bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Brain perturbation to reveal causal contributions of executive networks to the mechanisms of auditory attention
Authors: Howerton Kayla , Boes Aaron , Shinn-Cunningham Barbara , Choi Inyong
Published: May 2022

Listeners face the challenge of understanding speech every day. A key cognitive strategy for parsing speech in noisy environments relies on auditory selective attention, which recruits a network of multiple cortical regions. Our recent studies identified at least two different neural mechanisms of auditory attention. Space-based attention engages alpha oscillations in the parietal cortex, which are thought to cause lateral suppression of streams in the ignored portion in space. In contrast, talker identity-based attention modulates beta oscillations in the temporal lobe, suggesting that a neural pitch prediction mechanism in the middle temporal gyrus (MTG) focuses attention to talker. Based on these findings, here we use a brain perturbation method to establish causal links between such oscillatory activity and control of different forms of auditory attention. We hypothesize that perturbing alpha oscillations in parietal cortex will impair spatial attention while perturbing beta oscillations in the MTG will impair speaker identity-based attention. Our ongoing study utilizes repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to induce such perturbations in the pre-determined regions of interests non-invasively and safely. This presentation will provide proof-of-concept data to validate the feasibility of this approach.
Simultaneous measurement of human auditory nerve and brainstem potentials: Effects of upward spread of excitation
Authors: Jennings Skyler G. , Whitmore Tabitha
Published: May 2022

Acoustic clicks evoke strong synchrony of auditory-nerve (AN) fibers, thereby eliciting a compound action potential (CAP); however, synchrony is reduced by the delay of the cochlear traveling wave. Upward-frequency chirps compensate for this delay, resulting in larger CAPs evoked by chirps than clicks. Our model simulations of CAPs suggest that chirps presented at high intensities (100 dB peSPL) adapt basal AN fibers via upward spread of excitation of low-frequency chirp components. This adaptation results in less-than-or-equal-to CAP amplitudes and distorted CAP morphology compared to CAPs evoked by clicks. Simulations show that these effects on CAP amplitude and morphology can be avoided by reducing the amplitude of the low-frequency components of the chirp (i.e., modified chirp). Here we present CAPs from 12 young adults with NH, which for high stimulus intensities, exhibit reduced amplitudes and broader CAP morphology for chirps than clicks, whereas CAP amplitudes for modified chirps exceed those for clicks, consistent with model simulations. The distorted CAP morphology in response to high-level chirps is consistent with adaptation of AN responses and broad cochlear excitation. Interestingly, the deleterious effects of high-level chirps on CAP amplitude and morphology are reduced or absent in simultaneous recordings of the auditory brainstem response.
Ambiguous lateralization of complex binaural stimuli emerge from neurons constrained to physiologically relevant ranges of ITD and frequency—The binaural aperture
Authors: Tollin Daniel J. , Goupell Matthew J. , Stecker G. Christopher
Published: May 2022

Although we perceive a spatially contiguous, integrated world, sensory systems sample information discretely via small spatial and narrow frequency receptive fields (RFs) in vision and audition, respectively. Undersampling of stimuli by narrow RFs produces ambiguous representations (e.g., the classic “aperture problem” that visual motion cannot be uniquely determined by one RF). Here we posit a similar problem for encoding interaural time differences (ITDs). Current models of ITD processing propose large ensembles of ITD-sensitive neurons spanning wide ranges of preferred ITD and characteristic frequency (CF). To account for anomalous lateralization of narrowband but robust lateralization of broadband stimuli, such models require two paradoxical assumptions that have recently come into question: (1) the existence of neurons preferring larger than physiologically possible ITDs; and (2) population biases overemphasizing small ITDs. Here, we consider an alternative account based on a highly constrained ITDxCF aperture through which the stimuli are perceived. ITDs bounded by ±π interaural phase difference and CFs by dominance weighting, where ∼600-750 Hz contributes most to lateralization. A more detailed consideration of this “binaural aperture” sheds light on how ambiguous lateralization data emerge from limited ensembles of neurons constrained to physiologically relevant ranges of ITD and frequency. [R01-DC011555 (DJT), R01-DC014948 (MJG), and R01-DC016643 (GCS).]
Recognition of English vowels, consonants, words, and sentences for Chinese college students
Authors: Liu Junbo , Wang Lihong , Hu Wei , Qiao Libo , Tao Sha , Liu Chang
Published: May 2022

The goals of this study were to first, investigate the recognition of several types of English speech sounds such as vowels, consonants, words, and sentences in quiet and long-term speech-shaped (LTSS) noise for Chinese college students; second, examine relationship among the perception of these speech materials, e.g., whether students with better sentence recognition also showed better phonemic perception. Speech stimuli included twelve isolated English vowels, twenty-one English consonants in the /aCa/ context, NU6 words, the coordinate response measure (CRM), Hearing in noise test (HINT) sentences, and IEEE sentences. Preliminary data analysis indicated that at the phonetic level, Chinese students performed significantly better in consonant identification than in vowel identification; at the word level, students did significantly with CRM than NU6; and at the sentence level, students had significantly higher recognition scores for HINT sentences than for IEEE sentences. The correlations among the recognition of these speech materials will examined and discussed. [Work supported by China National Natural Science Foundation 31628009.]
Perception and expression of talker gender at the beginning and end of words
Authors: Winn Matthew B. , Munson Benjamin
Published: May 2022

Among the common acoustic differences between the voices of women and men are the spectral characteristics of fricatives. Akin to pitch and formant frequencies, the frequency characteristics of fricatives are lower in men than in women. These fricative characteristics are learned social cues that help to express the talker’s gender. Listeners reliably incorporate these differences into perceptual judgments by categorizing the same sound differently depending on what they perceive the gender of the talker to be; a fricative that is intermediate to “s” and “sh” will be labeled “s” when thought to be spoken by a man, but “sh” if by a woman. However, the acoustic descriptions and the perceptual consequences of these gender-related acoustic differences have been explored almost exclusively at syllable-onset position. Here we use both word-onset and -offset positions in both perception and production tasks. The perceptual accommodation of talker gender is weaker when the fricative is at syllable offset, inviting questions about whether the extent of gender-related changes in acoustics are simply commensurate with salience of word position. We will present both the perception and production data in an attempt to unify both phenomena in relation to each other.
Perception and imitation of prevoicing across language backgrounds
Authors: Clare Emily J. , Schertz Jessamyn
Published: May 2022

The present study investigates languages users' ability to perceive and imitate prevoicing, testing speakers of languages differing its contrastive status: (1) those where prevoicing serves as a primary cue to the laryngeal contrast (e.g., Portuguese); (2) those where prevoicing never occurs, with aspiration being the primary cue to the contrast (e.g., Cantonese); and (3) English, where prevoicing occurs in free variation. After hearing pairs of words differing in presence/absence of prevoicing, participants were asked to imitate them, followed by an ABX discrimination task. Preliminary findings show above-chance discrimination accuracy as well as significant imitation of the difference, in participants all language backgrounds, with place of articulation, consonantal, and vocalic cues all affecting the extent of prevoicing in production. As expected, speakers of languages where prevoicing is absent showed less overall prevoicing than other groups; however, there were not clear differences across language groups in the faithfulness of imitation, or in discrimination ability. While faithful imitation was usually associated with accurate discrimination, good discrimination was also found on many tokens that were not faithfully imitated, indicating that factors other than perception are necessary to account for variability in imitative ability.
Differential effects of pitch on perceived duration in linguistic and auditory tasks
Authors: Grabowski Emily
Published: May 2022

Duration perception is a complex phenomenon in linguistic studies. While it can be instrumentally measured in a straightforward fashion, its relationship to other acoustic measurements is still not well understood. Previous work has found that duration can influence the perception of other acoustic cues, such as pitch (Brigner, 1988). This implies that it is important to go beyond isolated analysis of individual acoustic cues, and consider the synergistic effects of multiple acoustic cues. This paper presents the results of an experiment designed to test the influence of changing pitch on duration in two tasks, one using linguistic stimuli and one using acoustic stimuli. I find an effect of pitch on duration perception in both tasks. However, the results are not identical. In the auditory task, there was a small effect where higher tones were heard as longer than low tones. However, in the linguistic task, higher tones were heard as shorter. This indicates that pitch can have both a direct and indirect effect on duration perception and that there are complex interactions that may have a significant impact on our language perception.
The effect of second language experience on lexical encoding of segments and tones
Authors: Hao Yen-Chen
Published: May 2022

While previous studies generally find that increasing second language (L2) experience contributes to more accurate phonetic perception of L2 sounds, whether it leads to more proficient lexical encoding remains an empirical question. The current study examines lexical encoding of Mandarin segments and tones by English speakers at different proficiency levels. Eleven English speakers naïve to Mandarin, fifteen intermediate and nine advanced L2 learners participated in a word-learning experiment. After learning 16 Mandarin disyllabic words, they judged the matching between sound and meaning pairs, with half of the pairs being complete matches while the other containing segmental or tonal mismatches. The results showed that all groups were more sensitive to segmental than to tonal mismatches. The two learner groups outperformed the Naïve group in detecting segmental mismatches, but the three groups were equally inaccurate in rejecting tonal mismatches. The reaction times revealed, however, that the learners but not the Naïve group attended to tonal variations. These findings suggest that L2 experience has a clearer benefit for L2 segmental encoding than for tonal encoding, probably due to learners’ non-tonal language background. Experience in a tonal L2 enhances learners’ attention to the tones, but does not necessarily improve their accuracy in tonal encoding.
Perceptual assessment of contrastive voicing in 2-year-old children’s speech by adult and school-age child listeners
Authors: Hitchcock Elaine R. , Koenig Laura
Published: May 2022

Past research assessing perception of voice onset time (VOT) in stops suggests that perceptual acuity improves as a function of age, with adults showing steeper labeling functions and narrower boundary widths. Most work has used synthetic stimuli varying a single acoustic cue, so extending such findings to natural speech may not be straightforward. Perceptual judgments may also be influenced by distributional properties of the dataset, e.g., VOT distributions along a continuum and/or the number of productions in each VOT category. This study will assess how distributional characteristics of naturally produced child speech stimuli, collected from six 2–3-year-old English-speaking children, might influence adult and child labeling behavior. Six exemplars per child were chosen with short-lag /b d/, short-lag /p t/, long-lag /b d/, long-lag /p t/. For each POA and VOT group, /b d/ and /p t/ VOTs were bimodally distributed (shorter for voiced targets), separated by a 5 ms gap. We will seek listening data from 20 adults and 20 children (aged 6–8). We anticipate high and similar accuracy levels for both groups when VOT values are appropriate for the target, but clearer group differences for inappropriate VOTs.
Perception and timing of acoustic distance
Authors: Kelley Matthew C. , Tucker Benjamin V.
Published: May 2022

The notion of acoustic distance figures into many aspects of phonetics, including phonological neighborhoods. A measurement of word-level acoustic distance useful for cognitive modeling must account for two listener characteristics: sensitivity to acoustic differences and sensitivity to duration discrepancies between words. The present work used dynamic time warping to measure how acoustic distance accumulates between words over time. The results of a distance rating task with synthesized vowels were used as a basis for selecting a mathematical function that best matched listener sensitivities. Additionally, the results of a reminder task with synthesized vowels were used to determine a just noticeable difference threshold for vowel duration. The results suggested that a distance function based on the 4.5-norm using a 30 ms radius for dynamic time warping best matched human behavior. A third analysis used these dynamic time warping configurations to model reaction times in an auditory lexical decision task and found that Euclidean distance and no temporal constraints on dynamic time warping best matched human behavior. These results are discussed in relation to spoken word recognition models, including how to assess the acoustic match between the speech signal and a word in the lexicon.
The perception of synthetic speech versus natural speech stimuli in adult listeners
Authors: Cabbage Kathryn , Carrell Thomas , Ipsen Melannee , Hitchcock Elaine R.
Published: May 2022

The majority of speech perception research investigates interpersonal perception through presentation of two types of stimuli: synthetic speech and/or natural speech. Synthetically created speech stimuli allows for precisely controlled manipulation of individual acoustic variables, but can sound unnatural calling into questions its ecological validity. Alternatively, natural speech preserves the full complement of redundant acoustic cues yet limits control of specific acoustic parameters. In this study, we investigate speech discrimination comparing perception of specified acoustic parameters (formant transition duration, F3 onset frequency, F3-F2 distance) across three types of speech stimuli: synthetic speech stimuli, natural speech of a standard adult speaker, and each participant’s own voice. We use the Wide Range Acoustic Accuracy Scale (WRAAS), a computer-based perceptual assessment that uses a parameter estimation by sequential testing (PEST) adaptive-tracking algorithm to rapidly identify a listener’s ability to discriminate sounds. Most trials are presented near the Just-Noticeable-Difference (JND) of a stimulus continuum; thus, few trials are “wasted” with obviously same or different sounds. This study of typical adult listeners (n = 20, enrollment is ongoing) will provide baseline data for future work investigating perception of these same stimuli in children.
Do individual differences in lexical reliance reflect states or traits?
Authors: Giovannone Nikole , Theodore Rachel M.
Published: May 2022

Individual differences in listeners’ reliance on lexical information for speech perception have been established in the literature. However, it is not yet clear whether these individual differences reflect a context-dependent “state” or whether they reflect a stable listener “trait.” To examine this question, listeners completed three measures of lexical processing and one measure of acoustic-phonetic processing at two time points (n = 80 at session 1; n = 41 at session 2). Results to date suggest limited within-session convergence among the three measures of lexical processing, inconsistent with past results. However, strong between-session relationships for two of the three measures of lexical processing and the measure of acoustic-phonetic processing and were found, suggesting that performance in these tasks may reflect stable individual traits. A strong trading relationship between reliance on lexical versus acoustic-phonetic information was only found when both sources of information were available in a given task, suggesting that individual differences in cue use may emerge most strongly when cues conflict in speech input. Collectively, the current results suggest that individuals are stable in their acoustic-phonetic and lexical cue use strategies for a given task, but that an individual’s cue use strategy may be task-dependent.
Effects of word context on formant discrimination
Authors: Strickler Alyssa , Scarborough Rebecca
Published: May 2022

Studies of phonetic variation identify systematic, but often very small, acoustic differences in the realization of vowels. However, it is not known whether such differences are perceptually relevant in realistic contexts. We examine perceptibility of incrementally manipulated differences in F1 and F2 in vowels embedded in real words of English (experiment 1), and vowels in isolation (experiment 2), via an AX discrimination task. Forty listeners in each experiment, recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk, heard 27 monosyllabic words or vowels in pairs containing a no-change token and a token edited to differ up to ±100 Hz in F1 or ±150 Hz in F2 relative to the original and were asked to say whether tokens were same or different. Discrimination increased with bigger vowel differences (both F1 and F2) in both experiments; however, even maximally different tokens were correctly discriminated less than half the time. F2 discrimination was better in isolated vowels (48%) than in whole words (33%). Compared to previous results in optimized difference limen studies (e.g., Kewley-Port and Watson, 1994), our results show that untrained listeners in more typical listening conditions (non-synthetic speech heard in non-laboratory conditions in real word contexts) require much bigger differences to be perceptible.
Pupil response to familiar and unfamiliar talkers in the recognition of noise-vocoded speech
Authors: Tamati Terrin N. , Bakker Lars , Smeenk Stefan , Jebens Almut , Koelewijn Thomas , Başkent Deniz
Published: May 2022

In some challenging listening conditions, listeners are more accurate at recognizing speech produced by a familiar talker compared to unfamiliar talkers. However, previous studies have found little to no talker-familiarity benefit in the recognition of noise-vocoded speech, potentially due to limitations in the talker-specific details conveyed in noise-vocoded signals. Although no strong effect on performance has been observed, listening to a familiar talker may reduce the listening effort experienced. The current study used pupillometry to assess how talker familiarity could impact the amount of effort required to recognize noise-vocoded speech. Four groups of normal-hearing, listeners completed talker familiarity training, each with a different talker. Then, listeners repeated sentences produced by the familiar (training) talker and three unfamiliar talkers. Sentences were mixed with multi-talker babble, and were processed with an 8-channel noise-vocoder; SNR was set to a participant’s 50% correct performance level. Preliminary results demonstrate no overall talker-familiarity benefit across training groups. Examining each training group separately showed differences in pupil response for familiar and unfamiliar talkers, but the direction and size of the effect depended on the training talker. These preliminary findings suggest that normal-hearing, listeners make use of limited talker-specific details in the recognition of noise-vocoded speech.
Categories in speech perception and production: How closely are they related?
Authors: Nielsen Kuniko
Published: May 2022

A large body of research shows that fine phonetic details are not only used by listeners in processing speech (e.g., McMurray et al., 2009), but these details also affect listeners’ subsequent speech productions (e.g., Goldinger, 1998), suggesting a robust link between speech perception and production. However, evidence for a direct perception-production link is mixed, and the relationship between categories in perception and production is largely unknown. Newman (2003) found correlation between a perceptual prototype and mean VOT production for /pa/, while there were no production-perception correlations for other stop consonants. Nielsen (2021) found that perceptual boundaries in VOT vary widely across speakers, but that there is no apparent link between categorical boundary in perception of voicing contrast ([p]-[b]) and production variables of isolated speech (e.g., mean VOT for /p/ or /b/, the center of gap between two categories, the distance between the two category means), confirming Bailey and Haggard (1973). The current study further explores the relationship between perception and production categories by examining categorical boundaries of English stops using minimal pairs (e.g., pear-bear), their perceptual prototypes through a goodness rating task, and production variables in connected and isolated speech.
Cortical plasticity for speech processing in English & Mandarin-speaking adolescents: The effect of transcranial direct current stimulation
Authors: Wang Yanxin , Yu Yan H.
Published: May 2022

Language experience and brain maturation both shape speech processing at the cortical level. To examine whether transcranial direction stimulation (tDCS) shows any effect on automaticity of neural speech processing in relation to language experience in adolescents, we recorded event-related potentials (ERP) to a speech contrast both before and after administering tDCS. The participants were adolescents (14–19 years old) from monolingual English-speaking households and bilingual English-Mandarin speaking households. We used a passive listening oddball paradigm and recorded ERP responses before and after 10 minutes of tDCS. The mismatch negativity (MMN) and late negativities (LN) were examined. Both groups showed clear neural discrimination. We observed language group differences in the amplitudes of MMN and stimulus condition differences in the amplitudes of LN. The preliminary analyses of ERP responses before and after tDCS suggest that one short session of tDCS does not influence neural discrimination of speech in typically-developing adolescents.
Signal classification with machine learning
Authors: Guers Manton J. , Dare Tyler P.
Published: May 2022

This paper investigates and evaluates several Machine Learning techniques for the proper identification and classification of analytical signals. Signals having different “shapes” and periods were defined analytically to have pre-determined class associations. Supervised Machine Learning techniques were then investigated to evaluate the Machine Learning methodology’s ability to properly classify the analytical signals based on characteristics of interest.
Conversations with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and changes to the US Courts Design Guideline
Authors: Clements Jessica S.
Published: May 2022

The Administrative Office (AO) of the U.S. Courts oversees the design and construction of courts spaces within new federal court buildings following the U.S. Courts Design Guide. Conflicts between the U.S. Courts Design Guide and the General Services Administration (GSA) PBS P-100 are known to raise questions for designers. Conversations with Facility Program Managers and interviews with other designers and users from the AO and GSA have provided invaluable insight into their needs and challenges. These insights have been used to inform changes to the acoustical design chapter of the U.S. Courts Design Guide. This presentation will outline the insights gathered through the interviews and present the changes that are included in the updated acoustics design chapter of the U.S. Courts Design Guide.
Addressing federal court facility acoustical design challenges
Authors: Westergaard Brandon M.
Published: May 2022

Modern federal courthouse acoustical designs mandate a multidisciplinary approach in which architects, engineers, consultants, contractors, and court administrators work together to provide cost-effective designs which meet explicit speech privacy, room acoustic, and building systems background noise requirements. It is a primary responsibility of the acoustical consultant to understand and support implementation of owner standards, the U.S. Courts Design Guide criteria, and various tenant adjacency requirements, all of which present unique challenges. Owner standards vary from project to project in accordance with functional requirements, building location, economic constraints, and other project-specific needs. A new edition of the U.S. Courts Design Guide containing significant updates is expected to be published in the near future. Tenant adjacency requirements are often ambiguous and conflict with each other and with other project criteria. This paper examines a case study of three federal courthouse designs, focusing on challenges associated with intertwined project requirements, cost constraints, and the design-build process. The study translates federal judiciary and courthouse tenant requirements and provides insight into established design precedents. Solutions to design challenges are presented, which ensure future designs meet the acoustical needs of federal court facilities.
Photoacoustic optical absorption measurement of aerosols
Authors: Case John A. , Smith Robert W.
Published: May 2022

Atmospheric optical absorption, including the contribution from aerosols, is important in modeling propagation of laser beams and for climate research. Photoacoustic methods have been used in the past for this purpose, as they directly measure absorption, rather than the sum of absorption and scattering. Acoustic operating frequency determines the sensed aerosol size range. The design of a windowless double-Helmholtz photoacoustic aerosol sensing system, operating at an acoustic frequency near 150 Hz, with the capability to measure an optical absorption with a 1/e length of 1 Mm, will be presented. In this design, environmental noise limits the instrument sensitivity. To improve immunity to environmental noise with an open resonator, an aluminum acoustic enclosure was built around the system, with welded vacuum flanges for inputs and outputs. Inlet and outlet acoustic mufflers were designed to limit the in-band noise entering the measurement system. A modulated 10 W 1064 nm fiber laser was used as the excitation source, and a high-sensitivity microphone placed within the open-cell cavity was used to measure the internal photoacoustic pressure fluctuations. The system was modeled using various computational tools, including MATLAB, Simulink, and ANSYS, and then was constructed and tested. Lab measurement results will be presented.
Design and characterization of a broadband multi-node bulk acoustic wave device for acoustofluidic applications
Authors: Jeger-Madiot Nathan , Hoyos Mauricio , Aider Jean-Luc
Published: May 2022

The classic approaches to generate the Acoustic Radiation Force (ARF) in a standing wave cavity are based on the use of a specific height for the cavity and a narrow-band acoustic frequency to reach the resonance. We present a robust multi-node cavity working over a broadband range of frequency. This approach allows large acoustophoresis manipulations. The design of a transparent cavity and the use of a broadband ultrasonic transducer allowed the characterization of the acoustic energy and the comparison with a simple 1-D model. The acoustic properties of the system were estimated through the effects of the acoustic radiation forces on particles suspension. From the particle velocities induced by the ARF, measured with a Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) approach, we deduced the acoustic energy over a large frequency range. The automation of the setup allowed the acquisition of a large amount of data to make parametric studies. The results show a wide continuous operating range for the acoustic radiation forces. Furthermore, the occurrence of the resonance peaks allows an increase by a factor ten of the force magnitude. This broadband effect also enables an accurate control of the node positions by tuning the proper acoustic frequency.
Ultrasonic scattering predictions of two-phase polycrystalline materials based on digital microstructures
Authors: Islam Showmic , Turner Joseph A.
Published: May 2022

Many materials found in nature and used in industry consist of multiple phases, and the mechanical performance of such materials is controlled by their material organization. Ultrasonic scattering is one approach to characterize these microstructures nondestructively. In this presentation, previous ultrasonic scattering theories for two-phase materials are discussed and implemented using discrete synthetic three-dimensional microstructures as a means to assess the material statistics. These models predict the ultrasonic wave speed, attenuation, and diffuse ultrasonic backscatter with respect to the volume fraction and grain size distribution of each constituent. The computational approach is then focused on predictions for samples created using spark plasma sintering (SPS) of Cu and Fe powders with varying volume fractions as well as pure Cu and pure Fe samples. DREAM.3D is used to generate digital synthetics representative of the SPS samples as characterized using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). A set of 30 realizations for each volume fraction is used for each to quantify the statistical variations expected. The combined theoretical and computational model is used to study the dependence of ultrasonic wave propagation on the material organization for these two-phase materials. [Work supported by Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) under prime contract FA8650-15-D-5231.]
Attenuation of acoustic waves and Grüneisen tensor in lithium fluoride crystals
Authors: Akhmedzhanov Farkhad , Kurbanov Jakhongir
Published: May 2022

The anisotropy of acoustic attenuation in lithium fluoride crystals in the range of 0.4–1.6 GHz was studied by the method of Bragg light diffraction on acoustic waves. The obtained values of the velocity and attenuation coefficient of acoustic waves were used to determine all independent real and imaginary elastic constants. Based on the Akhiezer attenuation mechanism, the anisotropy of acoustic attenuation was determined for the propagation of longitudinal and transverse waves in the (001) and (110) planes. All directions along which pure longitudinal and transverse acoustic waves propagate are found. To describe the anisotropy of acoustic attenuation, the Grüneisen acoustic tensor is used for the first time, the components of which have been determined from the values of the attenuation coefficient of acoustic waves along the crystallographic axes [100], [110], and [111]. It is shown that the orientational dependence of the effective Grüneisen constant, defined in terms of the components of this tensor, describes well the anisotropy of the attenuation of acoustic waves in the studied frequency range. The proposed approach can be used to all cubic crystals in which the main attenuation mechanism is the phonon–phonon Akhiezer mechanism.
The relationship between perceived speech clarity and dysphonia: Preliminary investigation
Authors: Young Elizabeth D. , Ellerston Julia K. , Ferguson Sarah H.
Published: May 2022

Perceived listener ratings of sentence “clarity” have been used in studies involving clear speech and have been shown to demonstrate a strong correlation with vowel intelligibility as well as a robust clear speech effect (Ferguson and Kerr, 2009; Ferguson and Morgan, 2018). However, it remains unclear what aspects of the speech signal listeners are using to form their perception of speech clarity. It is possible that disruptions in the voice source (i.e., poor voice quality) affect listeners’ perception of clarity. Given the increased prevalence of dysphonia in elderly adults (a target population for clear speech), it is important to determine whether voice quality negatively affects perceptions of speech clarity. The current study aims to examine the relationship between perceived sentence clarity and acoustic and perceptual measures of voice quality. Eighty sentences produced by 10 female talkers (5 healthy young adults and 5 older adults with hearing loss) already rated for perceived clarity by young adult listeners will be analyzed in terms of acoustic measures of voice quality (CPPS, HNR, percent glottal fry, and spectral slope) and perceptual measures of voice quality (CAPE-V evaluation performed by two speech-language pathologists with training in voice disorders).
Non-native speech perception and the role of phonological memory: A re-examination
Authors: Hutchinson Amy , Dmitrieva Olga
Published: May 2022

Previous laboratory-based research has found phonological memory to significantly affect the perception of non-native speech sounds (Inceoglu, 2019). The present study aims to bolster findings reported in Inceoglu (2019) and provide support for the efficacy of online research by replicating the study’s laboratory-based research in an online setting. Data were collected from 32 native English-speaking learners of French (12 male, 20 female; mean age: 33 years old) online using the Prolific data collection platform (www.prolific.com). The study consisted of two major components: an L2 French nasal vowel identification task (Inceoglu, 2019) and a nonword repetition task designed to assess phonological memory (Anderson, 2012; Grey et al., 2015; Inceoglu, 2019; Kissling, 2014). Results of a simple linear regression revealed that participants with higher scores on the nonword repetition task (indicative of better phonological short-term memory) were significantly likely to perform more target-like on the nasal vowel identification task than those with lower scores (t = 12.57; p < 0.001). These findings not only replicate the original results outlined in Inceoglu (2019), but they also support the efficacy of online research. The latter finding is crucial as research begins to adjust to accommodate a more socially distanced world.
Employer ratings of cochlear implant users from speech samples
Authors: Freeman Valerie
Published: May 2022

This study continues a project on speech-based perceptual “first impressions” of early-implanted cochlear implant (CI) users. Hiring managers with typical hearing (TH, N = 72) from various industries heard speech samples from CI users and TH young adults and rated their personalities and attractiveness as applicants for various types of jobs. As with college-student peer listeners in prior studies, employers rated TH speakers most positively, CI users with high speech intelligibility (CI-Hi) as intermediate, and CI users with lower intelligibility (CI-Lo) most negatively. Within this pattern, CI-Hi were rated somewhat lower by managers hiring for white-collar jobs (versus blue-collar) and by those who placed high importance on communication skills, who also rated CI-Lo lower on communication skills and “hirability” but higher on extroversion. These patterns underline the practical importance of CI users’ speech intelligibility on their employment opportunities, particularly when entering white-collar and highly communicative jobs, where biases may exist against deaf speech and other unfamiliar patterns. However, managers with more knowledge of and experience with deafness rated CI-Hi communication skills more positively, supporting the value of increasing opportunities for interaction at school and work, as well as education about deafness, its effects on speech, and communication-repair strategies within the workplace.
The role of proficiency in the interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit
Authors: Fishero Sheyenne , Jongman Allard , Sereno Joan
Published: May 2022

Previous research indicates nonnative listeners may have an advantage at understanding nonnative speech of talkers with the same L1 due to shared interlanguage knowledge. The present study offers a comprehensive analysis of various factors that may modulate this advantage, including the proficiency of interlocutors, the mapping of phonemes between the L1 and L2, and the acoustic properties of the phonemes. Accuracy scores on a lexical decision task were used to identify whether native Mandarin learners of English are better than native English listeners at perceiving Mandarin-accented English speech, as well as whether they are better at perceiving Mandarin-accented English compared to native English speech. Results indicated an overall native English interlocutor advantage, an advantage for common-phoneme over unique-phoneme words in nonnative speech, and some evidence of gradience in ISIB effects based on the proficiency of talkers and listeners. No strong relationship between type of English input (native or accented) and the ability to understand Mandarin-accented English speech was found. The nonnative listener advantage at perceiving nonnative speech is relatively small and depends on various factors, including listener proficiency, speaker proficiency, phoneme characteristics, and the acoustics of specific speech tokens.
Perceptual training affects linguistic release from masking
Authors: Olmstead Anne J. , Viswanathan Navin , Albor Jacqueline M. , Billetdeaux Olivia A.
Published: May 2022

Understanding speech in noisy conditions is a problem faced by all listeners. Previous studies have shown that listeners understand target speech better when background speech (masker) is in a different language. This is called Linguistic Release from Masking (LRM). In the current study, we examined whether training on identifying speech in noisy conditions can modulate LRM. In a pre-test/training/post-test design, 60 monolingual American English listeners transcribed English sentences presented in noisy backgrounds. In the pre-test and post-test, all listeners transcribed sentences presented with both English and Dutch maskers without feedback. During training, participants were randomly assigned to transcribe target sentences with Dutch, English, or white noise maskers and received feedback. Results showed an LRM effect in the pre-test; participants transcribed the target sentences better with a Dutch than with an English masker. After training, participants improved in all conditions, but greater improvements in the English masker condition eliminated LRM. Results provide insight into the role of perceptual learning as well as into the nature of informational masking effects underlying LRM. This study serves as a basis for future research examining improvement for speech in speech recognition and changes in LRM.
Re-evaluate the data of English vowel perception in quiet and noise for native and non-native listeners: Sensitivity and response bias
Authors: Chen Yao , Xu Can , Liu Chang , Li Mingshuang , Mi Lin , Tao Sha
Published: May 2022

For decades, research on vowel perception has been primarily focused on the percentage correct of identification. Limited studies take listeners’ response bias into consideration and applied signal detection theory (SDT) in the data analysis of vowel identification. The goal of this study was to investigate English vowel identification in quiet, long-term speech-shaped noise (LTSS), and multi-talker babble (MTB) for English-native (EN), Chinese-native in the US (CNU), and Chinese-native in China (CNC) listeners by computing their sensitivity (measured by d’) and response bias (measured by c) using the SDT. Results showed that (1) in all three listening conditions, EN listeners showed higher sensitivity and lower bias than CNU and CNC listeners; (2) in quiet and MTB, CNU group demonstrated higher sensitivity than CNC group with similar sensitivity in LTSSN between two Chinese groups; and (3) in MTB, CNU group had smaller bias than CNC group, while in quiet and LTSSN condition, two Chinese groups showed similar bias. These results suggest that the US residency may not improve Chinese-native listeners’ vowel identification capacity, instead, may shift their response strategy toward native speakers’ pattern. [Work by the University of Texas at Austin Research Grant and China National Natural Science Foundation 31628009.]
The effects of phonological content, sentence context, and vocoding on voice cue perception
Authors: Koelewijn Thomas , Gaudrain Etienne , Shehab Thawab , Treczoks Tobias , Baskent Deniz
Published: May 2022

Recently, we showed the effect of lexical content on just-noticeable-differences (JNDs) in voice pitch (F0) and vocal-tract length (VTL) voice cue perception. Participants performed an adaptive 3AFC task with non-vocoded and vocoded auditory stimuli. When presented with words, participants showed smaller VTL JNDs compared to time-reversed words, also when vocoding was applied. These outcomes inspired two follow-up studies using similar methods. The first study compared words, time-reversed words, and non-words, to investigate if the benefit is related more specifically to lexical (words) and/or phonological (non-words) content. Irrespective of vocoding, reversed words had a detrimental effect on VTL perception, replicating earlier findings. However, VTL JNDs with non-words did not significantly differ from those with words, suggesting linguistic content benefits for VTL perception at a phonological level. The second study compared JNDs with words and sentences and showed, again regardless of vocoding, a benefit in processing a full sentence compared to a single word in both F0 and VTL perception, suggesting that the amount of acoustic speech information and/or semantic context led to increased voice cue sensitivity. These results improve our understanding of the interactive speech and voice perception processes, inspiring rehabilitation tools for CI users with limited access to voice information.
Audiovisual high variability phonetic training promotes second language lexical tone learning: An event-related potential study
Authors: Zhang Yang , Zhang Xiaojuan , Cheng Bing , Wang Yue
Published: May 2022

This study investigated the efficacy of a modified high variability phonetic training (HVPT) protocol in second language learning. The target Mandarin lexical tones in the training stimuli were acoustically exaggerated at four levels in terms of duration, pitch range, and pitch contour. Seven audiovisual perceptual training sessions were designed to deliver the training stimuli adaptively based on the listener's identification score. Pre- and post-tests used behavioral identification and discrimination tasks with natural speech, synthetic speech, and non-speech control stimuli. ERP experiments were also conducted with synthetic speech stimuli in a passive listening oddball paradigm. A total of 24 adult monolingual American English speakers were randomly assigned to the training group and control group. Behavioral data showed significant improvement in identifying the four lexical tones in the trainees but not in the controls. There was also training-induced enhancement of categorical perception of the lexical tones for the synthetic speech stimuli. Posttest versus pretest comparison in the trainees showed an increased mismatch negativity (MMN) response with decreased MMN peak latency for the across-category lexical tone stimuli. Collectively, the results demonstrate fundamental neural sensitivity changes at the pre-attentive level underlying training-induced behavioral identification and discrimination changes in second language learners.
The cognitive effort associated with speaking clearly in noise: A pilot study
Authors: Ishikawa Keiko , Coster Elisabeth , Li Hannah
Published: May 2022

Individuals with voice and speech disorders often struggle to implement therapy techniques in real-world environments. Background noise is a known distractor that deteriorates performance in cognitive and non-speech motor tasks. The noise may disturb talkers in a similar manner; however, its effect has been poorly described. This study evaluated the effect of background noise on talkers’ ability to maintain clear speech, a well-documented intelligibility enhancement technique, and corresponding cognitive effort. Participants of the study were 10 native English speakers who have no history of voice and speech disorders. The participants were asked to read sentences and describe pictures in habitual speech and clear speech within two noise environments: quiet and two-talker babble noise. The participants rated their perceived level of overall effort, mental effort, physical effort, frustration, and performance using a modified NASA-TLX scale for each noise condition. The degree of cognitive effort during the tasks was also measured by pupillometry. Their voice recordings were acoustically analyzed for intensity, spectral slope, and speech rate. Preliminary findings indicate that (1) production of clear speech requires greater cognitive effort, especially in noise, and (2) the degree of agreement between the subjective rating and physical measurement of mental effort varies across the talkers.
Facial posture as a phonetic prime for memory retrieval
Authors: Shamei Arian , Zhang Sijia , Luntzlara Noah , Zhou Yangshuying , Frazier Sonja , de Boer Gillian , Gick Bryan
Published: May 2022

Facial postures influence the perception of speech towards sounds with similar motor configurations [Yeung and Scott, J. Exper. Psych. 150, 983 (2021)]. However, it remains unknown whether facial posture can serve as a phonetic prime for the recall of speech. The present study tests whether maintaining a smile improves the recall of speech sounds with similar kinematics and somatosensory input (e.g., high front vowel /i/) [Ogane etal., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 148, EL279–EL284 (2020)]. In the training phase, a list of monosyllabic words containing /i/, /a/, and /u/ vowels is presented aurally to participants maintaining a neutral expression. In the recall phase, participants are asked to recall these words in one of two conditions, maintaining either a smile or a neutral expression. Improved recall for tokens containing /i/ would suggest facial postures act as phonetic primes for memory retrieval. The experiment is ongoing; results will be presented and discussed. [Work by the NIH and NSERC].