Differences in sound perception are reflected by individual auditory fingerprints in musicians

A neurologically plausible model of the auditory perception of musical sequences is proposed, and some implications are derived for auditory imagery. In line with a cognitive neuroscience approach, a componential analysis of the major functions required of auditory perception and imagery for musical sequences is first carried out, and a minimal model of auditory imagery and perception is outlined. The minimal model makes a clear distinction between the processing subsystems required for analyzing pitch and rhythm. It also incorporates an auditory buffer for the brief retention of relatively unprocessed auditory input, an attention subsystem that permits selective intake of relevant auditory information, a memory subsystem for melodic strings that combines the outputs of pitch and rhythmic analyses into a long-term, flexible representation of the musical sequence, and an associative memory system that links the results of perceptual analyses of music with extraperceptual (semantic and episodic) information about the musical string. The present theory builds on a recent model of music perception proposed by Peretz (1993) and also accounts for data from studies of patients with disorders of rhythmic processing, thus indicating the close relationship between auditory perception and imagery for rhythmic sequences, timing, and motor processes. Recent data are used to refine and extend the minimal model and provide an organizing framework for current laboratory work.

This study investigated the perception and learning of relative pitch using vibrotactile stimuli by musicians with and without a hearing impairment. Notes from C3 to B4 were presented to the fingertip and forefoot. Pre- and post-training tests in which 420 pairs of notes were presented randomly were carried out without any feedback to participants. After the pre-training test, 16 short training sessions were carried out over six weeks with 72 pairs of notes per session and participants told whether their answers were correct. For amateur and professional musicians with normal hearing and professional musicians with a severe or profound hearing loss, larger pitch intervals were easier to identify correctly than smaller intervals. Musicians with normal hearing had a high success rate for relative pitch discrimination as shown by pre- and post-training tests, and when using the fingertips, there was no significant difference between amateur and professional musicians. After training, median scores on the tests in which stimuli were presented to the fingertip and forefoot were >70% for intervals of 3–12 semitones. Training sessions reduced the variability in the responses of amateur and professional musicians with normal hearing and improved their overall ability. There was no significant difference between the relative pitch discrimination abilities between one and 11 semitones, as shown by the pre-training test, of professional musicians with and without a severe/profound hearing loss. These findings indicate that there is potential for vibration to be used to facilitate group musical performance and music education in schools for the deaf.

This article aims to explore the interaction between sound knowledge and sound perception, especially in subjects with absolute pitch (AP). The study used fMRI scanning technology to explore two specific objectives: first, to test whether the brain system related to sound perception was actually activated when retrieving knowledge related to pitch through language stimuli; The second is to compare the speed and accuracy of subjects with absolute pitch perception and those without absolute pitch perception in terms of sound perception and sound memory retrieval association. The research results are expected to provide support for the view that there is a direct overlap between conceptual knowledge and perceptual systems, and further verify the correctness of the "embodied simulation" theory. In addition, the study also proposed further research directions, namely exploring the influence of absolute pitch ability on spatial perception ability of pitch and the similarities and differences in the neural basis between absolute pitch test subjects and other subjects when corresponding to CMC across modalities.

The present study was undertaken in an attempt to measure the level of mental imagery by considering few domains like visual, olfactory mental imagery, gustatory, auditory tactile mental imagery, and bodily kinesthetic There was 205 students were participated. Out of 205 students, 100 are male and 105 are female. High school students belongs to age of 13-17 years. Majority of them from rural background. 127 students are from rural and remaining 78 students are from urban background the result of the study demonstrates how individual’s Gender and area of residence, education (at the age 13-17 years) effects on mental imagery changes as well as the increasing level of mental imagery. There is significant difference in mental imagery domains as on area of residence regarding to visual mental imagery and auditory mental imagery. There is significant difference in mental imagery domains as on age to visual mental imagery and auditory mental imagery at 0.05 level. There was a significant difference between rural and urban on Auditory and visual imagery at 0.01 level.

European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) were trained to discriminate a class of rule‐based, four tone ascending pitch patterns from a comparable class of descending pitch patterns. Then a series of transfer tests examined the birds' ability to maintain the discrimination under various transformations of the original pitch stimuli. The birds performed well when shifts in tone height occurred to novel exemplars within the original pitch training range, but not when shifts occurred to novel exemplars outside that range. When information about the direction of pitch change was reduced by shortening the patterns, the birds could solve the discrimination on the basis of the first two tones in a pattern, although performance improved as pattern length and, therefore, amount of information increased. The same series of transfers showed that in producing accurate discrimination the birds were using pitch cues based on both an absolute and relative perception of pitch. The data have implications for a comparative stu...

To assess patient recall of intraoperative pain, anxiety, fear, and sensory (visual and auditory) perceptions during second eye clear corneal cataract surgery using assisted topical anaesthesia (ATA), in comparison with first eye cataract surgery using the same technique. This prospective, consecutive, observational study was conducted in a free-standing dedicated ophthalmic day surgery centre. A voluntary questionnaire was distributed to 129 consecutive patients who underwent clear corneal cataract surgery using ATA. Two patients had to be converted to block anaesthesia, and were excluded. Patients were asked to rate intraoperative pain, anxiety, and fear using a visual analogue scale (VAS), and recollection of intraoperative visual and auditory perceptions. Results were analysed using the Mann-Whitney U and Spearman correlation tests. There were 70/127 (55%) patients undergoing first eye cataract surgery and 57/127 (45%) undergoing second eye surgery. There was no significant difference in mean pain, anxiety, and fear scores between those undergoing the second eye operation compared with those undergoing their first eye operation. Similarly, there was no significant difference in sensory perceptions between the two cohorts. Overall, there was a small but significant positive correlation between recall of visual and auditory perceptions and combined pain, fear, and anxiety scores (r=0.33, P=0.0002). There was no significant difference in levels of intraoperative pain, anxiety, fear, and sensory perceptions experienced by patients between the first eye and second eye surgeries. We recommend that preoperative counselling for a patient's second eye be as comprehensive as for the first eye surgery.

Wearing prisms to hear differently: After-effects of prism adaptation on auditory perception

Different rules for changing step sizes (e.g., logarithmic, linear) are alternately used in adaptive threshold-seeking procedures, with no clear justification. We hypothesized that the linear rule may yield more accurate thresholds for poor performers because the step sizes are predetermined and fixed across listeners and thus can be small, in contrast to the logarithmic rule, in which step sizes are changed with respect to the listener's performance. Purpose The aim of this study was to test the effect of logarithmic and linear rules on frequency discrimination (FD) thresholds. Method Three experiments involving human subjects and Monte Carlo computer simulations were designed and conducted. In the 1st experiment, FD thresholds were estimated in 40 young adults with either 3-interval 2-alternative forced choice (3I2AFC; n = 19) or 2-interval 2AFC (n = 21) in a within-subject design. In the 2nd experiment, thresholds were estimated in 16 children (7-8 years old) in a within-subject design, using 3I2AFC. In the 3rd experiment, thresholds were estimated in 30 young adults in a between-subjects design using 3I2AFC. Results No significant differences were shown between the 2 rules, regardless of age group, method, or level of FD performance. Computer simulations supported the empirical findings, predicting similar FD thresholds for both rules in the majority of runs. However, they also yielded more accurate thresholds with the linear rule, but with a larger number of outliers, which increased as the listener's attention level decreased. Conclusion Overall, the use of a particular rule has little influence on FD thresholds. Possible outliers may be minimized by monitoring the participant's attention at the beginning of the run.

The relationship between auditory perception and vocal production has been typically investigated by evaluating the effect of either altered or degraded auditory feedback on speech production in either normal hearing or hearing-impaired individuals. Our goal in the present study was to examine this relationship in individuals with superior auditory abilities. Thirteen professional musicians and thirteen nonmusicians, with no vocal or singing training, participated in this study. For vocal production accuracy, subjects were presented with three tones. They were asked to reproduce the pitch using the vowel /a/. This procedure was repeated three times. The fundamental frequency of each production was measured using an autocorrelation pitch detection algorithm designed for this study. The musicians' superior auditory abilities (compared to the nonmusicians) were established in a frequency discrimination task reported elsewhere. Results indicate that (a) musicians had better vocal production accuracy than nonmusicians (production errors of 1/2 a semitone compared to 1.3 semitones, respectively); (b) frequency discrimination thresholds explain 43% of the variance of the production data, and (c) all subjects with superior frequency discrimination thresholds showed accurate vocal production; the reverse relationship, however, does not hold true. In this study we provide empirical evidence to the importance of auditory feedback on vocal production in listeners with superior auditory skills.

From the perspectives of grounded, situated, and embodied cognition, we have developed a new approach for assessing individual differences. Because this approach is grounded in two dimensions of situatedness-situational experience and the Situated Action Cycle-we refer to it as the Situated Assessment Method (SAM2). Rather than abstracting over situations during assessment of a construct (as in traditional assessment instruments), SAM2 assesses a construct in situations where it occurs, simultaneously measuring factors from the Situated Action Cycle known to influence it. To demonstrate this framework, we developed the SAM2 Habitual Behavior Instrument (SAM2 HBI). Across three studies with a total of 442 participants, the SAM2 HBI produced a robust and replicable pattern of results at both the group and individual levels. Trait-level measures of habitual behavior exhibited large reliable individual differences in the regularity of performing positive versus negative habits. Situational assessments established large effects of situations and large situation by individual interactions. Several sources of evidence demonstrated construct and content validity for SAM2 measures of habitual behavior. At both the group and individual levels, these measures were associated with factors from the Situated Action Cycle known to influence habitual behavior in the literature (consistency, automaticity, immediate reward, long-term reward). Regressions explained approximately 65% of the variance at the group level and a median of approximately 75% at the individual level. SAM2 measures further exhibited well-established interactions with personality measures for self-control and neuroticism. Cognitive-affective processes from the Situated Action Cycle explained nearly all the variance in these interactions. Finally, a composite measure of habitualness established habitual behaviors at both the group and individual levels. Additionally, a composite measure of reward was positively related to the composite measure of habitualness, increasing with self-control and decreasing with neuroticism.

Involuntary musical imagery (INMI, or “earworms”) are short, repetitive sections of music that spontaneously occur. Prior research observed significant positive correlations between self-reported music experience and frequency of earworms, and the use of earworms to enhance semantic memory. Previous hypotheses suggest that singing accuracy uses voluntary imagery to help people imitate pitches, and that singing accuracy is positively related to an individual’s music perception abilities. However, we know of no research that has assessed the associations between INMI and non-self-reported musical abilities (specifically looking at singing accuracy and music perception). Participants (N = 152) completed tasks assessing their singing accuracy (the Seattle Singing Accuracy Protocol; SSAP), music perception (the Profile of Music Skills; Mini-PROMS), and a self-report measure of involuntary musical imagery (the Involuntary Musical Imagery Survey; IMIS). Here we show that earworms are associated with both singing accuracy and music perception. These results suggest that musical ability is associated with the quality of auditory imagery experiences, though not necessarily the frequency with which images spontaneously emerge into one’s consciousness.

Various prescription diets prescribed by veterinarians for specific diseases in dogs have been developed and introduced to the market. Trace element and mineral levels, which are essential for healthy living conditions in animals, can differ in both prescription and non-prescription foods. In our study, it was aimed to determine the levels of some elements and minerals in various prescription and non-prescription dry foods used in dog nutrition and to evaluate their therapeutic importance.In the study, a total of 100 different prescription dry food formulated for hepatic diseases (H, n=25), renal diseases (R, n=25), gastrointestinal diseases (GI, n=25) and, allergic diseases (HA, n=25) were used. Non-prescription dry foods from different flavors and brands in the market were considered as the control group (C, n=50). Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Zinc (Zn), Selenium (Se), Calcium (Ca), and Phosphorus (P) levels of all dry foods were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES, Thermo iCAP 6000 series) and the results were compared between groups. Statistical analysis was evaluated using SPSS 21.Cu levels in GI and HA groups were higher than in the control group (p

Personality Disorders (PDs) are psychiatric conditions involving maladaptive personality traits and behaviours. Previous research has shown that musical preferences and the use of music may be related to personality traits. Additionally, music therapy is increasingly being used as a treatment option for people with PDs. Using the PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature search was undertaken using three databases: PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycInfo. The following search terms were used: PubMed: "personality disorder" AND (music OR "music therapy"); Web of Science (advanced search): TS = (personality disorder) AND TS = (music or "music therapy"); PsycInfo: "personality disorder" AND (music OR "music therapy"). A total of 24 studies were included in this review and summarised into four categories: music preference, music therapy, music performance, and music imagery, all in relation to PDs or traits associated with PDs. The analysis found that individuals with personality traits associated with PDs may prefer different types or genres of music or interact with music differently than those without these traits. Additionally, music therapy (MT) was found to offer a potentially useful treatment option for PDs. The power of these findings was limited by the small number of included studies. This review offers a useful foundation upon which further research looking at MT as a potential treatment option for PDs can be built.

IntroductionPersonality Disorders (PDs) are psychiatric conditions involving maladaptive personality traits and behaviours. Previous research has shown that musical preferences and the use of music may be related to personality traits. Additionally, music therapy (MT) is increasingly being used as a treatment option for people with PDs.ObjectivesThis systematic review aimed to summarise the findings of the existing literature on music, MT, and PDs, and to identify any gaps in the existing literature.MethodsUsing the PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature search was undertaken using three databases: PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycInfo.ResultsA total of 24 studies were included in this review and summarised into four categories: music preference, MT, music performance, and music imagery, all in relation to PDs or traits associated with PDs. The analysis found that individuals with personality traits associated with PDs may prefer different types or genres of music or interact with music differently than those without these traits. Additionally, MT was found to offer a potentially useful treatment option for PDs.ConclusionsThe power of these findings was limited by the small number of included studies. This review offers a useful foundation upon which further research looking at MT as a potential treatment option for PDs can be built. As selected music has been reported to help to reduce violence and hostility, patients may develop playlists with the support of their therapists to manage aggression and violent impulses in foreseeably difficult situations; appropriate music for bedtime relaxation can be recommended to improve sleep length and quality; and people who experience insecurities may be encouraged to try music to aid cognitive problem solving and improve their mood.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Imagining music in the mind's ear is common in everyday life and is characterised by individual differences in who is likely to experience involuntary musical imagery. Research has explored the relationship between musical imagery and mental health (e.g., obsessive compulsive disorder); however, little is known about the relationship between anxiety and musical imagery. The current study investigated the associations between these two variables. 432 participants completed a cross-sectional, online survey, measuring trait anxiety, depression, musical imagery experience, the controllability of unwanted thoughts, and aspects of sleep. Positive associations were found between trait anxiety and the frequency, negative valence and perceived helpfulness of involuntary musical imagery, and the amount of music imagined whilst trying to sleep. Trait anxiety did not correlate with the controllability of auditory imagery. These findings provide a clearer understanding of musical imagery's relationship with anxiety and have implications for using voluntary musical imagery to reduce anxiety.