bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pursuit Auditory Tracking of Dichotically Presented Tonal Amplitudes
Authors: Sussman Harvey M. , MacNeilage Peter F. , Lumbley Jack L.
Published: July 2014

In pursuit auditory tracking tasks subjects match a continuously varying pure tone presented to one ear with a second tone presented to the other ear and controlled by unidimensional movements of part of their motor system. In previous studies in which tonal frequency was varied, performance was significantly better when the tone controlled by a speech articulator (tongue, jaw) was presented to the right ear, rather than the left, but not if the tone was hand controlled. In this study tonal amplitude was varied in mandibular and manual tracking by 30 normal right-handed subjects. Small right-ear advantage was found for both tracking modes although it did not reach statistical significance. Frequency modulated stimuli may more effectively differentiate speech from nonspeech tracking because we may, as a result of speech experience, possess a more developed lateralized auditory-sensorimotor algorithm for frequency-motor relationships involving the mandible than for amplitude-motor relationships. Testable consequences of this hypothesis are outlined.
Reduction of Stuttering Frequency Using Analog Electromyographic Feedback
Authors: Guitar Barry
Published: July 2014

Three stutterers were taught to reduce resting muscle activity by using analog electromyographic feedback from four sites over different muscle groups. They were then trained to reduce muscle activity prior to uttering selected sentences. A functional analysis was performed to determine the relationship between the decrease in stuttering frequency on initial phonemes and the reduction of electrical activity at each muscle site. Subjects demonstrated different responses to training. One subject’s greatest decrease in stuttering frequency was associated with muscle activity training at a lip site. A second subject’s greatest decrease in stuttering was associated with training at a laryngeal site. A third subject’s greatest decreases in stuttering were with both lip and laryngeal site training. Following these demonstrations that stuttering could be controlled with electromyographic feedback, a practical management program was designed for a fourth stutterer. Feedback training to reduce electromyographic activity when paired with speech resulted in elimination of stuttering in two monitored situations, conversations and telephone calls. Probes indicated the stuttering continued to be markedly reduced in all situations nine months after treatment.
Voice Onset Time, Frication, and Aspiration in Word-Initial Consonant Clusters
Authors: Klatt Dennis H.
Published: July 2014

The voice onset time (VOT) and the duration of the burst of frication noise at the release of a plosive consonant were measured from spectrograms of word-initial consonant clusters. Mean data from three speakers reading English words in a sentence frame indicated that the VOT changed as a function of the place of articulation of the plosive and as a function of the identity of the following vowel or sonorant consonant. Burst durations varied in a similar way such that the remaining interval of aspiration in /p, t, k/ was nearly the same duration in comparable phonetic environments. The VOT was longer before sonorants and high vowels than before mid- and low vowels. Aspiration was also seen in an /s/-sonorant cluster. To explain these regularities, production strategies and perceptual cues to a voicing decision for English plosives are considered. Variations in VOT are explained in terms of articulatory mechanisms, perceptual constraints, and phonological rules. Some VOT data obtained from a connected discourse were also analyzed and organized into a set of rules for predicting voice onset time in any sentence context.
Erratum: Lingual-Palatal Pressure Measurement and Analysis Techniques
Authors: Leeper Herbert A. , Appl Franklin J.
Published: July 2014

In the September 1975 issue, the article by Herbert A. Leeper, Jr., and Franklin J. Appl, “Lingual-Palatal Pressure Measurement and Analysis Techniques,” contains the following error.

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Instructed Rehearsal Strategies' Influence on Deaf Memory Processing
Authors: Belmont John M. , Karchmer Michael A. , Pilkonis Paul A.
Published: July 2014

Congenitally deaf subjects were compared with normal-hearing subjects on short-term retention accuracy and correct response latency. The subjects paced themselves through serial lists of consonant letters six- or seven-items long. Presentation of each list was followed by a position-probe test requiring the subject to specify where in the list a particular letter had appeared. The subjects were first observed while generating their own input strategies (free strategy). In subsequent sessions they adopted instructed rehearsal strategies involving primary and secondary memory components. Overall, the normal-hearing subjects were more accurate and responded faster than the deaf subjects. Instructing rehearsal strategies resulted in immediate gains on these measures for both groups. For both measures the deaf subjects became at least as proficient as the normal-hearing subjects had been under free strategy. The patterns of correct response latencies for the groups revealed strikingly different comparisons for primary and secondary memory. Following strategy instruction, latencies for the terminal list items never differed for the two groups, indicating that primary memory in the deaf is fully intact. However, the deaf responded slower on the first items of the list, indicating secondary memory deficiencies.
Influence of Encoding and Acoustic Similarity on the Ear Advantage and Lag Effect in Dichotic Listening
Authors: Beiter Robert C. , Sharf Donald J.
Published: July 2014

Experiments with simultaneous and time lag dichotic listening conditions were used to test two hypotheses concerning the right ear advantage and lag effect in dichotic listening. One hypothesis is based on the similarity of acoustic spectra, and the other is based on a categorization of speech sounds as being either encoded or not encoded. Natural vowels and consonant-vowel syllables were used to obtain seven different types of speech stimuli: stop vowel syllables, fricative vowel syllables, stop burst noise, fricative noise, stop vowel transitions, fricative vowel transitions, and steady state vowels. The presentation conditions were monaural, simultaneous dichotic, and dichotic with interaural time delays of 15, 30, 60, and 90 msec. With monaural presentation, all stimuli were identifiable above chance levels. For the simultaneous dichotic condition, significant right ear advantages occurred for stop vowel syllables, fricative vowel syllables, stop burst noise, and steady state vowels. For the time lag conditions, stop vowel syllables, stop bursts, and fricative noise produced consistent lag effects, but steady state vowels produced consistent lead effects. In general, the results gave stronger support to the hypothesis of acoustic similarity than to the encoding hypothesis in that stop burst noise produced both a right ear advantage and a lag effect whereas consonant-vowel transitions produced neither a right ear advantage nor a lag effect.
The Influence of Selected Masking Noises on Lombard and Sidetone Amplification Effects
Authors: Garber Sharon F. , Siegel Gerald M. , Pick Herbert L. , Alcorn Stephen R.
Published: July 2014

The present experiments were designed to test the notion that the Lombard and sidetone amplification effects are related to the masking ability of a presented background noise. In Experiment 1, eight normal-hearing college students spoke in quiet and while listening to five frequency bands of noise which were equated for intensity but differed in ability to interfere with speech intelligibility. Vocal intensity increased as the frequency band, and thus the masking ability of the noise increased. In Experiment 2, eight additional students spoke in quiet and while listening to four of the frequency bands of noise used in Experiment 1. The noises were equated for loudness rather than intensity. Again, vocal intensity increased as the masking ability of the noise increased. In Experiment 3, 20 additional students spoke while listening to 0 and 20 dB of sidetone amplification mixed with three of the noise bands from Experiment 1. The noises were equated for intensity and mixed with sidetone. The sidetone amplification effect increased as the masking ability of the noise increased. The results of these experiments indicate that interference with speech intelligibility is directly related to elicitation of the Lombard and sidetone amplification effects. The loudness or intensity of a noise has little control over vocal intensity independent of the contribution to masking of speech.
Performance of Adult Aphasics on a Sentence Evaluation and Revision Task
Authors: Bliss Lynn S. , Guilford Arthur M. , Tikofsky Ronald S.
Published: July 2014

Adult aphasics completed a sentence evaluation and revision task to test some aspects of their linguistic competence. Grammatical and ungrammatical sentences served as the stimuli. Ungrammatical sentences were characterized by violations of syntactic or semantic structure, or both. Aphasics evaluated correctly the grammatically of most stimulus sentences. Incorrect evaluations were associated with sentences characterized by violations of syntactic structure. Aphasics' revisions of sentences that they judged to be ungrammatical were in the direction of appropriate grammatical structures. Omission of morphological endings was the most frequent sentence revision error. Aphasics' errors on both tasks could be accounted for by performance deficits such as inattentiveness to syntactic detail, auditory perceptual impairments, and inefficient lexical retrieval. These findings lend support to the argument that aphasia is best characterized as a performance rather than competence disruption.
A Comparison of Three Methods for Predicting Hearing Loss from Acoustic Reflex Thresholds
Authors: Margolis Robert H. , Fox Cydney M.
Published: July 2014

Previously reported acoustic reflex threshold data from normal and hearing-impaired subjects indicate that the effect of stimulus bandwidth on reflex thresholds is altered by sensorineural hearing loss. It is this change in the “bandwidth effect” that forms the basis for predicting hearing loss from reflex threshold data. Three predictive procedures were compared for 17 normal and 60 hearing-impaired ears. All methods correctly identified most hearing losses but none of the methods accurately estimated magnitude of hearing loss. Two methods were characterized by a high rate of false positives. The third was tailored to minimize false positives (6%) and maintain a high rate (93%) of predicting hearing losses greater than 32 dB while making no attempt to make finer discriminations. This more conservative approach minimizes serious predictive errors while identifying a high proportion of clinically significant hearing losses.
Visual-Neural Correlate of Speechreading Ability in Normal-Hearing Adults
Authors: Shepherd David C. , DeLavergne Robin W. , Frueh Frank X. , Clobridge Carol
Published: July 2014

Significant product-moment correlations ranging from −0.90 to −0.91 were computed between a selected peak-latency in average visual electroencephalic responses and speechreading scores. Subjects were 20 adults with normal hearing and assumed normal vision who had had no formal training in the speechreading process. The negative peak selected as this study’s measure of visual-neural firing time occurs at an average of 130 msec from stimulus-onset in average visual electroencephalic responses evoked from either the right or left side of the head of normal adults. Speechreading measures included word and sentence scores obtained using a videotape of a female speaker presenting the 31 sentences that appear in the Utley Sentence Test of Lipreading Ability, Form B.
An Experimental Analysis of Misarticulating Children’s Generalization
Authors: Elbert Mary , McReynolds Leija V.
Published: July 2014

Five children who produced /θ/ for /s/ substitutions as a Disarticulation were trained to produce /s/ correctly in three syllables. Untrained exemplars of syllables and words were tested throughout baseline and training. The 60 probe items contained both spontaneous and imitated words and syllables combined with high, low, front, back vowels, and consonants. A functional analysis reversal design was used, and the generalization patterns were analyzed. The effect of context was found to be less influential than expected while other factors such as stimulability, amount of training, and subject characteristics appeared as important variables in generalization.
An Ultrasonic-EMG Transducer for Biodynamic Research
Authors: Watkin Kenneth L. , Minifie Fred D. , Kennedy Jesse G.
Published: July 2014

This note describes a newly developed single-element muscle action potential/ motion transducer. The transducer was specially designed for speech research. Techniques for use of the transducer are described. Sample data are presented illustrating the capability of the transducer, and applications of the device are discussed.
Productive Voice Onset Time Characteristics of Esophageal Speech
Authors: Christensen John M. , Weinberg Bernd , Alfonso Peter J.
Published: July 2014

The voice onset times (VOT) of a large number of stop-consonant initiated syllables produced by esophageal and normal speakers were measured. Esophageal speakers systematically varied VOT during the production of speech-sound categories with the same manner of production. Average voice onset times associated with the production of prevocalic voiceless stops of esophageal speakers were significantly shorter than those of normal speakers, while talker-group comparisons associated with the production of voiced prevocalic stops were nonsignificant. Voice onset times of both esophageal and normal speakers were differentially sensitive to place of articulation. Findings are discussed in terms of furthering current understanding of how effectively esophageal speakers achieve important phonological contrasts.
Variation in Perioral Reflex Amplitude Prior to Lip Muscle Contraction for Speech
Authors: McClean Michael
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to examine variations in the amplitude of the perioral reflex that may occur during the reaction time interval before voluntary muscle contraction for speech. Four normal adults produced the syllable /wi/ as quickly as possible in response to a low level electric shock while electromyographic recordings of the orbicularis oris inferior muscle (OOI) were made. During the reaction time interval a precise mechanical stretch was applied at the corner of the mouth to elicit the first component of the perioral reflex. Analysis of the resulting data revealed a significant increase in perioral reflex amplitude occurring between 30 and 50 msec before the onset of voluntary OOI contraction. It is concluded that the observed increases in reflex amplitude were the result of increased excitability of brainstem interneurons and/or motoneurons mediating the perioral reflex. The central mechanisms underlying such excitability increases and their significance for understanding speech motor control are discussed.
Measurement of attack-Release Times in Compression Hearing Aids
Authors: Punch Jerry L. , Lawrence William F. , Causey G. Donald
Published: July 2014

A system for measurement of attack-release times in hearing aids with automatic-gain-control circuitry is described, with a view toward implementing that portion of the ANSI S3.22-1976 Standard in which parameters for these measurements are specified. Signal generation is accomplished by using a phased-array loudspeaker arrangement designed to produce transient-free pulsed acoustic sinusoids. Output waveforms are captured by a commercial transient recorder, and are displayed in either an oscilloscopic or graphic mode. A specific means of calculating attack and release times is recommended whereby variously shaped output waveforms are amenable to the basic protocol outlined in the ANSI Standard.
Effects of Signal Rise Time and Frequency on the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response
Authors: Cobb John , Skinner Paul , Burns John
Published: July 2014

Two experiments studied the effects of signal rise time and frequency on the brainstem auditory evoked response. In Experiment 1, five different rise times were presented, fast (10 µsec), 0.5, 1, 2.5, and 5 msec at a center frequency of 1000 Hz at three sensation levels, 20, 40, and 60 dB. As rise time was increased, response amplitude and detectability decreased and response latency increased. In Experiment 2, tonal pips were presented at 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, and 8000 Hz at 40-dB sensation level. Although the effects of frequency and signal rise time were confounded, no frequency effect was apparent.
The Effects on Stuttering of Self-Recording the Frequency of Stuttering or the Word “The”
Authors: Ingham Roger J. , Adams Susan , Reynolds Glenda
Published: July 2014

The effect of self-recording the frequency of stuttering or the word “the” during spontaneous speech by three adult stutterers was assessed within a single-subject experimental design. The effect of these procedures on stuttering frequency, use of the word “the,” and speech rate differed for each subject. Subject 1 showed no systematic change in stuttering and an initial increase in “the” responses. Subject 2 reduced stuttering to almost zero during self-recording conditions. Subject 3 increased stuttering during self-recording stuttering and self-recording “the” conditions. These results, which indicated that self-recording procedures have a variety of effects on the stuttering behavior of different individuals, are not consistent with previous studies that have shown only reductions in stuttering during self-recording conditions.
Effect of Sensorineural Hearing Loss on Loudness Discomfort Level and Most Comfortable Loudness Judgments
Authors: Kamm Candace , Dirks Donald D. , Mickey Max R.
Published: July 2014

A simple up-down adaptive procedure was used to estimate the 50% point on the psychometric function for loudness discomfort level (LDL) and the two functions describing the range of most comfortable loudness (MCL) for listeners with sensorineural hearing impairment. For pure tone and speech stimuli, median LDL and MCL levels were observed at relatively constant SPLs for subjects with hearing loss ≤ 50 dB HL and at progressively higher SPLs with further increase in hearing loss. Correlation analysis verified a statistically significant relationship between LDL and magnitude of hearing loss. The nonlinear relationship between LDL and hearing loss together with the large intersubject variability in the data suggest that prediction of LDL from hearing threshold would often be highly inaccurate. These results also demonstrate that averaging LDL data across a group of subjects with a wide range of hearing loss may lead to inaccurate conclusions regarding the effects of sensorineural hearing loss on LDL.
The Influence of Context on the Auditory Comprehension of Paragraphs by Aphasic Subjects
Authors: Waller Marcie R. , Darley Frederic L.
Published: July 2014

Subjects were exposed to two sets of paragraphs that probed their auditory comprehension abilities under various prestimulation conditions. In Experiment 1, aphasic and control subjects listened to four paragraphs. Each paragraph was preceded by a control condition (no antecedent) or one of the following contextual antecedents: picture, verbal, or picture and verbal combined. Prestimulation with a picture alone was detrimental, but prestimulation with a picture used in combination with a verbal context appeared to be of value. In Experiment 2, subjects heard four paragraphs that were less cohesive than those in Experiment 1. Only verbal and control conditions were contrasted. The provision of prior verbal contexts facilitated the auditory comprehension of the paragraphs.
Tympanometry in Normal Neonates
Authors: Himelfarb Mordechai Z. , Popelka Gerald R. , Shanon Eliahu
Published: July 2014

Acoustic conductance and susceptance tympanograms were obtained at 220 and 660 Hz in 34 neonates. The neonates were categorized into three age groups (8-24 hours, 24-60 hours, and 60-96 hours). Single-peaked, double-peaked, and monotoni-cally increasing tympanograms were found. Static values for conductance, susceptance, admittance, resistance, reactance and impedance at the lateral surface of the tympanic membrane were computed from the tympanograms. There were no significant differences in mean static values among the three groups. At 220 Hz, the individual static reactance values were usually smaller than the static resistance values and often assumed a positive sign. At 660 Hz, the individual static reactance values always assumed a negative sign and were approximately equal to the static resistance values. The single- and double-peaked tympanograms apparently were the result of previously identified interactions between static resistance and reactance values. The data were compared to those of infants and adults.

Tympanograms at 220 Hz were obtained for 13 of the original subjects at the age of three to four months. The data collected in this group were consistent with those reported in the literature for the same age group.
Speech Clinicians' Attribution of Personality Traits as a Function of Stuttering Severity
Authors: Turnbaugh Karen R. , Guitar Barry E. , Hoffman Paul R.
Published: July 2014

Thirty-six speech-language pathologists participated in a study to evaluate clinicians' preconceptions of persons who stutter. Each rated a designated construct (the normally fluent individual, the mild stutterer, the moderate stutterer, the severe stutterer) using a personality trait scale. Results indicated that clinicians stereotypically assign negative personality traits to all levels of stuttering severity relative to normal. Their ratings further demonstrated that stutterers are generally considered to be a homogeneous group. Differentiation amongst stutterers was made only between the polar ends of the stuttering severity continuum (that is, mild vs. severe). Clinicians' stereotypical trait assignment was not related to their professional experience. Results are discussed with reference to their clinical implications.
Effects of Ethyl Alcohol on the Contralateral and Ipsilateral Acoustic Reflex Threshold
Authors: Cohill Edward N. , Greenberg Herbert J.
Published: July 2014

Contralateral and ipsilateral acoustic reflex thresholds were measured in response to 500-, 1000-, and 2000-Hz pure tones after the ingestion of a 50% alcohol solution. Acoustic reflex threshold measurements were obtained preingestion and at blood-alcohol concentrations of 0.03 to 0.10% in 0.01% increments. A linear relationship existed between acoustic reflex threshold and blood-alcohol concentration, with the greatest shift at 0.10% being 11 dB for contralateral stimulation and 7 dB for ipsilateral. No frequency effects were found. Results can be explained by the anatomical differences in the contralateral and ipsilateral pathways.
The Effects of Triamcinolone Acetonide on the Voice
Authors: Watkin Kenneth L. , Ewanowski Stanley J.
Published: July 2014

With the exception of the pioneering work by Damsté in the mid 1960’s and early '70’s, no long term quantitative research on voice changes subsequent to drug therapy has been reported. This study reports the effects of a specific cortico-steroid, triamcinolone acetonide, on selected aerodynamic and acoustic parameters reflecting the vocal performance of twenty-one chronic asthmatic steroid dependent individuals. Measurements of the subjects' vocal fundamental frequency, maximum phonation time, oral air volume velocity, and peak intra-oral air pressure during production of selected speech stimuli were made before the introduction of triamcinolone and following the first and second years of drug use. After two years of triamcinolone therapy, significant changes were noted in parameters reflecting laryngeal functioning. Respiratory performance remained unchanged for most subjects. The results are discussed in terms of the possible physiological changes that might have occurred and their implications for the speech-language pathologist and speech scientist in medical management.
Voicing Duration and Vocal SPL Changes Associated with Stuttering Reduction During Singing
Authors: Colcord Roger D. , Adams Martin R.
Published: July 2014

This study was conducted to determine if stuttering reduction during singing is associated with increased voicing duration and increased vocal SPL. Eight moderate to severe stutterers comprised the experimental group. Eight normal speakers, matched pairwise with the stutterers for sex and age, served as controls. Pre-experimental testing indicated that all subjects knew from memory the melody of the well-known song “Home on the Range.” Subsequently, subjects were asked to read aloud and sing altered lyrics of this song to the conventional melody. Results showed that from reading to singing, disfluency frequency decreased significantly among the stutterers. Both groups of subjects significantly increased voicing durations across the two conditions, but only the normal speakers increased vocal SPL during song. These results indicated that the reduction in stutterers' disfluency (stutterings included) during singing was attended by an altered pattern of vocalization that included an increase in voicing duration, but no significant change in vocal SPL. These findings are discussed with reference to vocal tract dynamics, especially those that might promote higher levels of fluency among stutterers.
Static Acoustic-Immittance Measurements
Authors: Wiley Terry L. , Block Michael G.
Published: July 2014

The basic principles of deriving static acoustic-immittance measurements in human ears are presented. Problems caused by differences in instrumentation, computations, and measurement technique are discussed in terms of the utility and comparisons of static acoustic-immittance measurements. Data are provided regarding the short- and long-term variabilities inherent to static measurements. Although our subject pool was relatively small, certain patterns were apparent in the short- and long-term variability inherent to static acoustic-impedance measurements. The intra-event variability about the mean static acoustic impedance was small and varied inversely with probe-tone frequency. Standard deviations were less than 50 acoustic ohms for a 220-Hz probe tone and less than 25 acoustic ohms for a 660-Hz probe tone. Session-to-session variability in static measurements varied little within subjects but varied greatly across subjects. There was little correlation between the mean and standard deviation for within-subject measurements. Standard deviations across subjects approximate a relatively constant proportion (30–40%) of the mean static value. The need for large population studies of static acoustic-immittance measurements is noted.
Stuttering
Authors: Zimmermann Gerald
Published: July 2014

Based on the data and discussion in the two preceding papers a preliminary model for disfluency is proposed. Stuttering is identified as movement patterns associated with perceptually judged disfluencies. It is suggested that the speech structures operate within certain ranges of variability in terms of their movement parameters and interar- ticulator temporal and spatial relations. This variability may be influenced by emotional, perceptual and/or physiological events. When the "normal" ranges are exceeded, the afferent nerve impulses generated alter the gains of associated brainstem reflexes. Alter- ing of the reflex gains throws the articulatory system out of balance and a breakdown in behavior occurs, often manifested as oscillations or static positioning. The influence of physiological and environmental variables on neuromotor processes leading to these pat- terns is emphasized. The model suggested has been developed from inferences from movement patterns of the upper articulators. Thus, the patterns discussed involve these structures. It is suggested, however, that an understanding of the many behaviors as- sociated with stuttering will be understood only by analyzing the behavioral and neurophysiologicaI interactions among the respiratory, laryngeal, and supraglottal struc- ures.
Alpha Hemispheric Asymmetry and Stuttering
Authors: Moore W. H. , Haynes William O.
Published: July 2014

The alpha hemispheric asymmetries of normal-speaking males, normal-speaking females and male stutterers were examined with electroencephalographic (EEG) techniques during exposure to connected speech and connected nonlinguistic stimuli. The subject selection was controlled for familial right handedness. The stutterers showed significantly less alpha in their right hemispheres for both verbal and nonverbal tasks. The findings are discussed in terms of possible variables affecting hemispheric processing in normal males, females, and stutterers. The hypothesis that stuttering may be a linguistic segmentation dysfunction is presented.
Autoregressive Analysis
Authors: Crowell David H. , Kapuniai Linda E. , Jones Richard H. , Pang-Ching Glenn
Published: July 2014

This report presents an autoregressive technique for detecting statistically significant changes in brain activity to tones. The change detection model is applied to stationary time series electroencephalogram samples from sleeping newborn infants. The electroencephalic responses of neonates to tones are quantified and analyzed in terms of t-statistics. Confidence limits applied to averaged t-statistics objectively and reliably defined statistically significant late components in newborns.
Principal and Differential Effects of Haloperidol and Placebo Treatments upon Speech Disfluencies in Stutterers
Authors: Prins David , Mandelkorn Theodore , Cerf F. Ann
Published: July 2014

abstract

Fourteen stutterers completed a double-blind crossover study of the effects of Haloperidol and Placebo treatments upon their speech disfluencies. Although clearly not clinically effective, Haloperidol had a statistically significant effect upon reducing disfluency frequency and increasing speaking rate. For most subjects, drug-related reductions in disfluency severity resulted from a decrement in whole-word and phrase repetition, interjection, and revision-type disfluencies rather than from fewer part-word (elemental) repetitions and prolongations of sound or of silence. Neurotic personality profile correlated positively with an overall placebo effect, and there was a positive correlation between abnormal EEG and the drug effect. These findings are discussed in light of the nature of speech disfluency and stuttering and Haloperidol's biochemical and behavioral actions.
Use of Digitized Speech Materials in Audiological Research
Authors: Kamm Candace , Carterette Edward C. , Morgan Donald E. , Dirks Donald D.
Published: July 2014

Computer methods, based on the theory and application of signal processing, combined with numerical methods for simulating mathematical processes, facilitate greater objectivity in most aspects of speech intelligibility testing, including specification of the stimuli, control of the tests, evaluation of the responses, corrective feedback, and automatic interpretation. This paper discusses several basic issues in digital signal processing, and also describes the application of computer-aided procedures for recording and delivery of speech materials for audiologic research. Examples of the use of computer procedures for manipulation of digitized stimuli demonstrate the increased efficiency and versatility of these procedures compared to more conventional tape recording methods. In addition, the use of digitized recordings allows more reliable specification of speech levels than conventional calibration methods involving observations of signal peaks on a VU-meter.
Acquisition of a Verb-Subject-Object Miniature Linguistic System by Adults
Authors: Till James A. , Goldstein Howard
Published: July 2014

Two experiments are reported. In the first, ten college-aged adults were exposed to a miniature linguistic system (MLS) and the referents it encoded. The referents included three shapes which functioned as subjects in the MLS, three shapes which functioned as objects, and three actions which functioned as verbs. Nine nonsense syllables were assigned to the referents. The MLS allowed only sentences of the form, verb-subject-object, to describe a subject-shape acting in a specific manner on an object-shape. Videotaped presentations of the shape and action referents and simultaneous auditory presentation of the appropriate MLS sentence were used during teaching trials. Testing trials containing no auditory presentations were alternated with the teaching trials. During testing trials, subjects were required to write MLS sentences to describe the shape-action referents presented. The data gathered during testing trials allowed the acquisition of each lexical item, each word-class, and the word-class ordering rule to be examined. The results of Experiment I showed that the actions were learned more quickly than either the subject-shapes or the object-shapes. Experiment II investigated possible reasons for the verb-learning advantage noted in Experiment I. Twelve college-aged adults learned shape names and action names as single word responses. The results of Experiment II suggest that the verb-learning advantage noted in Experiment I was due, at least in part, to a lexical learning effect rather than a syntactical learning effect, nonsense syllable mediation, or word position. Error analyses of Experiment I data support this conclusion. Implications of the findings and the experimental technique for language remediation are discussed.
The Effects of Noise and Palatal Appliances on the Speech of Five-Year-Old Children
Authors: Garber Sharon R. , Speidel T. Michael , Siegel Gerald M.
Published: July 2014

Forty children of age five were divided into two groups according to articulation skill. Each child named pictures while wearing a palatal dental appliance in quiet and in the presence of an intense noise. Articulation errors and vocal intensity were measured in all conditions. Errors increased when appliances were placed and when noise was presented, but there was no interaction between the effects of appliances and noise on articulation. Intensity increased when noise was presented and decreased when appliances were placed. There was no interaction between the effects of appliances and noise on intensity. Children in the High and Low Articulation Skills groups did not differ in response to appliances or noise. The articulation results are very similar to results described earlier in an adult group. The children's vocal intensity changes were almost twice as large as those reported for the adult group. There may be a complex interaction between speech measure, type of feedback manipulation, and stage of development.
Junctural Contrasts in Esophageal and Normal Speech
Authors: Scarpino Jane , Weinberg Bernd
Published: July 2014

This study assessed the realization of junctural contrasts by normal and esophageal speakers. Ten normal subjects and ten laryngectomized subjects using esophageal speech provided high quality tape recordings of three productions of five ambiguous two-word phrases. These recordings were presented to forty, listeners for evaluation using a Two Interval Forced Choice procedure. Both normal and esophageal speakers realized junctural contrasts in ambiguous phrases in a highly effective manner. Significant differences in listeners' overall perception of juncture locus were found for talker group and individual speaker main effects. The findings of this project were interpreted to highlight the contribution that study of clinical samples may make to questions in linguistic theory, speech production, and speech perception. Finally, the direct clinical relevance of the procedures and results are discussed.
Production and Perception of Coarticulation among Stressed and Unstressed Vowels
Authors: Fowler Carol A.
Published: July 2014

A pair of experiments examines first the coarticulatory relations among certain stressed and unstressed vowels, and next the perception of coarticulated unstressed vowels. The first study finds the acoustic properties of unstressed medial // and, to a substantially lesser extent, of stressed medial //, to be assimilated to the properties of their flanking vocalic contexts. Both initial and final flanking vowels coarticulate with medial//, but carryover coarticulatory effects tend to exceed anticipatory effects. In a second experiment, listeners' manners of perceiving the coarticulated unstressed vowels of the first experiment are shown to be coupled to, or to be compatible with, the talkers' coarticulated, strategies. In particular, perceivers hear acoustically identical vowels to be different when the vowels appear in different contexts of flanking vowels. Similarly, instances of//that are acoustically different due to different coarticulatory influences on them sound the same to listeners as long as each appears in its appropriate context of flanking vowels.
The Effects of Presentation on Noise and Dental Appliances on Speech
Authors: Glass Lillian , Garber Sharon R. , Speidel T. Michael , Siegel Gerald M. , Miller Edward
Published: July 2014

An omission in the Table of Contents, December JSHR, has occurred. Lillian Glass, Ph.D., at the University of Southern California School of Medicine and School of Dentistry, was a co-author of the article "The Effects of Presentation on Noise and Dental Appliances on Speech" along with Sharon R. Garber, T. Michael Speidel, Gerald M. Siegel, and Edward Miller of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Some Effects of Training on Speech Recognition by Hearing-Impaired Adults
Authors: Walden Brian E. , Erdman Sue A. , Montgomery Allen A. , Schwartz Daniel M. , Prosek Robert A.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this research was to determine some of the effects of consonant recognition training on the speech recognition performance of hearing-impaired adults. Two groups of ten subjects each received seven hours of either auditory or visual consonant recognition training, in addition to a standard two-week, group-oriented, inpatient aural rehabilitation program. A third group of fifteen subjects received the standard two-week program, but no supplementary individual consonant recognition training. An audiovisual sentence recognition test, as well as tests of auditory and visual consonant recognition, were administered both before and ibltowing training. Subjects in all three groups significantly increased in their audiovisual sentence recognition performance, but subjects receiving the individual consonant recognition training improved significantly more than subjects receiving only the standard two-week program. A significant increase in consonant recognition performance was observed in the two groups receiving the auditory or visual consonant recognition training. The data are discussed from varying statistical and clinical perspectives.
Articulation Effort
Authors: Young Martin A.
Published: July 2014

In three studies, 86 observers used paired-comparison procedures to judge the effort required to articulate 16 consonants. In general, observers could not produce the judgments without reversals and did not agree with each other or with themselves on a repeated trial. Pooling all judgments produced scale values of articulation effort that correlated highly with different types of phonological acquisition data and with a feature analysis.
Sensorimotor Development and the Use of Prelinguistic Performatives
Authors: Steckol Karen F. , Leonard Laurence B.
Published: July 2014

Thirty-two children participated in a study designed to determine the effects of sensorimotor training on proto-declarative and proto-imperative performative behavior. The children were randomly assigned to training on means-end schemes, training on relating to objects schemes, training on both means-end and relating to objects, or to a control condition involving no training. Results indicated that relating to objects schemes training was successful. Also, a greater degree of performative usage was seen in the relating to objects training group. These results offer relatively strong evidence for a relationship between these sensorimotor and communicative abilities.
The Interactions of Amplitude and Phonetic Quality in Esophageal Speech
Authors: Blood Gordon W.
Published: July 2014

Levels of isolated vowels and the influence of consonant environment on vowel level were determined for three esophageal speakers and three normal speakers. Twenty lists of isolated vowels and diphthongs and 576 monosyllabic words were used as the stimuli. The results revealed that esophageal speakers had an 11-dB reduction in SPL compared to normal speakers. The greatest level was observed on the vowels /i/ and /u/. Differences between normal and esophageal speakers are discussed in terms of absolute level and phonetic environment.
Concordance for Stuttering in Monozygotic and Dizygotic Twin Pairs
Authors: Howie Pauline M.
Published: July 2014

The role of genetic factors in the etiology of stuttering was investigated in 30 pairs of same-sex twins, each pair containing at least one stutterer. Care was taken to ensure maximum accuracy in zygosity classification and objectivity in stuttering diagnosis. Zygosity classification was made independently of stuttering diagnosis. Pair-wise concordance for stuttering was significantly higher in identical twins (63%) than in fraternal same-sex twins (19%). The estimated risk of stuttering in the monozygotic (MZ) co-twin of a stutterer was .77, and .32 in the dizygotic (DZ) co-twin of a stutterer, The findings strongly suggest the operation of genetic factors in stuttering, However, the presence of as many as six pairs of identical twins who were discordant for stuttering underlines the importance of the interaction of genetic and environmental factors in the etiology of this disorder.
A Reexamination of Some Nonverbal Perceptual Abilities of Language-Impaired and Normal Children as a Function of Age and Sensory Modality
Authors: Tallal Paula , Stark Rachel , Kallman Clayton , Mellits David
Published: July 2014

A battery of nonverbal perceptual and memory tests were given to 35 language-impaired (LI) and 38 control subjects. Three modalities of tests were given: auditory, visual, and cross-modal (auditory and visual). The purpose was to reexamine some nonverbal perceptual and memory abilities of LI children as a function of age and modality of stimulation. Results failed to replicate previous findings of a temporal processing deficit that is specific to the auditory modality in LI children. The LI group made significantly more errors than did controls regardless of modality of stimulation when 2-item sequences were presented rapidly, or when more than two stimuli were presented in series. However, further analyses resolved this apparent conflict between the present and earlier studies by demonstrating that age is an important variable underlying modality specificity of perceptual performance in LI children. Whereas younger LI children were equally impaired when responding to stimuli presented rapidly to the auditory and visual modality, older LI subjects made nearly twice as many errors responding to rapidly presented auditory rather than visual stimuli. This developmental difference did not occur for the control group.
Construct Validity of Direct Magnitude Estimation and Interval Scaling of Speech Intelligibility
Authors: Schiavetti Nicholas , Metz Dale Evan , Sitler Ronald W.
Published: July 2014

The appropriateness of direct magnitude estimation and interval scaling procedures for assessing the speech intelligibility of hearing-impaired adults was investigated by determining whether the continuum of the talkers' intelligibility was prothetic or metathetic. The intelligibility of 20 hearing-impaired talkers was scaled by 20 listeners using direct magnitude estimation and by 20 listeners using interval scaling. The two sets of scaling data were related in the curvilinear fashion that is typical of prothetic continua, indicating better construct validity for direct magnitude estimation than for interval scaling of speech intelligibility.
A Further Analysis for Developmental Apraxia of Speech in Children with Defective Articulation
Authors: Williams Ruth , Ingham Roger J. , Rosenthal Joan
Published: July 2014

This paper reports a further analysis of behaviors that might distinguish developmental apraxia of speech from "functional" defective articulation. Closely following a study by Yoss and Darley, 30 children with moderately-to-severely defective articulation but with normal hearing, intelligence, and language development and with no apparent organic etiology for their disability were matched with a normal-speaking control group. Both groups were given Yoss and Darley's battery of speech and nonspeech tasks. Yoss and Darley's analysis procedure was applied to the data. Their finding of significant differences between the control group and the defective articulation group across five nonspeech tasks proved to be true for only two of the speech and nonspeech tasks in this study. Following division of the defective articulation group on the basis of isolated volitional oral movement scores, Yoss and Darley had conducted discriminant function analyses of the data, resulting in combinations of speech and nonspeech variables that significantly differentiated the two subgroups. Neurologic ratings figured prominently as a distinguishing variable. A similar comparison in this study did not find a combination of variables which differentiated the two subgroups with any confidence. The implication of these findings and some possible reasons for the differences between the findings of the studies are discussed.
Effects of Stimulus Material on the Dichotic Listening Performance of Aphasic Patients
Authors: Niccum Nancy , Rubens Alan B. , Speaks Charles
Published: July 2014

Sixteen aphasic patients were given five different verbal dichotic listening tests. The differences among results obtained on digit test, a high-contrast word test (perception of either vocalic or consonantal information was sufficient for accurate responses), and a vowel-word test (perception of vocalic information was required for accurate responses) were not significant. However, a consonant-word test resulted in significant decreases in both left- and right-ear scores and an increase in the difference in accuracy for the two ears. A consonant-vowel nonsense-syllable test produced further dramatic reductions in performance levels, and the magnitude of difference scores between ears was limited by low levels of performanse for the majority of patients. Attempts to identify relations between patterns of performance on dichotic listening tests and radiographic evidence of lesion location were most profitable when they involved the right-ear (RE) scores on the digit test. The discontinuity in the distribution of these scores corresponded to the presence or absence of damage to the geniculo-temporal system. That is, when the geniculo-temporal system was spared, the RE scores exceeded 75% correct, whereas damage to the geniculo-temporal system was associated with RE scores of less than 50% correct.
The Temporal Reliability of Brown's Mean Length of Utterance (MLU-M) Measure with Post-Stage V Children
Authors: Chabon Shelly S. , Kent-Udolf Louise , Egolf Donald B.
Published: July 2014

The temporal reliability of Brown's MLU-M was investigated with 30 normally developing children, 10 in each of three age groups: 3:6–4:6, 5:6—6:6, and 8:6–9:6 years. All children obtained MLU-Ms greater than 4.0, which placed them beyond Brown–s Stage V of language learning. Language samples were evoked from these subjects on each of three consecutive days using picture stimuli. The reliability estimates indicated lack of stability for individual and average MLU-M values.