and Arx. Collectively, clinicians should consider that several hormone-producing pNETs may coexist in a MEN1 case and examine both endocrinological and histopathological analysis of pNETs, regardless of whether symptoms related to the excess of hormones are observed or not.

scholarly journals Toward Assessing Clinical Trial Publications for Reporting Transparency

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Halil Kilicoglu ◽  
Graciela Rosemblat ◽  
Linh Hoang ◽  
Sahil Wadhwa ◽  
Zeshan Peng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Text Mining ◽  
Majority Vote ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
List Type ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Annotation Scheme ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Mining Methods

AbstractObjectiveTo annotate a corpus of randomized controlled trial (RCT) publications with the checklist items of CONSORT reporting guidelines and using the corpus to develop text mining methods for RCT appraisal.MethodsWe annotated a corpus of 50 RCT articles at the sentence level using 37 fine-grained CONSORT checklist items. A subset (31 articles) was double-annotated and adjudicated, while 19 were annotated by a single annotator and reconciled by another. We calculated inter-annotator agreement at the article and section level using MASI (Measuring Agreement on Set-Valued Items) and at the CONSORT item level using Krippendorff’s α. We experimented with two rule-based methods (phrase-based and section header-based) and two supervised learning approaches (support vector machine and BioBERT-based neural network classifiers), for recognizing 17 methodology-related items in the RCT Methods sections.ResultsWe created CONSORT-TM consisting of 10,709 sentences, 4,845 (45%) of which were annotated with 5,246 labels. A median of 28 CONSORT items (out of possible 37) were annotated per article. Agreement was moderate at the article and section levels (average MASI: 0.60 and 0.64, respectively). Agreement varied considerably among individual checklist items (Krippendorff’s α= 0.06-0.96). The model based on BioBERT performed best overall for recognizing methodology-related items (micro-precision: 0.82, micro-recall: 0.63, micro-F1: 0.71). Combining models using majority vote and label aggregation further improved precision and recall, respectively.ConclusionOur annotated corpus, CONSORT-TM, contains more fine-grained information than earlier RCT corpora. Low frequency of some CONSORT items made it difficult to train effective text mining models to recognize them. For the items commonly reported, CONSORT-TM can serve as a testbed for text mining methods that assess RCT transparency, rigor, and reliability, and support methods for peer review and authoring assistance. Minor modifications to the annotation scheme and a larger corpus could facilitate improved text mining models. CONSORT-TM is publicly available at https://github.com/kilicogluh/CONSORT-TM.Graphical abstractHighlightsWe constructed a corpus of RCT publications annotated with CONSORT checklist items.We developed text mining methods to identify methodology-related check-list items.A BioBERT-based model performs best in recognizing adequately reported items.A phrase-based method performs best in recognizing infrequently reported items.The corpus and the text mining methods can be used to address reporting transparency.

The Representation of Amplitude Modulations in the Mammalian Auditory Midbrain

2008 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 1602-1609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjarne Krebs ◽  
Nicholas A. Lesica ◽  
Benedikt Grothe
Keyword(s):  
Auditory System ◽  
Duty Cycle ◽  
Modulation Frequency ◽  
Acoustic Signals ◽  
Interpulse Interval ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Stimulus Amplitude ◽  
Auditory Midbrain ◽  
Pulse Trains ◽  
The Relationship

Temporal modulations in stimulus amplitude are essential for recognizing and categorizing behaviorally relevant acoustic signals such as speech. Despite this behavioral importance, it remains unclear how amplitude modulations (AMs) are represented in the responses of neurons at higher levels of the auditory system. Studies using stimuli with sinusoidal amplitude modulations (SAMs) have shown that the responses of many neurons are strongly tuned to modulation frequency, leading to the hypothesis that AMs are represented by their periodicity in the auditory midbrain. However, AMs in general are defined not only by their modulation frequency, but also by a number of other parameters (duration, duty cycle, etc.), which covary with modulation frequency in SAM stimuli. Thus the relationship between modulation frequency and neural responses as characterized with SAM stimuli alone is ambiguous. In this study, we characterize the representation of AMs in the gerbil inferior colliculus by analyzing neural responses to a series of pulse trains in which duration and interpulse interval are systematically varied to quantify the importance of duration, interpulse interval, duty cycle, and modulation frequency independently. We find that, although modulation frequency is indeed an important parameter for some neurons, the responses of many neurons are also strongly influenced by other AM parameters, typically duration and duty cycle. These results suggest that AMs are represented in the auditory midbrain not only by their periodicity, but by a complex combination of several important parameters.

scholarly journals Use of Kodak Tech-Pan Film at the Ukstu

1994 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 129-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q.A. Parker ◽  
S. Phillipps ◽  
D.H. Morgan ◽  
D.F. Malin ◽  
K.S. Russell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Great Success ◽  
List Type ◽  
Type Number ◽  
Schmidt Telescope ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Focal Surface ◽  
Flexible Film ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Reciprocity Failure

Kodak Technical Pan (Tech Pan) emulsion is an extremely fine grained, high resolution, panchromatic negative film with extended red sensitivity. It has been produced under this name since about 1980 (Kodak P–255, 1981) and is available on Kodak's Estar base in a number of thicknesses and sizes. The thick ∗∗base Tech Pan is designated 4415 and has been used with great success by the amateur astronomical community for many years (e.g. Martys 1991). Its astronomical potential was recognised early by Everhart (1981). However, tests at professional telescopes (e.g. West et al. 1981) and early sensitometer tests at the UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST) in 1981 and 1987 were discontinued when the glass and film samples did not respond well to normal hypersensitisation techniques. These and other difficulties led to a lack of interest among the professional astronomical community until quite recently (Russell et al. 1992; Parker & Malin 1992). The first successful use of 14 × 14 inch hypered Tech-Pan 4415 film in the UKST was in March 1991. Films were obtained which exhibited excellent image quality and resolution. Furthermore, in good seeing these appeared to be about 1 magnitude deeper than the equivalent IIIa-F emulsion on glass but with considerably lower grain noise. This result was achieved because two main problems associated with Tech-Pan and film use in the UKST have been resolved. These were: 1) obtaining Tech-Pan film with long exposure speed sufficient for deep astronomical photography (i.e. reduction of low intenstiy reciprocity failure); 2) overcoming the practical difficulties of mounting large-format flexible film at the UKST's curved focal surface.

scholarly journals Visual Modulation of Auditory Responses in the Owl Inferior Colliculus

2009 ◽  
Vol 101 (6) ◽  
pp. 2924-2933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph F. Bergan ◽  
Eric I. Knudsen
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Colliculus ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Auditory Space ◽  
Auditory Responses ◽  
Auditory Space Map ◽  
Visual Modulation ◽  
Auditory Plasticity

The barn owl's central auditory system creates a map of auditory space in the external nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICX). Although the crucial role visual experience plays in the formation and maintenance of this auditory space map is well established, the mechanism by which vision influences ICX responses remains unclear. Surprisingly, previous experiments have found that in the absence of extensive pharmacological manipulation, visual stimuli do not drive neural responses in the ICX. Here we investigated the influence of dynamic visual stimuli on auditory responses in the ICX. We show that a salient visual stimulus, when coincident with an auditory stimulus, can modulate auditory responses in the ICX even though the same visual stimulus may elicit no neural responses when presented alone. For each ICX neuron, the most effective auditory and visual stimuli were located in the same region of space. In addition, the magnitude of the visual modulation of auditory responses was dependent on the context of the stimulus presentation with novel visual stimuli eliciting consistently larger response modulations than frequently presented visual stimuli. Thus the visual modulation of ICX responses is dependent on the characteristics of the visual stimulus as well as on the spatial and temporal correspondence of the auditory and visual stimuli. These results demonstrate moment-to-moment visual enhancements of auditory responsiveness that, in the short-term, increase auditory responses to salient bimodal stimuli and in the long-term could serve to instruct the adaptive auditory plasticity necessary to maintain accurate auditory orienting behavior.

Attentional networks functioning and vigilance in expert musicians and non-musicians

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Román-Caballero ◽  
Elisa Martín-Arévalo ◽  
Juan Lupiáñez
Keyword(s):  
Executive Control ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Previous Literature ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cognitive Differences ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Musical Skills ◽  
Correlational Design ◽  
Musical Context

Previous literature has shown cognitive improvements related to musical training. Attention is one of the functions in which musicians exhibit improvements compared to non-musicians. However, previous studies show inconsistent results regarding certain attentional processes, suggesting that benefits associated with musical training appear only in some processes. The aim of the present study was to investigate attentional and vigilance abilities in expert musicians with a fine-grained measure: the ANTI-Vea (ANT for Interactions and Vigilance − executive and arousal components; Luna, Marino, Roca, & Lupiáñez, 2018). This task allows measuring the three Posner and Petersen’s networks (alerting, orienting, and executive control) along with two different components of vigilance (executive and arousal vigilance). Using propensity-score matching, 49 adult musicians (18-35 years old) were matched in an extensive set of confounds with a control group of 49 non-musicians. Musicians showed advantages in processing speed and in the two components of vigilance. Interestingly, improvements were related to characteristics of musical experience; in particular: years of practice and years of lessons. One possible explanation for these results is that musical training can specifically enhance some aspects of attention, although our correlational design does not allow to rule out other possibilities such as the presence of cognitive differences prior to the onset of training. Moreover, the advantages were observed in an extra-musical context, which suggests that musical training could transfer its benefits to cognitive processes loosely related to musical skills. The absence of effects in executive control, frequently reported in previous literature, is discussed based on our extensive control of confounds.

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