Search results for "ACOUSTIC"
showing 10 items of 1590 documents
Dynamics of brain activity underlying working memory for music in a naturalistic condition
2014
We aimed at determining the functional neuroanatomy of working memory (WM) recognition of musical motifs that occurs while listening to music by adopting a non-standard procedure. Western tonal music provides naturally occurring repetition and variation of motifs. These serve as WM triggers, thus allowing us to study the phenomenon of motif tracking within real music. Adopting a modern tango as stimulus, a behavioural test helped to identify the stimulus motifs and build a time-course regressor of WM neural responses. This regressor was then correlated with the participants' (musicians') functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signal obtained during a continuous listening condition. In…
Visual cortex hyperexcitability in migraine in response to sound-induced flash illusions
2015
Objective: Sound-induced flash illusions depend on visual cortical excitability. In this study, we explored whether sound-induced flash illusions are perceived differently in migraine, a condition associated with pathologic cortical hyperexcitability. Methods: Sound-induced flash illusions were examined in 59 migraine patients (mean age = 32 ± 16 years; 36 females), 32 without aura and 27 with aura, and in 24 healthy controls (mean age = 42 ± 17 years; 16 females). Patients were studied during attacks and interictally. Visual stimuli (flashes) accompanied by sounds (beeps) were presented in different combinations: a single flash with multiple beeps was given to induce the perception of mult…
Effects of the Breathe Right Nasal Strips on Nasal Ventilation
1997
The Breathe Right nasal strips are more and more commonly used, mainly by athletes, who hope to enhance their physical performance in competition and training. The effect of the device in such situations is uncertain and perhaps somewhat controversial. To investigate the effects of the nasal strips on nasal ventilation, 20 Caucasian individuals were objectively assessed using anterior rhinomanometry and acoustic rhinometry. The results showed a significant increase in all subjects of transnasal airflow and in the average cross-sectional area of the nasal cavity that quantifies objectively the subjective impression of improved nasal breathing. In such patients where an improvement in nasal …
The Use of Acoustic Rhinometry in Predicting Outcomes after Sinonasal Surgery
2000
Today's healthcare environment demands objective assessment of surgical outcomes. The recent otolaryngologic literature has established acoustic rhinometry (AR) as a valid instrument to objectively document nasal patency. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the utility of AR in predicting outcomes after sinonasal surgery. All patients scheduled for sinonasal surgery at the Tulane University and University of Mainz Departments of Otolaryngology between 10/1/98 and 12/15/98 were enrolled. All subjects underwent AR and completed a sinonasal outcome survey (SNOT-20) one day before and two months after their surgical procedure. Thirty-one patients were enrolled. The SNOT-20 raw scores im…
Neural dynamics of learning sound-action associations.
2008
A motor component is pre-requisite to any communicative act as one must inherently move to communicate. To learn to make a communicative act, the brain must be able to dynamically associate arbitrary percepts to the neural substrate underlying the pre-requisite motor activity. We aimed to investigate whether brain regions involved in complex gestures (ventral pre-motor cortex, Brodmann Area 44) were involved in mediating association between novel abstract auditory stimuli and novel gestural movements. In a functional resonance imaging (fMRI) study we asked participants to learn associations between previously unrelated novel sounds and meaningless gestures inside the scanner. We use functio…
Medical exposure to ionising radiation and the risk of brain tumours: Interphone study group, Germany
2007
Abstract Background The role of exposure to low doses of ionising radiation in the aetiology of brain tumours has yet to be clarified. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between medically or occupationally related exposure to ionising radiation and brain tumours. Methods We used self-reported medical and occupational data collected during the German part of a multinational case–control study on mobile phone use and the risk of brain tumours (Interphone study) for the analyses. Results For any exposure to medical ionising radiation we found odds ratios (ORs) of 0.63 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.48–0.83), 1.08 (95% CI = 0.80–1.45) and 0.97 (95% CI = 0.54–1.75)…
Effects of whole-body vertical shock-type vibration on human ability for fine manual control
1991
The effects of vertical (z-axis) whole-body shock-type vibration on the ability for fine manual control were examined. The amplitudes and frequency of the shocks was varied, but a constant frequency-weighted acceleration of 1.25 m/s2 r.m.s. was maintained. The examination of the shock's effects was carried out using an experimental system that simulated the actual workplace of earth-moving machinery. Control was measured using a first-order pursuit tracking-test, in which a seated subject was asked to use both hands to direct a cursor on a monitor using a steering wheel. Although the magnitude of shocks (peak amplitude of 6-10 m/s2) and the number of shocks per unit time (shock cycle of 10-…
Transmission of Vertical Whole Body Vibration to the Human Body
2008
According to experimental studies, low-amplitude high-frequency vibration is anabolic to bone tissue, whereas in clinical trials, the bone effects have varied. Given the potential of whole body vibration in bone training, this study aimed at exploring the transmission of vertical sinusoidal vibration to the human body over a wide range of applicable amplitudes (from 0.05 to 3 mm) and frequencies (from 10 to 90 Hz). Vibration-induced accelerations were assessed with skin-mounted triaxial accelerometers at the ankle, knee, hip, and lumbar spine in four males standing on a high-performance vibration platform. Peak vertical accelerations of the platform covered a range from 0.04 to 19 in units …
Reduced oscillatory gamma-band responses in unmedicated schizophrenic patients indicate impaired frontal network processing
2004
Abstract Objective Integration of sensory information by cortical network binding appears to be crucially involved in target detection. Studies in schizophrenia using functional and diffusion tensor neuroimaging, event-related potentials and EEG coherence indicate an impairment of cortical network coupling in this disorder. Previous electrophysiological investigations in animals and humans suggested that gamma activity (oscillations at around 40 Hz) is essential for cortical network binding. Studies in medicated schizophrenia provide evidence for a reduced gamma activity in the context of auditory stimulus processing. This is the first investigation of oscillatory activations in the gamma-b…
The effects of a startle on awareness of action
2003
The execution of a ballistic movement within a reaction time task paradigm is significantly speeded up when an unexpected startling auditory stimulus (SAS) is delivered together with the imperative signal. Using Libet's clock, we investigated whether acceleration involves also the subjective appraisal of the time of task execution. In trials containing the SAS, reaction time shortened to 68.7% of control values. However, subjective judgment of task execution remained a similar time with respect to the imperative signal as in control trials. The dissociation between task execution and its subjective perception indicates the existence of separate circuits for action execution and action aware…