When You Sense Nothing At All

How’s Your Auditory Cortex Upon Degradation of Sound?

The research by Miettinen et. Al (2010) examined whether sensitivity of the right-hemispheric auditory cortex is specific to the processing of acoustic properties of speech or whether it can be observed also in the processing of sounds with a simple spectral structure. The stimuli used were a Finnish vowel /a/, a complex non-speech sound that is a combination of sine wave tones, and a sine wave tone. The researchers degraded speech by decreasing the amplitude resolution of the signal waveform. The amplitude resolution was impoverished by reducing the number of bits to represent the signal samples. Auditory evoked magnetic fields (AEFs) were measured in the left and right hemisphere of sixteen healthy subjects. AEFs were recorded in a magnetically shielded room. Unrestricted equivalent current dipoles (ECD) were determined using planar gradiometers over each temporal region of the left and right hemispheres.

The auditory N1m’s amplitude, latency, and source location were analyzed using the repeated-measures analyses of variance (ANOVA) for the effects of hemisphere, stimulus type, and bit mode. The reaction times and identification accuracy for the behavioral experiment were analyzed with ANOVA for effects of stimulus type and bit mode. In all post-hoc comparisons, the Newman-Keuls was used. The behavioral experiment involved the ability of the participants to identify whether the degraded stimuli were vowel or not. These included /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/.

The researchers found that the AEF amplitudes increased significantly with stimulus distortion for all stimulus types, which indicates that the right-hemispheric N1m sensitivity is not related exclusively to degradation of acoustic properties of speech. In addition, the P1m and P2m responses were amplified with increasing distortion similarly in both hemispheres. The AEF latencies were not systematically affected by the distortion.

Data suggested that the activation of the human auditory cortex is greatly affected by the acoustic degradation of speech and non-speech sounds. The reduction of the stimulus waveform amplitude resolution resulted in amplified AEFs non-systematic responses in latency. The N1m amplitudes were asymmetric because there was a great difference between the left and the right hemispheres.

The researchers proposed that the increased activity of AEFs reflected cortical processing of acoustic properties common to both speech and non-speech stimuli. More specifically, the enhancement is most likely caused by spectral changes brought about by the decrease of amplitude resolution, in particular the introduction of periodic, signal-dependent distortion to the original sound. Converging evidence suggests that the observed AEF amplification could reflect cortical sensitivity to periodic sounds (Miettinen et al. , 2010)

The article is highly technical that would not be understood by a person who has no expertise in the field of perception and the human auditory system.


Source: Miettinen, I. et al. (2010). Sensitivity of the human auditory cortex to acoustic degradation of speech and non-speech sounds. BMC Neuroscience. Pp. 11-24 retrieved from ESCOHOST

Let me tell you something about the place I live in. Or rather, let me tell you about my neighbors. My neighbors hang out at the small street right by where the building that I live in is located. Every morning, I'd wake up to go to school and they're right there -- one of them carrying her baby, bathing the baby with the morning light, and there's an old man sitting by a chair by the sari-sari store, drinking coffee and reading his morning paper.

For most of us, listening to music is part of our everyday life. We do it for enjoyment, inspiration, learning, or whatever other reasons there are for listening to music. Music is an important part of life because it contributes to quality of life. We see this in how it is used for therapy, as a teaching aid, as a form of expression, and as a tool for communication. Personally, I think life without music would be pretty depressing.

I came across a study done in Spain (Lassaletta et al., 2007) that looked at the influence of music perception and enjoyment of cochlear implant (CI) users on quality of life (QOL). The participants of the study were individuals who had lost their hearing post-lingually (after the acquisition of language) and received cochlear implantation. They answered two questionnaires, one to assess their “musical background, listening habits, and quality of musical sound through the CI” (Lassaletta et al., 2007, p.683), another to measure the influence of the cochlear implant on QOL. The results showed that there was a significant decrease in the number of hours per week CI users listened to music after implantation as compared to before deafness. Those who listened to music more than 2 hours a week reported enjoying music after the implantation. Those who gave more positive (higher) ratings for the quality of music through the implant reported enjoying music more than those who gave lower ratings. Those who gave higher ratings also had higher QOL ratings. Moreover, most patients had a limited musical background and this had no significant relationship with the other variables.

The findings of the study show that CI users who enjoyed music listened to music more often, but it was not clear whether this was because listening to music longer makes it more pleasant or because those who enjoy music listen to music more often than those who do not enjoy music. The decresase in CI users’ listening habits were attributed to “difficulties in rhythmic identification and melody recognition, and decreased accuracy for detection of pitch changes” (Lassaletta et al., 2007, p.685). Though CIs are function to “recover or enhance speech discrimination, their signal lacks the temporal fine structure information necessary for accurate perception of music” (Lassaletta et al., 2007, p.685). Lastly, though the study is limited, considering the complexity of music and of QOL, the findings show that music perception and enjoyment have a significant influence on QOL and should be considered in the design of CIs.

When I encounter or hear about people who have lost their hearing or who were born deaf, I realize how much I take music, and even more my ability to hear, for granted. Music is very important to me and I am thankful I am free to enjoy it everyday. If I lost my hearing, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the Taylor Swift’s concert tonight which I am so excited for! And with that, I’d like to share one of my favorite music videos of hers which I hope you will enjoy as well.:)

In the marketing industry, colors are very much vital. It could either make or break a product. This is why the study of color and the consumers' response to it is important in this field.

Bagozzi et al. extended the previous work of Percy and Rossiter (1983) on the effects of picture size and color in advertising by systematically adding a second visual stimulus dimension, color (the earlier Rossiter and Percy experiment used only black and white whereas the Mitchell and Olson experiment used only color ads). 


The method included choosing a a product to endorse which is mineral water that they fictitiously named 'Esprit'. It was presented as a potentially new product of a company. The stimulus ads used in the study were based on a professionally done draft rather than an actual finished work. The advertisement itself consisted of the brand name, Esprit, at the top of the page, with a picture of a bottle and glass beneath with minimal background. Variations of this advertisement were then created by making color copies of the full picture in different sizes: full-size, medium size and a small visual. Black and white versions were created by simply photocopying the three ads. The experiment was participated by 90 adults randomly selected in a mall setting. 


They were presented with the stimulus and was later on asked to rate the product in various aspects such as their personal opinion or what they personally look for when buying mineral water. Next was what they thought of the product in terms of aesthetics, impact and their likelihood of buying Esprit. 


The result was that visual elements in advertising, without the aid of verbal components (beyond the brand name) can mediate belief and attitude responses to advertising. Further, attitude has been shown to be a function of the size of the visual element in the execution, where larger pictures of the product generate significantly more favorable attitudes than the same picture reduced in size (Bagozzi, et al., 1983).


It was also found that compared to the black and white stimulus, colors have a much greater effect on the consumers' attitude towards the product and that color cues in ads are logically relevant. In the present study, picture size was found to be relevant if the target audience chooses the product on the basis of attitude, whereas color was found to be more relevant if the choice is based on overall affect or perhaps a primary expectation about taste. 


Personally, when buying a product, I also consider their advertisements and I like the more colorful presentations rather than monochromatic ones which to appear dull and unattractive. This study indicates that great care and thorough preparations should be made upon reaching the final decision of marketing a product. As Bagozzi, et al (1983) suggested, the problem, or the solution, maybe in the picture.  

Perceiving colors could serve a lot of important things to us, yet most of the time we take them for granted. Colors could be defined as “product of a light energy in different wavelengths, reflected by objects” (Rosenbloom, 2006, p.230). Colors could also serve as everyday signals for our survival (Goldstein, 2010). But the most obvious purpose of color is bring beauty or aesthetics to our world. Perceiving colors also induces specific feelings; it also aids us in expressing our moods and emotions. These functions may actually be the reason why we have favorite or preferred colors.

According to Rosenbloom (2006), color preference is actually one of the basic elements in art and art therapy. For instance, a study by Gregoryan, Azaryan, DeMaria, and McDonald (1996; as cited in Rosenbloom, 2006) suggested that posttraumatic children used black, red, and white colors during their first therapeutic session. Also, colors black and brown tended to be selected by depressed patients (Nolan, Dai, and Stanley, 1995; as cited in Rosenbloom, 2006). The basic premise held and provided by these researches is that specific colors produce and/or are associated with certain moods and emotions just as mention earlier. In connection to this, Rosenbloom (2006) categorizes colors into two and named them as “hot” and “cold” colors.

Hot colors include those that have long wavelengths; specifically these colors are yellow, red, orange, yellow-orange, red-orange, and red-violet. These colors are called “hot” because they arouse, stimulate, excite, attract, and at the same time irritate the receiver or observers of these colors.

Outstanding from these colors is red; Luscher and Scott (1971; as cited in Rosenbloom, 2006) described this color as representing an energy-expanding physiological condition, speeding up the pulse, raising the blood pressure, and increasing the respiration rate— an expression of vital force. Furthermore, it also has the meaning of desire, appetite, and craving. Red also represents the urge to achieve results, win success; the impulse towards struggle, sex, sport, and competition. (Luscher & Scott, 1971; as cited in Rosenbloom, 2006).

Another category is called the “cold” colors (Rosenbloom, 2006). These colors include the shorter wavelengths, namely violet, blue, green, blue-violet, blue-green, and green-yellow. These colors are calming, cooling, retreating, and also shrinking.

If red is the most notable color in the hot color category, for the cold colors, it is blue. Luscher and Scott (1971) also described the effects of perceiving this color. Unlike the stimulating effects of color red, they said that blue has a pacifying effect on the central nervous system— blood pressure, pulse, and respiration rate are all decreased or reduced. Thus, blue may represent loyalty and harmony.

Black, white, and grays are achromatic colors, and so were not included to any of these categories.

Colors and color preference had also been associated with some mental disorders such as schizophrenia (i.e. Cernovsky & Fernando, 1988; cited in Rosenbloom, 2006) and with personality traits (Eysenck, 1941; as cited in Rosenbloom, 2006). One of the hypotheses of Rosenbloom’s study (2006) is that people who are highly sensation seeking— meaning those who are seeking varied, complex, novel, and intense sensations and experiences— would prefer to use “hot” colors in the experiment wherein participants are asked to color the cloth of a human picture. Sensation seeking was further explained by referring it to the optimal level of arousal and stimulation, regulated by catecholamine, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Rosenbloom also hypothesized that sensation seekers would tend to use more colors in the experiment; to add to this, he also looked at the gender differences.

In the experiment, 30 male and 30 female were asked to color a drawn human figure’s clothes by using paints, unaware of the real purpose of the study. After this color-the-drawing task, where they were also observed by the researcher, each participant had to answer the Sensation Seeking Scale V (SSS; Zuckerman, as cited in Rosenbloom, 2006) in order to assess their personality trait, particularly the different dimensions of the sensation seeking domain of personality traits.

Just to note, sensation seeking is also composed of four traits which includes thrill and adventure seeking (TAS), adventure seeking (ES), disinhibition (DIS), and boredom susceptibility (BS). TAS is the attraction to thrill and dread; ES as the aspiration to go through variety of novel and unconventional experiences; DIS is the loss of self control; and BS is the intolerance toward repetitious, monotonous, or predictable people and events. Previous research had demonstrated that TAS is related to art preference (Rawlings, Barrantes i Vidal, & Furnham,2000; cited in Rosenbloom, 2006).

With the simple procedure of the experiment, results show support to the first hypothesis as a positive correlation was found between color preference and degree of sensation seeking, particularly with subscale TAS (r=.26, p=.04). On the other hand, the hypothesis that sensation seekers or those who avoid boredom would use more colors than those who are in the opposite side of the continuum was only partially supported. Apparently TAS was not involved with divergent selection of colors but DIS. That is, individuals scoring high on disinhibition tend to use more colors than those with lower scores. From the past studies, it was found that disinhibition, the loss of self-control, is related to liking abstract and pop art as well as to surreal painting (Furnham & Avison, 1997; Furnham & walker, 2001; as cited in Rosenbloom, 2006). Unparallel results to hypothesis thus call for future investigation. Likewise, as previous studies had also shown inconsistent gender difference of color preferences, the present study did not show any as well, calling for future investigation too.

To summarize, studies show association between color preference and personality trait, particularly in the domain of openness to experience, specifically the sensation seeking’s subscale, thrill and adventure seeking. Implying that when one prefers to use red or other "hot" colors, he or she is more adventure seeker compare to another who prefers blue or other "cold" colors who are more calm and used to patterned and routine life and relating it to the physiological effects of these colors to our body and also to our emotions as mentioned in the earlier explanations.

Reference:
Rosenbloom, T. (2006). Color preferences of high and low sensation seekers. Creativity Research Journal. 18(2). 229-235. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Goldstein, E. B. (2010). Sensation and perception (8th ed.). California, USA: Wadsworth.

If you're exactly where I am right now, you would be on your last semester in school and you would be graduating soon. Not only that, you're probably already frantically looking for a job that pays good money.