bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of Stimulus Level and Sleep Stage on the Early Components of the Averaged Electroencephalic Response to Clicks during All-Night Sleep
Authors: Mendel Maurice I.
Published: July 2014

Ongoing EEG activity was recorded from six adults from an electrode on the vertex referred to the right and left mastoids during nine nights of natural sleep. An electrode placed near the lateral canthus of each eye was used to record eye movements. The effect of stimulus level (0 to 25 dB SL in 5-dB steps) on the early components of the averaged electroencephalic response was examined with clicks presented at a rate of five per second from a loudspeaker. Each response was averaged over 512 stimuli. Responses were sorted into the stage of sleep from which they were obtained. “Light” sleep included Stages REM and 2. “Deep” sleep included Stages 3 and 4. Response latency remained stable, while amplitude generally increased as a function of increasing sensation level. Little difference in peak latency and peak-to-peak amplitude was found when comparing light vs deep sleep. Latency measures for two consecutive nights were similar, but amplitude measures from the first night were significantly larger.
The Influence of Stutterer’s Expectancies of Improvement upon Response to Time-Out
Authors: James Jack E. , Ingham Roger J.
Published: July 2014

The influence of the variable of stutterers' expectancies of improvement upon the efficacy of response-contingent time-out from speaking was investigated. Fourteen male stutterers were exposed to four conditions: base rate, time-out plus enhanced expectancies of improvement, base rate, and time-out plus allayed expectancies of improvement. Subjects' expectancies of improvement were manipulated by the administration of a placebo and instructions. Results indicated that time-out produced significant reductions in frequency of stuttering under both expectancy conditions, and that the efficacy of the procedure under one condition was not significantly different from its efficacy under the other. Other data collected allowed an independent check to be made of results obtained by previous investigators on the subjective effects of time-out. Discrepancies between the findings of other researchers ana those of the present study are discussed.
Relationship between the Disfluent Speech Behavior of Normal-Speaking Preschool Boys and Their Parents
Authors: Yairi Ehud , Jennings Susan M.
Published: July 2014

To explore the relationship between the disfluent speech of normal-speaking preschool boys and their parents, samples of spontaneous speech were obtained from 24 preschool boys, their mothers, and their fathers. Preschool boys were found to have a significantly greater number of total disfluendes than their mothers. The difference between boys and their fathers, in terms of total disfluendes, was not significant, and neither was the difference between mothers and fathers. Statistically significant correlations were found between boys and fathers in the disfluency category of disrhythmic phonations, and between mothers and fathers in the category of interjections and in total disfluency.
Linguistic Performance of Hard-of-Hearing and Normal-Hearing Children
Authors: Wilcox Joseph , Tobin Henry
Published: July 2014

A repetition task was employed to investigate syntactic patterns of hard-of-hearing children. The subjects were 11 students enrolled in public-school classes for the hard-of-hearing. A matching control group of normal-hearing children was selected from the same schools. It was found that both groups tended to use grammatical constructions rather than nongrammatical approximations. The hard-of-hearing group, however, achieved significantly lower means in each grammatical form tested, and tended to substitute simpler forms. This lower level of performance seemed to represent a difference of degree rather than kind, as the experimental group displayed linguistic performance similar to the control group but showed a general delay in language development.
Modification and Control of Rate of Speaking by Stutterers
Authors: Ingham Roger J. , Martin Richard R. , Kuhl Patricia
Published: July 2014

Frequency and percentage of words stuttered by three adult stutterers were assessed under conditions designed to modify and control rate of speaking. Target rates of 50% above base rate, 50% below base rate, and base rate were sought in experimental periods by on-line signalling of proximity to the target rate. A criterion of rate control was met by two subjects who reduced their frequency and percentage of words stuttered in the 50%-below-base rate condition. Some reduced stuttering occurred in other conditions.
Nonspeech Noun Usage Training with Severely and Profoundly Retarded Children
Authors: Carrier Joseph K.
Published: July 2014

A nonspeech symbol system, consisting of small pieces of masonite cut into various shapes, was used to investigate the learning of noun usage by nonverbal, severely and profoundly retarded children. Results indicated that most such subjects can learn appropriate skills and do so in a short period of time when this nonspeech response mode is employed.
Effects of a Program Based on the Token Test for Teaching Comprehension Skills to Aphasics
Authors: Holland Audrey L. , Sonderman Judith C.
Published: July 2014

A programmed training task based on the token test was designed and administered to 24 adult aphasics. The point at which the patient failed the token test determined where he began the program and how many training sessions he would receive, provided he did not exceed the error rate before he finished the program. Improvement and errors within the program were analyzed to evaluate this training. Mildly or mild to moderately impaired patients showed significant improvement, while moderately and severely handicapped aphasics did not. This training, however, did not generalize to other “direction-following” tasks for any group of subjects. Within the program, generalization items were the most difficult for all aphasics. Neither in- versus outpatient status nor frequency of training sessions were significantly related to success with this program. This training procedure appeared effective for mildly impaired aphasics. The only overlap between the two groups which emerged in this study involved the youngest subject whose aphasia was the result of a recent traumatic injury.
Social and Vocational Acceptability of Esophageal Speakers Compared to Normal Speakers
Authors: Gilmore Stuart I.
Published: July 2014

This study explored the social and vocational acceptability of esophageal compared to normal speakers. Of specific interest was the estimation of the effect of (1) visual, auditory, and simultaneous audio-visual presentation of the speakers, and (2) simple expository introductions of the speakers. A group of 480 subjects, members of business and professional men’s groups, evaluated the four speakers on one social and three vocational criteria. Statistical analysis indicated the esophageal speakers were perceived as being significantly less acceptable than the normal speakers regardless of whether the judgments were based on visual, auditory, or simultaneous visual and auditory impressions. Information about the esophageal speakers significantly raised their acceptability, with the exception of the criterion of public contact in employment. The criterion measures used in this study might serve as objective indicators of the degree to which communicative disorders handicap adults.
Use of Prosody and Syntactic Markers in Children’s Comprehension of Spoken Sentences
Authors: Lahey Margaret
Published: July 2014

A comparison was made of four- and five-year-old children’s comprehension of coordinate, center-embedded relative clause, and right-branching relative clause sentences under four conditions of presentation: (1) prosody (P) and syntactic markers (M) intact; (2) P intact and M eliminated; (3) M intact and P eliminated; and (4) M and P eliminated. The number of semantic-syntactic relationships in a sentence that were correctly acted out were analyzed by age, sentence type, and conditions of presentation. More relationships were acted out appropriately by five year olds. Differences between sentence type were significant with coordinate sentence type the easiest and right-branching sentence type the most difficult. Conditions of presentation did not significantly affect responses, although there was a significant interaction between condition and sentence type. Scores were significantly lower for center-embedded sentences when M was intact and P eliminated. It was concluded that word order was the major linguistic cue used by the children to process these sentences.
Bone-Vibrator Measurements: Physical Characteristics and Behavioral Thresholds
Authors: Dirks Donald D. , Kamm Candace
Published: July 2014

Both the International Electrotechnical Commission and the American National Standards Institute have issued documents recommending mechanical impedance characteristics for an artificial mastoid. These specifications were intended for use with bone-conduction vibrators that have a circular contact tip area of 1.75 cm
2
and are coupled to the skull with a static force of 5.4 Newtons. Two new vibrators and headband arrangements that conform to these requirements have become available for clinical testing. The investigations herein describe the comparative physical characteristics of these new vibrators on two artificial mastoids and report the results of behavioral studies in which bone-conduction thresholds were obtained and referenced to physical calibration measurements made on the artificial mastoids.
A Comparison of Covert and Overt Assessment Procedures in Stuttering Therapy Outcome Evaluation
Authors: Ingham Roger J.
Published: July 2014

This study aimed to compare covert and overt assessments in outcome evaluation of an adult stuttering therapy program. Three situations (talking with strangers, with familiars, and on the telephone) in which nine subjects attained fluency within the therapy program were used to evaluate speech behavior three months and six months after treatment. In each situation, an overt and covert recording was made of each subject’s speech behavior. Percentage of stuttered syllables spoken and rate of speech of the group showed changes that were associated with the difference in assessment conditions. At three months after treatment, there was a small but significant increase in stuttering and reduction in speech rate during the covert condition. At six months this trend remained although differences in percentage syllables stuttered under both conditions were not significant. The findings suggested that, for some subjects, fluency attained under overtly recorded conditions may be illusory and, by implication, could give a false impression of the efficacy of therapy.
Neuropsychologic Function of Children with Severe Hearing Impairment
Authors: Wilson James J. , Rapin Isabelle , Wilson Barbara C. , Van Denburg Frances Victor
Published: July 2014

A neuropsychologic and medical study was carried out on a selected sample of 34 hearing-impaired children aged seven to 10 years at the onset of the study. In 16 children the cause of the hearing loss was thought to be exogenous. Eight of these had evidence for organic brain dysfunction. Nine children were thought to have genetic etiologies, and in nine no cause could be determined (sporadic hearing loss). Medical examination revealed several unsuspected abnormalities, particularly visual ones. Motor and visual motor deficits were frequent among hearing-impaired children with brain damage. The Performance Scale of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, and Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices, as well as the Paper Folding item of the Hiskey-Nebraska Test of Learning Aptitude appeared sensitive to the presence of brain damage. The mean score for the WISC Performance Scale fell within the average range for hearing children, supporting previous findings of cognitive competence of the deaf. In this sample, Hiskey-Nebraska scores tended to be lower than WISC scores. Reasons for this discrepancy were suggested and did not appear to be accounted for by brain damage. Deficits in items requiring visual memory, sequencing, and categorization were relatively prevalent but showed no etiologic predilection. They were thought to be related to the consequence of hearing loss rather than to brain damage. Difficulty with stereognosis highlighted the problem of deciding why a hearing-impaired child might fail a particular task. This difficulty suggested that failure might not indicate a deficit in the function the task was designed to measure, but rather, reliance on an inefficient strategy for success.
Vertical Laryngeal Position During Continuous and Discrete Vocal Frequency Change
Authors: Shipp Thomas
Published: July 2014

Six young adult male subjects produced sustained phonation throughout their vocal frequency ranges: first, in a glissando or continuous frequency change maneuver, and second, in discrete intervals at separate trials. Measures of intrinsic and extrinsic laryngeal muscle activity and vertical laryngeal position were related to voice fundamental frequency in the two conditions. Each subject consistently positioned his larynx at a resting level when he was instructed to relax or when he was not performing experimental tasks. All larynx positions during experimental tasks were measured as deviations from this resting level. Subjects showed a close correspondence between their vertical laryngeal positions and voice frequencies—more so for the glissando maneuver than for changes in discrete frequency tasks. In general, subjects lowered their larynges from the resting position for low-frequency phonation and raised their larynges for higher fundamental frequencies. Absolute larynx position for the same frequency was quite varied both within and between subjects. Vertical laryngeal position during phonation most often was directly related to the activity of the thyrohyoid and sternothyroid muscles. Neither vertical laryngeal movement nor intrinsic laryngeal activity showed any pattern of relationship to changes between modal and falsetto voice registers.
Rhythm and Syllable Timing in Phrase Level Stress Patterning
Authors: Folkins John W. , Miller Creighton J. , Minifie Fred D.
Published: July 2014

The rhythm of syllables in repetitions of a phrase was measured with a finger-tapping task. These rhythm measurements were shown to vary with phrase level stress patterning. However, this relationship was not invariant. Acoustic measurements of the time between syllables showed stress pattern relationships similar to those observed in the rhythm-tapping task. The temporal differences between stress patterns appear to be (1) evident even when acoustic measurements exclude syllable duration, (2) significant even at a fast speaking rate, and (3) variable between speakers.
Dynamic Palatometry
Authors: Fletcher Samuel G. , McCutcheon Martin J. , Wolf Matthew B.
Published: July 2014

A computer-based instrumental system is described for continuous palatometry. Thin pseudopalatal plates (∼0.2 mm) with embedded electrodes are used to detect linguapalatal contact during speech articulation. Geometric configurations of such contacts are then derived and displayed to reveal articulatory characteristics.
The Influence of Duration on the Effects of Time-Out from Speaking
Authors: James Jack E.
Published: July 2014

The influence of the variable of duration on the effects of time-out from speaking was investigated. Forty-five adolescent and adult stutterers participated in a study which examined the relative effects of time-out of one, five, 10, and 30 seconds and no time-out. Response-contingent time-out from speaking of all four durations resulted in significant reductions in stuttering frequency while the no time-out control showed no change. Although longer durations tended to effect greater reductions in stuttering frequency, no reliable differences between time-out durations were found. It was concluded that the punishing effects of the time-out from speaking procedure were predominantly due to its involving contingent interruption of speaking, and that the actual duration of the period of silence was comparatively unimportant. Present findings seem to provide little support for the notion that time-out from speaking primarily represents time-out from positive reinforcement.
Self- versus Investigator-Administered Presumed Fluency Reinforcing Stimuli
Authors: Cross Douglas E. , Cooper Eugene B.
Published: July 2014

The effects of self-administered and investigator-administered presumed fluency reinforcing monetary rewards for perceived fluency increases on the disfluency frequency rate of 17 adult stutterers were studied. Subjects read aloud during 11 one-minute segments under three conditions: one in which no reinforcer was administered at the end of each one-minute segment, a self-administered reinforcement condition, and an investigator-administered reinforcement condition. Although less stuttering was found in the two experimental conditions (with significantly less stuttering occurring in the self-administered fluency reinforcing condition than in the control condition), an increase in stuttering was observed in those reading segments which followed the administration of presumed fluency reinforcing stimuli. These results were interpreted to suggest that although the concept of self-reinforcement may be clinically useful, the operant learning paradigm may be insufficient in providing an adequate description of the events taking place following the administration of fluency contingent reinforcing or punishing stimuli.
A Cineradiographic Study of Articulation in Two Talkers with Temporarily Induced Oral Sensory Deprivation
Authors: Putnam Anne H. B. , Ringel Robert L.
Published: July 2014

Cineradiography was used to study the behavior of the lips, tongue, and mandible in two subjects talking normally and under the influence of trigeminal nerve-block anesthesia. The speech sample consisted of isolated words and sentences. The nerve block was administered to eliminate somesthetic sensation in all of the oral articulators except the jaw. Frame-by-frame measurements of lip protrusion, tongue position, and jaw placement were taken from the film data for selected stops, glides, fricatives, and vowels in the speech sample. Comparison of these measurements from the normal and nerve-block condition revealed the following changes in the nerve-block data: (1) reduction in context-appropriate lip protrusion and loss of precision in lip closure activity, which was more noticeable for the upper than the lower lip; (2) a reduction in the precision of tongue articulations particularly on contacts for lingua-alveolar and lingua-velar consonants, apical retroflexion on glides, and steady state postures for lingua-palatal fricatives and vowels; and (3) noticeable alterations in inferior/superior jaw position which was systematically closer to the maxilla for bilabial consonant closures and often reduced or extended in excursion for vowels and other consonants. The data are discussed in terms of the relative effects of an oral somesthetic feedback deficit on speech production, and also with respect to compensation within the articulatory system under conditions of sensory deprivation.
Anatomical and Neuromuscular Maturation of the Speech Mechanism: Evidence from Acoustic Studies
Authors: Kent R. D.
Published: July 2014

This paper surveys acoustic studies of speech development and discusses the data with respect to the anatomical and neuromuscular maturation of the speech mechanism. The acoustic data on various aspects of speech production indicate that the accuracy of motor control improves with age until adult-like performance is achieved at about 11 or 12 years, somewhat after the age at which speech sound acquisition usually is judged to be complete. Other topics of discussion are (1) problems in the spectrographic analysis of children’s speech, (2) formant scale factors that relate children’s and adults' data, and (3) identification and diagnosis of developmental disorders through acoustic analyses of speech sounds.
Lead and Lag Effects Associated with the Staggered Spondaic Word Test
Authors: Freeman Barry A. , Beasley Daniel S.
Published: July 2014

This study was designed to determine to what extent onset times of overlapping spondaic words were controlled in the development of the Staggered Spondaic Word Test (SSW) (List EC), a measure which is used to detect central auditory dysfunction. The results showed that the SSW (List EC) was not well controlled relative to onset times. Further, the scores of 10 normal-hearing listeners who were administered the SSW were found not to suffer when the onset times were closely matched. The results were related to the effects that leading and lagging onset times have on the perception of dichotically presented stimuli.
Time-Intensity Trade for Speech: A Temporal Speech-Stenger Effect
Authors: Raffin Michael J.M. , Lilly David J. , Thornton Aaron R.
Published: July 2014

Time-intensity trade for selected spondaically stressed words was investigated using a centering method for interaural time delays of 0.00, 1.00, 2.00, 2.25, 2.50, and 2.75 msec at five levels of presentation: 0-, 25-, 40-, 55-, and 70-dB HL (ANSI, 1969). Lateralization effects increased with level of presentation, with a maximum lateralization effect of between 22 and 30 dB occuring with an interaural time delay of 2.25 msec. Multiple images were perceived by all subjects with an interaural time delay of 2.75 msec and by some subjects with an interaural time delay of 2.50 msec at high levels of presentation. No “ear effect” was observed for any of the listeners. A potential clinical application is discussed for this temporal speech-Stenger effect.
Semantic Relations Used by Normal and Language-Impaired Children at Stage I
Authors: Freedman Patricia P. , Carpenter Robert L.
Published: July 2014

Two-word utterances of four language-impaired children at Brown’s Stage I level of linguistic development were compared with two-word utterances of four young normal children at the same linguistic level to determine any differences between the two groups in the use of a set of 10 basic semantic relations. Type-token ratios for each semantic relation were used to compare use of semantic relations between groups. A significant difference was obtained for only one relation, with the language-impaired group demonstrating greater diversity in the use of the introducer + entity relation than the normal group. The findings indicated that at the Stage I level of linguistic development, the language-impaired children demonstrated a linguistic system no different than the system of normal Stage I children. The findings are discussed relative to possible cognitive and linguistic strategies involved in language acquisition. It is suggested that some language-impaired children rather than being deficient in their ability to understand and code the basic semantic relations demonstrate a deficit in the higher, more complex aspects of the linguistic coding system.
Measurement of Airflow in Speech
Authors: Rothenberg Martin
Published: July 2014

It has been shown previously that a mask-type wire screen pneumotachograph can be constructed with a time resolution of % msec. In this paper it is shown that with careful design a resolution of about % msec can be achieved. The various factors involved in optimizing such a mask are described. A major practical limitation in the design has been the need for a fast-responding differential pressure transducer to measure mask pressure; however, a simple electrical compensating network is described that allows the use of a nondifferential transducer. Also determined are the conditions under which breath moisture condensing on the wire screen affects the performance of the mask. An example is given of how a high-speed pneumotachograph can be used, with a measure of the pressure across a constriction in the vocal tract, to derive the time variation of the flow conductance and resistance at that constriction. The advantages of a high-speed pneumotachograph in laryngeal frequency extraction are also considered.
Listener Judgment of Differences in Stutterers' Nonstuttered Speech during Chorus- and Nonchorus-Reading Conditions
Authors: Ingham Roger J. , Carroll Philippa J.
Published: July 2014

The hypothesis that a stutterer’s usual manner of speaking changes during chorus reading was tested. Nine stutterers orally read a passage under chorus- and non-chorus-reading conditions. Stutter-free speech samples of similar prose content were obtained from oral readings made between and within both conditions. Observers were asked to identify pairs of samples made under different (chorus/nonchorus) or similar (chorus/chorus or nonchorus/nonchorus) oral reading conditions. The results provided only partial support for the hypothesis. Observers were unable to distinguish confidently the speech sample group that was made under similar conditions from the sample group made under different conditions. However, judges were able to identify correctly samples from four of the nine stutterers that were made under different speaking conditions.
Contextual-Coarticulatory Inconsistency of /r/ Misarticulation
Authors: Hoffman Paul R. , Schuckers Gordon H. , Ratusnik David L.
Published: July 2014

Ten children who misarticulated /r/ participated in a task designed to survey inconsistent misarticulatory behavior. Children repeated 51 sentences during each of three trials. All sentences contained a single occurrence of an allophone of /r/ in systematically permuted, lexically constrained (LC) or nonlexically constrained (NLC) CrV contexts or nonlexically constrained (NLC) CɚCV contexts. Results suggested that reliable judgment procedures were employed and that a high degree of internal consistency was present for the sentence repetition task. All children demonstrated inconsistent misarticulation of the target phonemes. Target allophones, in order of least to more often correctly produced, were (NLC) [r], (LC) [r], and (NLC) [ɚ]. Correct production of [r] within NLC contexts occurred more frequently when preceded by /k/ and when followed by the vowels /i/, /ae/, and /u/. The target allophone [r] in LC clusters was produced correctly more often within /k/ and /t/ contexts than in /p/ contexts. Vocalic [ɚ] was produced correctly more often within /tɚC/ and /kɚC/ contexts than when in others in which /k/, /n/, /t/, and /p/ were permuted. Data suggest that certain anticipatory and carry-over coarticulatory variables result in positive influences during inconsistent misarticulatory behavior.
Loudness Perception for Short-Duration Tones in Masking Noise
Authors: Richards Alan M.
Published: July 2014

The effect of masking noise on the temporal summation of loudness is investigated here by performing loudness balances between a standard 500-msec tone burst (1000 Hz at either 20-, 50-, or 80-dB SPL) and either masked or unmasked comparison tone bursts (1000 Hz with durations between 10 and 640 msec). In all but two instances, the obtained functions relating SPL for equal loudness to stimulus duration could be plotted as two line segments that met to form a knee. The slopes of the line segments at durations less than the kneepoints are altered by the masking noise, becoming less steep with increased masking. The rate of the slope decrease is related to the standard sound pressure level (SPL) and is greatest using the 80-dB SPL standard and least with the 20-dB SPL standard. Temporal summation of loudness continues at durations above the kneepoints. However, the obtained slopes are less than those found below the knee, and are independent of the test conditions. The slope changes are found to be related to the noise producing a power transformation on the operating characteristics of the auditory system. These latter findings are discussed in relation to Zwislocki’s quantitative theory of the temporal summation of loudness.
Room Acoustics Effects on Monosyllabic Word Discrimination Ability for Normal and Hearing-Impaired Children
Authors: Finitzo-Hieber Terese , Tillman Tom W.
Published: July 2014

The monosyllabic word discrimination of normal and hearing-impaired children was evaluated in situations selected to simulate acoustical conditions in current educational environments. All listeners were tested in a high-fidelity (loudspeaker-aided) condition under 12 combinations of reverberation and noise. Hearing-impaired subjects were also evaluated in the same 12 conditions while listening through a monaural hearing aid. Performance of the normal-hearing group was superior to the hearing-impaired listeners in all environments. Results suggest that classroom acoustics should be considered a critical variable in the educational achievement of children.
Effect of Contralateral Noise on the Middle Components of the Averaged Electroencephalic Response
Authors: Gutnick Howard N. , Goldstein Robert
Published: July 2014

Middle-component AERs were obtained from normal-hearing adults to 1000-Hz tone pips at 20 and 40 dB SL and at silent control. A continuous noise at 20, 40, and 80 dB SL and at silent control was presented to the contralateral ear. When the tone pips were at 20 or 40 dB SL, five peaks were identified visually in waveforms constructed by digitally adding AERs across subject and replication. Peak latencies determined from the composite waveforms for each signal-masker condition were used as time points to measure point-to-point amplitudes in individual AERs. The masker at 20 or 40 dB SL did not alter or degrade the AER produced by the tone pip. It was concluded that clinical masking may be used in EEA when the middle components of the AER are employed as a response index.
Processing Demands During Auditory Learning Under Degraded Listening Conditions
Authors: Downs David W. , Crum Michael A.
Published: July 2014

This investigation employed measures of learning accuracy (performance) and learning ease (attention or psychological effort) to assess processing demands during auditory learning under degraded listening conditions. Learning accuracy was measured with a highly intelligible paired-associate learning task presented to 49 normal-hearing adults under different signal-to-competition ratios and signal presentation levels. Learning ease was assessed by a simultaneously presented probe reaction-time task. Final results indicated that (1) primary signal presentation level exerted no effect either on learning accuracy or ease, and (2) the introduction of competing speech into the listening environment exerted no effect on learning performance, but resulted in a significant increase in learning effort. These findings have important implications for listening conditions in educational settings, hearing aid selection, education of hearing-impaired and learning-disabled children, and future study of attentional demands during auditory processing.
Acoustic Admittance and the Aging Ear
Authors: Thompson David J. , Sills John A. , Recke Kay S. , Bui Duc M.
Published: July 2014

Tympanograms were acquired from 60 subjects, 20 through 79 years of age, with normal hearing and no history of otic pathology. Acoustic conductance and acoustic susceptance at the tympanic membrane (G

tm

and B

tm

) were derived and acoustic admittance (Y

tm

) was calculated. Statistical analysis of G

tm

, B

tm

and Y

tm

showed no significant variation in values across age decades. Comparison of these data with previous reports suggests that the effect(s) of age on measures of static acoustic admittance, and presumably acoustic impedance, is complex.
Auditory-Visual Perception of Speech with Reduced Optical Clarity
Authors: Erber Norman P.
Published: July 2014

Optical cues for visual and auditory-visual (A-V) perception of speech were varied by placing a sheet of rough-surfaced Plexiglas between talker and lipreader and systematically changing the distance between Plexiglas and talker. This distorts the optical environment in a way that is analogous to masking or filtering in the acoustic domain. In studies with normal-hearing adults and with hearing-impaired children, speech (words, sentences) was presented live under different degrees of optical distortion, and observers attempted to identify the stimuli. Visual-alone (lipreading) scores dropped abruptly to the chance level as Plexiglas distance (blurring) was increased. A-V scores were relatively high for clear conditions but diminished gradually as Plexiglas distance (blurring) was increased. Under extremely poor optical conditions, A-V scores reached a plateau. This represents essentially auditory perception without meaningful optical cues for speech. Results parallel those of previous acoustic studies that compared auditory with A-V perception of speech as a function of S/N ratio or sensation level, demonstrating a reciprocal aspect of optical and acoustic cues for speech perception. Optical distortion seems to have potential as an auditory training technique to shift attention of hearing-impaired observers to non-dominant acoustic cues during A-V perception of speech.
The Effects of Feedback Filtering on Nasalization in Normal and Hypernasal Speakers
Authors: Garber Sharon R. , Moller Karlind T.
Published: July 2014

Two groups of subjects, one with normal speech and one with hypernasal speech, spoke while hearing their voices unfiltered, low-pass filtered with cut-off frequencies of 1000, 500, and 300 Hz and high-pass filtered with cut-off frequencies of 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz. Measurements of nasalization were made with a miniature accelero-meter attached to the side of the subject’s nose. Both groups of subjects decreased nasalization when hearing their voices low-pass filtered with a cut-off frequency of 300 Hz. This decrease was statistically significant. The results were interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that nasalization is under feedback control.
Masking Level Differences: Auditory Evoked Responses with Homophasic and Antiphasic Signal and Noise
Authors: Yonovitz A. , Thompson C. L. , Lozar Joseph
Published: July 2014

Two studies were devised to determine if objective quantification of the masking level difference is possible using the auditory evoked response (AER). In the first study, click stimuli were presented under three conditions: both the stimulus and masker in phase (SoNo); stimulus in phase, masker antiphasic (SoN
π
); and stimulus antiphasic with masker in phase (S
π
No). In the second study 1000 Hz pure-tone stimuli were presented under SoNo and S
π
No phasic conditions. AER’s were obtained at various intensity levels for each condition. The AER demonstrated differences in N
1
-P
2
amplitudes evoked by the homophasic and antiphasic conditions for threshold and suprathreshold levels.
Factors Influencing the Acoustic-Immittance Characteristics of the Acoustic Reflex
Authors: Wilson Richard H.
Published: July 2014

Measurements of the aural acoustic-immittance (admittance and impedance) characteristics of the middle-ear transmission system in humans during the quiescent (static) and reflexive states were made (N = 36) utilizing a signal-averaging technique. Three pure tones (750, 1000, and 2000 Hz) and broadband noise stimuli elicited the acoustic reflex in 2-dB steps at sound-pressure levels from 84–116 dB (tones) and 66–116 dB (noise) during ascending- and descending-intensity level runs. The contralateral middle-ear activity was monitored with a 220-Hz probe by digitizing the conductance and susceptance outputs of an admittance meter. A computer corrected for the ear-canal volume utilizing measurements made at ear-canal pressures of 0 and −350 daPa and then converted the conductance and susceptance values into admittance and impedance units. The results were reported in absolute and relative immittance units, including components, as a function of both stimulus sound-pressure level and intensity level above the acoustic-reflex threshold. The static immittance of the middle ear changed nonlinearly over time to lower admittance or higher impedance values. The influence of this static-immittance shift on the reflex magnitude was discussed. The largest mean reflex magnitude and the slowest rate of growth were observed with broadband noise, although eight of the 36 subjects demonstrated the largest reflex magnitude in response to one or more of the tonal stimuli. Although static-immittance values and acoustic-reflex thresholds were poorly correlated, the reflex magnitudes were proportional to static immittance. The variability of the reflex measures was similar to the variability of the static-immittance values. Finally, bi-directional changes in resistance during the reflexive state were observed and discussed.
Middle Component AERs from Neonates to Low-Level Tonal Stimuli
Authors: Wolf Kenneth E. , Goldstein Robert
Published: July 2014

Ipsilaterat and contralateral middle-component AERs (8–90 ms) were recorded from 20 normal neonates. AERs were elicited with either 500-Hz or 3000-Hz tone-pips presented monotically at 10, 30, and 50 dB HL. AERs also were obtained for silent control conditions. In general, latencies decreased and amplitudes increased with increasing stimulus level. Responses to 500-Hz tone-pips were larger than those for 3000 Hz. The results are similar to those obtained from adults. The neonates' middle-components, however, differ from those of adults in terms of the small contribution of the electroencephalic activity beyond 60 ms, and in the asymmetry between the ipsilateral and contralateral AERs.
Narrative Strategies of Aphasic and Normal-Speaking Subjects
Authors: Gleason Jean Berko , Goodglass Harold , Obler Loraine , Green Eugene , Hyde Mary R. , Weintraub Sandra
Published: July 2014

A Picture Story Test for eliciting narrative speech was administered to five patients in each of the subgroups of Broca's and Wernicke's aphasic subjects and matched controls. While Wernicke's subjects and normal-speaking subjects did not differ significantly in total output, the proportion of significant target lexemes was four times as great for normal-speaking subjects as for Wernicke's aphasic subjects. Broca's aphasic subjects, in spite of their telegraphic output, also had a smaller proportion of target lexemes than normal speakers. The proportion of nouns to verbs was elevated in the speech of Broca's aphasic subjects and depressed in the speech of Wernicke's aphasic subjects. Grammatical complexity was reduced in Wernicke's aphasic subjects, who used simple concatenation much more often than normal-speaking subjects. The Picture Story Test is suggested as a clinically useful technique.
Auditory Frequency Selectivity in Normal and Presbycusic Subjects
Authors: Margolis Robert H. , Goldberg Seth M.
Published: July 2014

Auditory frequency selectivity was inferred from measurements of the detectability of tonal signals as a function of the cutoff frequency of a low-pass computer-generated noise masker. In Experiment I the effect of small changes in signal-to-noise ratio on inferred auditory frequency selectivity was studied. In Experiment II, frequency selectivity was determined for five normal-hearing subjects and four subjects with sensorineural hearing loss due to presbycusis. Critical ratios (signal-to-noise ratio at masked threshold) also were determined in Experiment II. The results of Experiment I indicate that the low-pass masking experiment provides a stable estimate of the width, but not the position, of the critical masking band. Experiment II revealed elevated critical ratios for three of the four presbycusic subjects. Some hearing-impaired subjects appeared to have normal frequency selectivity despite elevated critical ratios. Other presbycusic subjects demonstrated impaired auditory frequency selectivity. The results suggest that critical ratio and critical masking band data are free to vary independently in hearing-impaired subjects.
Developmental Trends in Correct /r/ Articulation as a Function of Allophone Type
Authors: Hoffman Paul R. , Schuckers Gordon H. , Daniloff Raymond G.
Published: July 2014

Eight normally developing preschool children manifesting incomplete mastery of /r/ articulation repeated three times at four week intervals sentences containing the allophones [ r ] embedded in various consonantal contexts. Two judges evaluated /r/ allophone production as correct or incorrect. Children whose /r/ production improved showed greater success with [ r] articulation than with []. Results indicate that normally developing children may be distinguished from more slowly developing children on the basis of differential success with production of various /r/ allophones.
Idiomatic versus Literal Interpretations of Ditropically Ambiguous Sentences
Authors: Van Lancker Diana , Canter Gerald J.
Published: July 2014

"Ditropically" ambiguous sentences (each having both a literal and an idiomatic interpretation) were prepared for listener's discrimination judgments, and for silent readers' rankings on an "idiomaticity" scale. Listeners were unable to discriminate the literal from the idiomatic versions when presented with randomized single sentences excised from paragraph contexts. There was a bias toward interpreting the sentences as idioms, which correlated with rankings of each sentence for its likelihood of idiomatic use. Listeners were easily able to identify the literal and the idiomatic versions of the same ditropic sentences presented in pairs or singularly, when speakers sought purposively to convey the contrasting meanings.
Infants' Detection of Speech in Noise
Authors: Thehub Sandra E. , Bull Dale , Schneider Bruce A.
Published: July 2014

Localization responses to a speech phrase masked by white noise were obtained from infants 6, 12, 18, and 24 months of age and from adults. The masking noise was presented continuously from two loudspeakers located 45° to each side of the infant. During a trial the speech phrase was presented through one of the loudspeakers. A head turn to the signal (correct response) was rewarded by activating an animated toy on top of the speaker. The intensity of the signal was varied over trials (method of constant stimuli) to determine thresholds (defined as the intensity corresponding to 65% correct head tunas) at each of two levels of masking noise, 42 and 60 dBC. Thresholds for the speech signal were comparable across all infant groups for both levels of masking noise. Increasing the masking noise from 42 to 60 dBC resulted in a threshold shift of comparable magnitude for infants and adults. However, adult thresholds were approximately 10–12 dB lower than those of infants at both masking levels.
The Attribution of Personality Traits
Authors: Turnbaugh Karen , Guitar Barry , Hoffman Paul
Published: July 2014

Three videotaped recordings were made of an adult male speaking in an interview situation. Tapes differed as a function of the fluency exhibited by the interviewed speaker (i.e., fluent speech, primary stuttering, secondary stuttering). Three audiotapes were recorded from the videotapes yielding six stimulus tapes. Independent groups of college students saw and/or heard one of the stimulus tapes, each described as an interview with a "male who stutters." The fluent audio- and videotapes were replayed to two additional groups but were described only as an interview with a "male." Groups rated the personality of the speaker after tape presentation. Results revealed no difference in personality trait assignment as a function of experimental variables.

However, in a second experiment two groups of college students rated a hypothetical normal speaker and a hypothetical stutterer as significantly different in personality attributes. Results are discussed with reference to stereotyping behavior.
Spontaneous Imitations of Down's Syndrome Children
Authors: Coggins Truman E. , Morrison Judith A.
Published: July 2014

This study describes the spontaneous imitations produced by four Stage 1 Down's syndrome children. The imitative speech of the children was compared to their spontaneous productions to determine whether words imitated are different from those produced spontaneously. The findings suggest that Down's children are similar to normal-language learners in that they selectively imitate model utterances during this linguistic stage.
The Effects of Aging on the Magnitude of the Acoustic Reflex
Authors: Wilson Richard H.
Published: July 2014

Aural acoustic-immittance (admittance and impedance) measurements during the quiescent and reflexive states were made using a computer sampling technique on 18 subjects with normal hearing in each of two age groups (< 30 years and > 50 years). Seven pure-tones (250–6000 Hz) and broadband-noise stimuli served to elicit the acoustic reflex at sound-pressure levels from 84–116 dB (tones) and 66–116 dB (noise) in 2-dB steps during ascending and descending runs. The contralateral middle-ear activity, was monitored with a 220-Hz probe by digitizing the conductance and susceptance outputs of an acoustic-admittance meter. The computer corrected for the immittance characteristics of the ear-canal volume by utilizing measurements made at an ear-canal pressure of -350 daPa and then by converting the conductance and susceptance values into admittance and impedance units. The results are reported as the immittance change between the quiescent and reflexive states as a function of both the activator sound-pressure level and the activator-pressure level above the reflex threshold. There were no significant differences between the static-immittance values for the two groups, Although acoustic-reflex thresholds for the two groups were the same in the low- to mid-frequency region (250–2000 Hz), the reflex thresholds for the > 50-years group were elevated significantly ( 8 dB) for 4000 Hz, 6000 Hz, and noise activators. In all conditions, the magnitude of the acoustic reflex was substantially smaller for the > 50-years group as compared with the < 30-years group. The variability of the reflex magnitude was large for both groups of subjects. Saturation of the individual growth functions, which was frequency dependent, occurred twice as often with the > 50-years group as with the < 30-years group. The relationship between the magnitude changes in conductance and susceptance from the quiescent to the reflexive state was the same for the two groups. Finally, the magnitude differences among the reflex-growth data were not related to differences in static immittance.
Nonlinguistic Symbolic and Conceptual Abilities of Language-Impaired and Normally Developing Children
Authors: Kamhi Alan G.
Published: July 2014

This study was motivated in part by the claim that language-impaired children with normal nonverbal intelligence suffer from representational and symbolization deficits (Morehead & Ingram, 1973). The study also examined the developing concepts of class, number, and order in these children to evaluate the claim that their thinking and reasoning in the nonlinguistic domain were within normal limits. Subjects were language-impaired children and two groups of normally developing children, one matched for MA and the other for MLU to the language-impaired group. Each group consisted of ten children. Each child was administered six nonstandardized cognitive tasks from the Piagetian literature. These tasks were designed to assess developing nonlinguistic symbolic abilities and conceptual knowledge of class, number, and order relations. The language-impaired children consistently performed better than MLU-matched controls but more poorly than MA-matched peers. However, only one task—Haptic Recognition—uncovered a significant difference between the language-impaired and MA-matched groups. The difficulty that language-impaired children experienced on this task was taken as evidence that they had deficient nonlinguistic symbolic abilities. Some tentative conclusions are offered concerning the role representational abilities play in language development.