scholarly journals Effect of sound pressure level on contralateral inhibition underlying duration-tuned neurons in the mammalian inferior colliculus

2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 184-202
Author(s):  
Roberto Valdizón-Rodríguez ◽  
Dominika Kovaleva ◽  
Paul A. Faure
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Colliculus ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Half Maximum ◽  
Synaptic Inputs ◽  
Rate Level

Duration tuning in the mammalian inferior colliculus (IC) is created by the interaction of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs. We used extracellular recordings and paired tone stimulation to measure the strength and time course of the contralateral inhibition underlying duration-tuned neurons (DTNs) in the IC of the awake bat. The onset time of a short, best duration (BD), excitatory probe tone set to +10 dB (re threshold) was varied relative to the onset of a longer-duration, nonexcitatory (NE) suppressor tone whose sound pressure level (SPL) was varied. Spikes evoked by the roving BD tone were suppressed when the stationary NE tone amplitude was at or above the BD tone threshold. When the NE tone was increased from 0 to +10 dB, the inhibitory latency became shorter than the excitatory first-spike latency and the duration of inhibition increased, but no further changes occurred at +20 dB (re BD tone threshold). We used the effective duration of inhibition as a function of the NE tone amplitude to obtain suppression-level functions that were used to estimate the inhibitory half-maximum SPL (ISPL50). We also measured rate-level functions of DTNs with single BD tones varied in SPL and modeled the excitatory half-maximum SPL (ESPL50). There was a correlation between the ESPL50 and ISPL50, and the dynamic range of excitation and inhibition were similar. We conclude that the strength of inhibition changes in proportion to excitation as a function of SPL, and this feature likely contributes to the amplitude tolerance of the responses of DTNs. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Duration-tuned neurons arise from excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs offset in time. We measured the strength and time course of inhibition to changes in sound level. The onset of inhibition shortened while its duration lengthened as the stimulus level increased from 0 to +10 dB re threshold; however, no further changes were observed at +20 dB. Excitatory rate-level and inhibitory suppression-level response functions were strongly correlated, suggesting a mechanism for level tolerance in duration tuning.

Binaural interaction in high-frequency neurons in inferior colliculus of the cat: effects of variations in sound pressure level on sensitivity to interaural intensity differences

1990 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 570-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. Irvine ◽  
G. Gago
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Colliculus ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Central Nucleus ◽  
Sensitivity Functions ◽  
Rate Intensity ◽  
Ipsilateral Stimulation ◽  
Intensity Functions

1. Development of models of the manner in which interaural intensity differences (IIDs), the major binaural cue for the azimuthal location of high-frequency sounds, are coded by populations of neurons requires knowledge of the extent to which the IID sensitivity of individual neurons is invariant with changes in sound pressure level (SPL) and other stimulus parameters. To examine this tissue, recordings were obtained from a large sample (n = 458) of neurons with characteristic frequency (CF) greater than 3 kHz in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC) of anesthetized cats. The sensitivity to IIDs and the effects of changes in SPL on this sensitivity were examined in neurons receiving excitatory contralateral input and inhibitory or mixed inhibitory/facilitatory ipsilateral input (EI neurons). 2. The form of an EI neuron's IID sensitivity and the effects of changes in SPL on that sensitivity were found to be determined in part by the characteristics of the neuron's rate-intensity function for monaural contralateral stimulation, and detailed rate-intensity functions were therefore obtained for 91 neurons. Many ICC neurons have nonmonotonic rate-intensity functions, the proportion so classified depending on the criterion of nonmonotonicity employed. 3. IID sensitivity functions for CF tonal stimuli were obtained at one or more intensities for 90 neurons, using a method of generating IIDs that kept the average binaural intensity (ABI) of the stimuli at the two ears constant. In the standard ABI range in which a function was obtained for each unit, the majority of EI neurons (72%) had monotonic (sigmoidal) or near-monotonic IID sensitivity functions. The remainder had nonmonotonic (peaked) IID sensitivity functions, which were attributable either to mixed inhibitory and facilitatory ipsilateral influences or to the fact that the effects of ipsilateral stimulation were superimposed on nonmonotonic effects of changes in intensity at the excitatory ear. 4. IID sensitivity was examined at two or more ABIs (3-5 in most cases) for 40 neurons classified as having monotonic or near-monotonic functions in the standard ABI range and for 7 neurons classified as nonmonotonic. For a small proportion of neurons with monotonic IID sensitivity functions, the form of the function was relatively invariant with changes in ABI. In those monotonic neurons in which the form of the IID sensitivity function varied with changes in ABI, the most common type of variation was that the position of the sloping portion of the function shifted systematically in the direction of larger IIDs favoring the ipsilateral ear as ABI increased.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

scholarly journals Changes of Voice Production in Artificial Acoustic Environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomás Sierra-Polanco ◽  
Lady Catherine Cantor-Cutiva ◽  
Eric J. Hunter ◽  
Pasquale Bottalico
Keyword(s):  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Room Acoustics ◽  
Reverberation Time ◽  
Voice Production ◽  
Vocal Control

The physical production of speech level dynamic range is directly affected by the physiological features of the speaker such as vocal tract size and lung capacity; however, the regulation of these production systems is affected by the perception of the communication environment and auditory feedback. The current study examined the effects of room acoustics in an artificial setting on voice production in terms of sound pressure level and the relationship with the perceived vocal comfort and vocal control. Three independent room acoustic parameters were considered: gain (alteration of the sidetone or playback of one’s own voice), reverberation time, and background noise. An increase in the sidetone led to a decrease in vocal sound pressure levels, thus increasing vocal comfort and vocal control. This effect was consistent in the different reverberation times considered. Mid-range reverberation times (T30 ≈ 1.3 s) led to a decrease in vocal sound pressure level along with an increase in vocal comfort and vocal control, however, the effect of the reverberation time was smaller than the effect of the gain. The presence of noise amplified the aforementioned effects for the variables analyzed.

Binaural processing of sound pressure level in cat primary auditory cortex: evidence for a representation based on absolute levels rather than interaural level differences

1993 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 449-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. N. Semple ◽  
L. M. Kitzes
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Inferior Colliculus ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Response Strength ◽  
Simple Relation ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Interaural Level Difference ◽  
Single Neurons

1. Single-neuron responses were recorded in high-frequency regions of primary auditory cortex (AI) of anesthetized cats. Best-frequency tone pips were presented to each ear independently via sealed stimulus delivery systems, and the sound pressure level (SPL) at each ear was independently manipulated. Each neuron was studied with many dichotic combinations of SPL, chosen to incorporate a broad range of the two synthetic interaural level variables, interaural level difference (ILD) and average binaural level (ABL). This paper illustrates the common forms of binaural SPL selectivity observed in a sample of 204 single neurons located in AI. 2. Most neurons (> 90%) were jointly influenced by ILD and ABL. A small proportion of bilaterally excitable (EE) neurons responded to ABL rather independently of ILD. Only one neuron was determined to respond to ILD independently of ABL. 3. Nonmonotonic selectivity for one or both of the binaural level cues was evident in > 60% of our sample. Within the most effective range of ILD values, response strength was usually related nonmonotonically to related both to ILD and ABL. We have described units exhibiting this kind of dual nonmonotonic selectivity for the two binaural variables as being influenced by a Two-Way Intensity Network (TWIN). 4. Each of the response forms identified in an earlier study of the gerbil inferior colliculus were found in this study of cat auditory cortex. However the classes were evident in markedly different proportions. In particular, TWIN responses alone accounted for 36.2% of the sample, nearly four times the proportion found in the inferior colliculus in a previous study. 5. Units with similar binaural responses do not necessarily have similar monaural properties. For example, the typically nonmonotonic relation between response strength and ABL was often observed in the absence of a monaurally demonstrable nonmonotonicity. There is no simple relation between a neuron's classification according to the sign of monaural influence and its response to ILD and ABL. In particular, EE neurons exhibited remarkably diverse binaural properties. 6. Since responses of nearly all AI neurons are influenced jointly by ABL and ILD, we contend that single neurons in primary auditory cortex are not specifically tuned to either cue. ILD and ABL are mathematical expressions relating the SPLs at the two ears to each other (as the difference and average, respectively) and any such combination is expressed most simply as a particular combination of SPL at each ear.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

scholarly journals Vocal characteristics of athletes from an american football team

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. e11942813
Author(s):  
Débora Bonesso Andriollo ◽  
Gabriele Rodrigues Bastilha ◽  
Letícia Fernandez Frigo ◽  
Carla Aparecida Cielo
Keyword(s):  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Acoustic Signal ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
American Football ◽  
Maximum Phonation Time ◽  
Football Team ◽  
Acoustic Evaluation ◽  
The Difference

The objective of this study was to verify the vocal measurements of athletes from an american football team from a municipality in the countryside of the state. With participation of eight men, aged between 18 and 39 years old (average of 24.25 years old). The collection of maximum phonation time of the vowels /a/, /i/, /u/, /s/, /z/, /e/ and number counting in normal pitch and loudness and the maximum phonation time of the [ė] was performed. Modal Sound Pressure Level and dynamic range were obtained by emission of /a:/. Acoustic evaluation of glottal and spectrographic sources. Maximum phonation times were below normality; the s/z ratio within the normality; the ratio ė/e below normality; the difference between vowels and number counting, the modal sound pressure level and the dynamic range were above normality. The acoustic vocal analysis showed impairment of the glottic source while the spectrographs were considered normal. In these American football athletes, pneumo-phono-articulatory incoordination with hyperfunctional characteristics and acoustic signal with presence of instability, aperiodicity and vocal emission failures were found, probably due to the incorrect vocal uses practiced in the sport.

scholarly journals Annoyance of Audible Infrasound

1987 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Møller
Keyword(s):  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Pure Tones ◽  
The Individual

Contours of equal annoyance were determined for pure tones in the frequency range 4 – 31.5 Hz. The curves show a narrowing of the dynamic range of the ear at low frequencies. The same pattern is seen for equal loudness curves, and the results support the theory that the annoyance of infrasound is closely related to the loudness sensation. Annoyance ratings of 1/3 octave noise did not deviate from ratings of pure tones with the same sound pressure level. Combinations of audio and infrasonic noise were in general given a rating close to or slightly above the rating of the most annoying of the individual noise conditions. For infrasound the proposed G1-weighting curve is shown to give values that correlate well with subjective annoyance rating. Values obtained with the G2-curve do not correlate as well. Low audio frequencies are not covered by the G-curves, and it is shown that these are insufficiently covered by the A-curve. Further research is needed in this area.

Contributions of Voice and Nonverbal Communication to Perceived Masculinity–Femininity for Cisgender and Transgender Communicators

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 931-947
Author(s):  
Teresa L. D. Hardy ◽  
Carol A. Boliek ◽  
Daniel Aalto ◽  
Justin Lewicke ◽  
Kristopher Wells ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Presentation Mode ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Presentation Modes ◽  
Audiovisual Stimuli ◽  
Vocal Tract Resonance ◽  
Point Light

Purpose The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to identify a set of communication-based predictors (including both acoustic and gestural variables) of masculinity–femininity ratings and (b) to explore differences in ratings between audio and audiovisual presentation modes for transgender and cisgender communicators. Method The voices and gestures of a group of cisgender men and women ( n = 10 of each) and transgender women ( n = 20) communicators were recorded while they recounted the story of a cartoon using acoustic and motion capture recording systems. A total of 17 acoustic and gestural variables were measured from these recordings. A group of observers ( n = 20) rated each communicator's masculinity–femininity based on 30- to 45-s samples of the cartoon description presented in three modes: audio, visual, and audio visual. Visual and audiovisual stimuli contained point light displays standardized for size. Ratings were made using a direct magnitude estimation scale without modulus. Communication-based predictors of masculinity–femininity ratings were identified using multiple regression, and analysis of variance was used to determine the effect of presentation mode on perceptual ratings. Results Fundamental frequency, average vowel formant, and sound pressure level were identified as significant predictors of masculinity–femininity ratings for these communicators. Communicators were rated significantly more feminine in the audio than the audiovisual mode and unreliably in the visual-only mode. Conclusions Both study purposes were met. Results support continued emphasis on fundamental frequency and vocal tract resonance in voice and communication modification training with transgender individuals and provide evidence for the potential benefit of modifying sound pressure level, especially when a masculine presentation is desired.

Influence of the Acoustic Reflex on Vowel Recognition

1986 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 420-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Dorman ◽  
Ingrid Cedar ◽  
Maureen Hannley ◽  
Marjorie Leek ◽  
Julie Mapes Lindholm
Keyword(s):  
Auditory System ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Recognition Accuracy ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Acoustic Reflex ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Stapedial Reflex ◽  
Vowel Recognition ◽  
High Sound

Computer synthesized vowels of 50- and 300-ms duration were presented to normal-hearing listeners at a moderate and high sound pressure level (SPL). Presentation at the high SPL resulted in poor recognition accuracy for vowels of a duration (50 ms) shorter than the latency of the acoustic stapedial reflex. Presentation level had no effect on recognition accuracy for vowels of sufficient duration (300 ms) to elicit the reflex. The poor recognition accuracy for the brief, high intensity vowels was significantly improved when the reflex was preactivated. These results demonstrate the importance of the acoustic reflex in extending the dynamic range of the auditory system for speech recognition.

Case study: Theoretical calculation model and variable condition analysis research on the water-splashing noise for natural draft wet cooling towers

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-145
Author(s):  
Yang Zhouo ◽  
Ming Gao ◽  
Suoying He ◽  
Yuetao Shi ◽  
Fengzhong Sun
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Water Droplet ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Cooling Tower ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Calculation Model ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Cooling Towers

Based on the basic theory of water droplets impact noise, the generation mechanism and calculation model of the water-splashing noise for natural draft wet cooling towers were established in this study, and then by means of the custom software, the water-splashing noise was studied under different water droplet diameters and water-spraying densities as well as partition water distribution patterns conditions. Comparedwith the water-splashing noise of the field test, the average difference of the theoretical and the measured value is 0.82 dB, which validates the accuracy of the established theoretical model. The results based on theoretical model showed that, when the water droplet diameters are smaller in cooling tower, the attenuation of total sound pressure level of the water-splashing noise is greater. From 0 m to 8 m away from the cooling tower, the sound pressure level of the watersplashing noise of 3 mm and 6 mm water droplets decreases by 8.20 dB and 4.36 dB, respectively. Additionally, when the water-spraying density becomes twice of the designed value, the sound pressure level of water-splashing noise all increases by 3.01 dB for the cooling towers of 300 MW, 600 MW and 1000 MW units. Finally, under the partition water distribution patterns, the change of the sound pressure level is small. For the R s/2 and Rs/3 partition radius (Rs is the radius of water-spraying area), when the water-spraying density ratio between the outer and inner zone increases from 1 to 3, the sound pressure level of water-splashing noise increases by 0.7 dB and 0.3 dB, respectively.

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