Search results for: auditory stimulation

Authors: Sachin, Shantanu Arya, Gunjan Mehta, Md. Shamim Ansari

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The cross-modal influence of visual information on speech perception can be illustrated by the McGurk effect which is an illusion of hearing of syllable /ta/ when a listener listens one syllable, e.g.: /pa/ while watching a synchronized video recording of syllable, /ka/. The McGurk effect is an excellent tool to investigate multisensory integration in speech perception in both normal hearing and hearing impaired populations. As the visual cue is unaffected by noise, individuals with hearing impairment rely more than normal listeners on the visual cues.However, when non congruent visual and auditory cues are processed together, audiovisual interaction seems to occur differently in normal and persons with hearing impairment. Therefore, this study aims to observe the audiovisual interaction in speech perception in Cochlear Implant users compares the same with normal hearing children. Auditory stimuli was routed through calibrated Clinical audiometer in sound field condition, and visual stimuli were presented on laptop screen placed at a distance of 1m at 0 degree azimuth. Out of 4 presentations, if 3 responses were a fusion, then McGurk effect was considered to be present. The congruent audiovisual stimuli /pa/ /pa/ and /ka/ /ka/ were perceived correctly as ‘‘pa’’ and ‘‘ka,’’ respectively by both the groups. For the non- congruent stimuli /da/ /pa/, 23 children out of 35 with normal hearing and 9 children out of 35 with cochlear implant had a fusion of sounds i.e. McGurk effect was present. For the non-congruent stimulus /pa/ /ka/, 25 children out of 35 with normal hearing and 8 children out of 35 with cochlear implant had fusion of sounds.The children who used cochlear implants for less than three years did not exhibit fusion of sound i.e. McGurk effect was absent in this group of children. To conclude, the results demonstrate that consistent fusion of visual with auditory information for speech perception is shaped by experience with bimodal spoken language during early life. When auditory experience with speech is mediated by cochlear implant, the likelihood of acquiring bimodal fusion is increased and it greatly depends on the age of implantation. All the above results strongly support the need for screening children for hearing capabilities and providing cochlear implants and aural rehabilitation as early as possible.

Keywords: cochlear implant, congruent stimuli, mcgurk effect, non-congruent stimuli

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Authors: Jessy Mattar, Mohamad Turk, Maurice Nonus, Nikolai Lebovka, Henri El Zakhem, Eugene Vorobiev

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The effects of electro-stimulation of S. cerevisiae cells in colloidal suspension by Pulsed Electric Fields ‎‎(PEF) with electric field strength E = 20 – 2000 V.cm-1 and effective PEF treatment time tPEF = 10^−5 – 1 s were ‎investigated. The applied experimental procedure includes variations in the preliminary fermentation time and ‎electro-stimulation by PEF-treatment. Plate counting was performed.‎ At relatively high electric fields (E ≥ 1000 V.cm-1) and moderate PEF treatment time (tPEF > 100 µs), the ‎extraction of ionic components from yeast was observed by conductivity measurements, which can be related to ‎electroporation of cell membranes. Cell counting revealed a dependency of the colonies’ size on the time of ‎preliminary fermentation tf and the power consumption W, however no dependencies were noticeable by varying the initial yeast concentration in the treated suspensions.‎

Keywords: intensification, yeast, fermentation, electroporation, biotechnology

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Authors: Adam J. Carinci

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Background: The opioid epidemic is the most pressing healthcare crisis of our time. There is increasing recognition that opioids have limited long-term efficacy and are associated with hyperalgesia, addiction, and increased morbidity and mortality. Therefore, alternative strategies to combat chronic pain are paramount. We initiated a multicenter retrospective case series to review the efficacy of DRG stimulation in facilitating opioid tapering, opioid discontinuation and as a viable alternative to chronic opioid therapy. Purpose: The dorsal root ganglion (DRG) plays a key role in the development and maintenance of pain. Recent innovations in neuromodulation, specifically, dorsal root ganglion stimulation, offers an effective alternative to opioids in the treatment of chronic pain. This retrospective case series demonstrates preliminary evidence that DRG stimulation facilitates opioid tapering, opioid discontinuation and presents a viable alternative to chronic opioid therapy. Procedure: This small multicenter retrospective case series provides preliminary evidence that DRG stimulation facilitates opioid weaning, opioid tapering and is a viable option to opioid therapy in the treatment of chronic pain. A retrospective analysis was completed. Visual analog scale pain scores and pain medication usage were collected at the baseline visit and after four weeks, 3 months and 6 months of treatment. Ten consecutive patients across two study centers were included. The pain was rated 7.38 at baseline and decreased to 1.50 at the 4-week follow-up, a reduction of 79.5%. All patients significantly decreased their opioid pain medication use with an average > 30% reduction in morphine equivalents and four were able to discontinue their medications entirely. Conclusion: This Retrospective case series demonstrates preliminary evidence that DRG stimulation facilitates opioid tapering, opioid discontinuation and presents a viable alternative to chronic opioid therapy.

Keywords: dorsal root ganglion, neuromodulation, opioid sparing, stimulation

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Authors: Rezki Akkal, Mohamed Khodja, Slimane Azzi

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Acidification is a technique used in oil reservoirs to improve annual production, reduce the skin and increase the pressure of an oil well while eliminating the formation damage that occurs during the drilling process, completion and, amongst others, to create new channels allowing the easy circulation of oil around a producing well. This is achieved by injecting an acidizing fluid at a relatively low pressure to prevent fracturing formation. The treatment fluid used depends on the type and nature of the reservoir rock traversed as well as its petrophysical properties. In order to understand the interaction mechanisms between the treatment fluids used for the reservoir rock acidizing, several candidate wells for stimulation were selected in the large Hassi Messaoud deposit in southern Algeria. The stimulation of these wells is completed using different fluids composed mainly of HCl acid with other additives such as corrosion inhibitors, clay stabilizers and iron controllers. These treatment fluids are injected over two phases, namely with clean tube (7.5% HCl) and matrix aidizing with HCl (15%). The stimulation results obtained are variable according to the type of rock traversed and its mineralogical composition. These results show that there has been an increase in production flow and head pressure respectively from 1.99 m3 / h to 3.56 m3 / h and from 13 Kgf / cm2 to 20 kgf / cm2 in the sands formation having good petrophysical properties of (porosity = 16%) and low amount of clay (Vsh = 6%).

Keywords: acidizing, Hassi-Messaoud reservoir, tube clean, matrix stimulation

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Authors: Eiji Nakamachi, Ryota Sakiyama, Koji Yamamoto, Yusuke Morita, Hidetoshi Sakamoto

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The regeneration of injured central nerve network caused by the cerebrovascular accidents is difficult, because of poor regeneration capability of central nerve system composed of the brain and the spinal cord. Recently, new regeneration methods such as transplant of nerve cells and supply of nerve nutritional factor were proposed and examined. However, there still remain many problems with the canceration of engrafted cells and so on and it is strongly required to establish an efficacious treating method of a central nerve system. Blackman proposed the electromagnetic stimulation method to enhance the axonal nerve extension. In this study, we try to design and fabricate a new three-dimensional (3D) bio-reactor, which can load a uniform AC magnetic field stimulation on PC12 cells in the extracellular environment for enhancement of an axonal nerve extension and 3D nerve network generation. Simultaneously, we measure the morphology of PC12 cell bodies, axons, and dendrites by the multiphoton excitation fluorescence microscope (MPM) and evaluate the effectiveness of the uniform AC magnetic stimulation to enhance the axonal nerve extension. Firstly, we designed and fabricated the uniform AC magnetic field stimulation bio-reactor. For the AC magnetic stimulation system, we used the laminated silicon steel sheets for a yoke structure of 3D chamber, which had a high magnetic permeability. Next, we adopted the pole piece structure and installed similar specification coils on both sides of the yoke. We searched an optimum pole piece structure using the magnetic field finite element (FE) analyses and the response surface methodology. We confirmed that the optimum 3D chamber structure showed a uniform magnetic flux density in the PC12 cell culture area by using FE analysis. Then, we fabricated the uniform AC magnetic field stimulation bio-reactor by adopting analytically determined specifications, such as the size of chamber and electromagnetic conditions. We confirmed that measurement results of magnetic field in the chamber showed a good agreement with FE results. Secondly, we fabricated a dish, which set inside the uniform AC magnetic field stimulation of bio-reactor. PC12 cells were disseminated with collagen gel and could be 3D cultured in the dish. The collagen gel were poured in the dish. The collagen gel, which had a disk shape of 6 mm diameter and 3mm height, was set on the membrane filter, which was located at 4 mm height from the bottom of dish. The disk was full filled with the culture medium inside the dish. Finally, we evaluated the effectiveness of the uniform AC magnetic field stimulation to enhance the nurve axonal extension. We confirmed that a 6.8 increase in the average axonal extension length of PC12 under the uniform AC magnetic field stimulation at 7 days culture in our bio-reactor, and a 24.7 increase in the maximum axonal extension length. Further, we confirmed that a 60 increase in the number of dendrites of PC12 under the uniform AC magnetic field stimulation. Finally, we confirm the availability of our uniform AC magnetic stimulation bio-reactor for the nerve axonal extension and the nerve network generation.

Keywords: nerve regeneration, axonal extension , PC12 cell, magnetic field, three-dimensional bio-reactor

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Authors: Siddarth Kannan

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Objectives: Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) and Motor Cortex stimulation (MCS) are innovative interventions in order to treat various neuropathic pain disorders such as post-stroke pain. While each treatment has a varying degree of success in managing pain, comparative analysis has not yet been performed, and the success rates of these techniques using validated, objective pain scores have not been synthesised. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of pain relief offered by MCS and DBS on patients with post-stroke pain and to assess if either of these procedures offered better results. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines (PROSPEROID CRD42021277542). Three databases were searched, and articles published from 2000 to June 2023 were included (last search date 25 June 2023). Meta-analysis was performed using random effects models. We evaluated the performance of DBS or MCS by assessing studies that reported pain relief using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Data analysis of descriptive statistics was performed using SPSS (Version 27; IBM; Armonk; NY; USA). R statistics (Rstudio Version 4.0.1) was used to perform meta-analysis. Results: Of the 478 articles identified, 27 were included in the analysis (232 patients- 117 DBS & 115 MCS). The pooled number of patients who improved after DBS was 0.68 (95% CI, 0.57-0.77, I2=36%). The pooled number of patients who improved after MCS was 0.72 (95% CI, 0.62-0.80, I2=59%). Further sensitivity analysis was done to include only studies with a minimum of 5 patients in order to assess if there was any impact on the overall results. Nine studies each for DBS and MCS met these criteria. There seemed to be no significant difference in results. Conclusions: The use of surgical interventions such as DBS and MCS is an upcoming field for the treatment of post-stroke pain, with limited studies exploring and comparing these two techniques. While our study shows that MCS might be a slightly better treatment option, further research would need to be done in order to determine the appropriate surgical intervention for post-stroke pain.

Keywords: post-stroke pain, deep brain stimulation, motor cortex stimulation, pain relief

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Authors: Ana Munguia, Gerardo Ortiz, Guadalupe Gonzalez, Fiacro Jimenez

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Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes motor and cognitive symptoms. The first-choice treatment for these patients is pharmacological, but this generates several side effects. Because of that new treatments were introduced such as Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) in order to improve the life quality of the patients. Several studies suggest significant changes in motor symptoms. However, there is a great diversity in the number of pulses, amplitude, frequency and stimulation targets, which results in inconsistent data. In addition, these studies do not have an analysis of the neuropsychological effects of the treatment. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of rTMS on the cognitive performance of 6 patients with H&Y III and IV (45-65 years, 3 men and 3 women). An initial neuropsychological and neurological evaluation was performed. Patients were randomized into two groups; in the first phase one received rTMS in the supplementary motor area, the other group in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex contralateral to the most affected hemibody. In the second phase, each group received the stimulation in the area that he had not been stimulated previously. Reassessments were carried out at the beginning, at the end of each phase and a follow-up was carried out 6 months after the conclusion of the stimulation. In these preliminary results, it is reported that there's no statistically significant difference before and after receiving rTMS in the neuropsychological test scores of the patients, which suggests that the cognitive performance of patients is not detrimental. There are even tendencies towards an improvement in executive functioning after the treatment. What added to motor improvement, showed positive effects in the activities of the patients' daily life. In a later and more detailed analysis, will be evaluated the effects in each of the patients separately in relation to the functionality of the patients in their daily lives.

Keywords: Parkinson's disease, rTMS, cognitive, treatment

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Authors: A. Van Staden, N. Purcell

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Spelling development is complex and multifaceted and relies on several cognitive-linguistic processes. This paper explored the spelling difficulties of English second language learners with auditory processing delays. This empirical study aims to address these issues by means of an intervention design. Specifically, the objectives are: (a) to develop and implement a multi-sensory spelling program for second language learners with auditory processing difficulties (APD) for a period of 6 months; (b) to assess the efficacy of the multi-sensory spelling program and whether this intervention could significantly improve experimental learners' spelling, phonological awareness, and processing (PA), rapid automatized naming (RAN), working memory (WM), word reading and reading comprehension; and (c) to determine the relationship (or interplay) between these cognitive and linguistic skills (mentioned above), and how they influence spelling development. Forty-four English, second language learners with APD were sampled from one primary school in the Free State province. The learners were randomly assigned to either an experimental (n=22) or control group (n=22). During the implementation of the spelling program, several visual, tactile and kinesthetic exercises, including the utilization of fingerspelling were introduced to support the experimental learners’ (N = 22) spelling development. Post-test results showed the efficacy of the multi-sensory spelling program, with the experimental group who were trained in utilising multi-sensory coding and fingerspelling outperforming learners from the control group on the cognitive-linguistic, spelling and reading measures. The results and efficacy of this multi-sensory spelling program and the utilisation of fingerspelling for hearing second language learners with APD open up innovative perspectives for the prevention and targeted remediation of spelling difficulties.

Keywords: English second language spellers, auditory processing delays, spelling difficulties, multi-sensory intervention program

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Authors: Wen Chen

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To investigate the interleaving effect of subject matter (mathematics vs. history) and perceptual modality (visual vs. auditory materials) on student’s attention and learning outcomes, the present study collected self-reported data on subjective cognitive load (SCL) and attention level, EEG data, and learning outcomes from micro-lectures. Eighty-one 7th grade students were randomly assigned to four learning conditions: blocked (by subject matter) micro-lectures with auditory textual information (B-A condition), blocked (by subject matter) micro-lectures with visual textual information (B-V condition), interleaved (by subject matter) micro-lectures with auditory textual information (I-A condition), and interleaved micro-lectures by both perceptual modality and subject matter (I-all condition). The results showed that although interleaved conditions may show advantages in certain indices, the I-all condition showed the best overall outcomes (best performance, low SCL, and high attention). This study suggests that interleaving by both subject matter and perceptual modality should be preferred in scheduling and planning classes.

Keywords: cognitive load, interleaving effect, micro-lectures, sustained attention

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Authors: Mitra Assadi, Md. Faan

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Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in a common neurodevelopmental disorder with limited pharmacological interventions. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) has produced promising results in ASD, although there is no consensus regarding optimal targets or stimulation paradigms. A prevailing theory in ASD attributes the core deficits to dysfunction of the mirror neurons located in the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Methods: Thus far, 11 subjects with ASD, 10 boys and 1 girl with the mean age of 13.36 years have completed the study by receiving 10 session of high frequency rTMS to the IPL. The subjects were randomized to receive stimulation on the left or right IPL and sham stimulation to the opposite side. The outcome measures included the Social Responsiveness Scale – Second Edition (SRS-2) and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Verbal Fluency task. Results: None of the 11 subjects experienced any adverse effects. The rTMS did not produce any improvement in verbal fluency, nor there was any statistically significant difference between the right versus left sided stimulation. Analysis of social awareness on SRS-2 (SRS-AWR) indicated a close to significant effect of the treatment with a small to medium effect size. After removing a single subject with Level 3 ASD, we demonstrated a close to significant improvement on SRS-AWR with a large effect size. The analysis of the data 3-month post TMS demonstrated return of the SRS-AWR values to baseline. Conclusion: This preliminary analysis of the 11 subjects who have completed our study thus far shows a favorable response to high frequency rTMS stimulation of the mirror neurons/IPL on social awareness. While the decay of the response noted during the 3-month follow-up may be considered a limitation of rTMS, the presence of the improvement, especially the effect size despite the small sample size, is indicative of the efficacy of this technique.

Keywords: rTMS, autism, scoial cognition, mirror neurons

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Authors: Orose Rugchati, Kanita Thanacharoenchanaphas, Sarawut Wattanawongpitak

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In this study, the effect of electric stimulation on the quality of hot-boned beef brisket muscles was evaluated, including the tenderness, pH, temperature change, and colorant. Muscles were obtained from steers in the local slaughter house. (3 steers for each muscle), removed from the carcasses 4-hour postmortem and variable time to treated with direct current electric 1 and 5 minutes, respectively. Six different electric intensities (direct current voltage of 50, 70 and 90 Volt, pulse with 10, 20 and 40 ms) plus a control were applied to each muscle to determine the optimum treatment conditions. Hot-boned beef brisket was found to get tender with increasing treatment direct current voltage and reduction in the shear force with pulsed with electric treatment. But in a long time to treated with electric current get fading in red color and temperature increase whereas pH quite different compared to non-treated control samples.

Keywords: electric stimulation, characteristic changes, hot-boned beef brisket, potential tenderness

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Authors: Rozi Laskaraki, Argyris Karapetsas, Aikaterini Karapetsa

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This paper is focused on the efficacy of a rehabilitation program based on musical activities, implied to a group of school-aged dyslexic children. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of auditory training including musical exercises in children with developmental dyslexia (DD). Participants and Methods: 45 third-, and fourth-grade students with DD and a matched control group (n=45) were involved in this study. In the beginning, students participated in a clinical assessment, including both electrophysiological (i.e., event related potentials (ERPs) esp.P300 waveform) and neuropsychological tests, being conducted in Laboratory of Neuropsychology, at University of Thessaly, in Volos, Greece. Initial assessment’s results confirmed statistically significant lower performance for children with DD, compared to that of the typical readers. After clinical assessment, a subgroup of children with dyslexia was submitted to a music auditory training program, conducted in 45-minute training sessions, once a week, for twenty weeks. The program included structured and digitized musical activities involving pitch, rhythm, melody and tempo perception and discrimination as well as auditory sequencing. After the intervention period, children underwent a new recording of ERPs. Results: The electrophysiological results revealed that children had similar P300 latency values to that of the controls, after the remediation program; thus children overcame their deficits. Conclusion: The outcomes of the current study suggest that ERPs is a valid clinical tool in neuropsychological assessment settings and dyslexia can be ameliorated through music auditory training.

Keywords: dyslexia, event related potentials, learning disabilities, music, rehabilitation

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Authors: Hsiao-Lan Wang, Chun-Han Chiang, I-Chen Chen

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In Chinese Mandarin, lexical tones play an important role to provide contrasts in word meaning. They are pitch patterns and can be quantified as the fundamental frequency (F0), expressed in Hertz (Hz). In this study, we aim to investigate the influence of frequency discrimination on Chinese children’s performance of reading abilities. Fifty participants from 3rd to 4th grades, including 24 children with reading difficulties and 26 age-matched children, were examined. A serial of cognitive, language, reading and psychoacoustic tests were administrated. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was also employed to study children’s auditory sensitivity. In the present study, auditory frequency was measured through slide-up pitch, slide-down pitch and frequency-modulated tone. The results showed that children with Chinese reading difficulties were significantly poor at phonological awareness and auditory discrimination for the identification of frequency-modulated tone. Chinese children’s character reading performance was significantly related to lexical tone awareness and auditory perception of frequency-modulated tone. In our MEG measure, we compared the mismatch negativity (MMNm), from 100 to 200 ms, in two groups. There were no significant differences between groups during the perceptual discrimination of standard sounds, fast-up and fast-down frequencies. However, the data revealed significant cluster differences between groups in the slow-up and slow-down frequencies discrimination. In the slow-up stimulus, the cluster demonstrated an upward field map at 106-151 ms (p < .001) with a strong peak time at 127ms. The source analyses of two dipole model and localization resolution model (CLARA) from 100 to 200 ms both indicated a strong source from the left temporal area with 45.845% residual variance. Similar results were found in the slow-down stimulus with a larger upward current at 110-142 ms (p < 0.05) and a peak time at 117 ms in the left temporal area (47.857% residual variance). In short, we found a significant group difference in the MMNm while children processed frequency-modulated tones with slow temporal changes. The findings may imply that perception of sound frequency signals with slower temporal modulations was related to reading and language development in Chinese. Our study may also support the recent hypothesis of underlying non-verbal auditory temporal deficits accounting for the difficulties in literacy development seen developmental dyslexia.

Keywords: Chinese Mandarin, frequency modulation sweeps, magnetoencephalography, mismatch negativity, reading difficulties

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Authors: Dhanya Nair, Nicholas Mirchandani

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Musical haptic systems can enhance a listener’s musical experience while providing an alternative platform for the hearing impaired to experience music. Current music tactile technologies focus on representing tactile metronomes to synchronize performers or encoding musical notes into distinguishable (albeit distracting) tactile patterns. There is growing interest in the development of musical haptic systems to augment the auditory experience, although the haptic-music relationship is still not well understood. This paper represents a tactile music interface that provides vibrations to multiple fingertips in synchronicity with auditory music. Like an audio equalizer, different frequency bands are filtered out, and the power in each frequency band is computed and converted to a corresponding vibrational strength. These vibrations are felt on different fingertips, each corresponding to a different frequency band. Songs with music from different spectrums, as classified by their energy and valence, were used to test the effectiveness of the system and to understand the relationship between music and tactile sensations. Three participants were trained on one song categorized as sad (low energy and low valence score) and one song categorized as happy (high energy and high valence score). They were trained both with and without auditory feedback (listening to the song while experiencing the tactile music on their fingertips and then experiencing the vibrations alone without the music). The participants were then tested on three songs from both categories, without any auditory feedback, and were asked to classify the tactile vibrations they felt into either category. The participants were blinded to the songs being tested and were not provided any feedback on the accuracy of their classification. These participants were able to classify the music with 100% accuracy. Although the songs tested were on two opposite spectrums (sad/happy), the preliminary results show the potential of utilizing a vibrotactile equalizer, like the one presented, for augmenting musical experience while furthering the current understanding of music tactile relationship.

Keywords: haptic music relationship, tactile equalizer, tactile music, vibrations and mood

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Authors: A. Schander, T. Tessmann, H. Stemmann, S. Strokov, A. Kreiter, W. Lang

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For the chronic application of neural prostheses and other brain-computer interfaces, long-term stable microelectrodes for electrical stimulation are essential. In recent years many developments were done to investigate different appropriate materials for these electrodes. One of these materials is the electrical conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), which has lower impedance and higher charge injection capacity compared to noble metals like gold and platinum. However the long-term stability of this polymer is still unclear. Thus this paper reports on the in-vitro evaluation of the long-term stability of PEDOT coated gold microelectrodes. For this purpose a highly flexible electrocorticography (ECoG) electrode array, based on the polymer polyimide, is used. This array consists of circular gold electrodes with a diameter of 560 µm (0.25 mm2). In total 25 electrodes of this array were coated simultaneously with the polymer PEDOT:PSS in a cleanroom environment using a galvanostatic electropolymerization process. After the coating the array is additionally sterilized using a steam sterilization process (121°C, 1 bar, 20.5 min) to simulate autoclaving prior to the implantation of such an electrode array. The long-term measurements were performed in phosphate-buffered saline solution (PBS, pH 7.4) at the constant body temperature of 37°C. For the in-vitro electrical stimulation a one channel bipolar current stimulator is used. The stimulation protocol consists of a bipolar current amplitude of 5 mA (cathodal phase first), a pulse duration of 100 µs per phase, a pulse pause of 50 µs and a frequency of 1 kHz. A PEDOT:PSS coated gold electrode with an area of 1 cm2 serves as the counter electrode. The electrical stimulation is performed continuously with a total amount of 86.4 million bipolar current pulses per day. The condition of the PEDOT coated electrodes is monitored in between with electrical impedance spectroscopy measurements. The results of this study demonstrate that the PEDOT coated electrodes are stable for more than 3.6 billion bipolar current pulses. Also the unstimulated electrodes show currently no degradation after the time period of 5 months. These results indicate an appropriate long-term stability of this electrode coating for chronic recording and electrical stimulation. The long-term measurements are still continuing to investigate the life limit of this electrode coating.

Keywords: chronic recording, electrical stimulation, long-term stability, microelectrodes, PEDOT

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Authors: Erfan Izadpanah

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The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of the Trans-Cranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on cognitive flexibility and social decision-making in skilled, semi-skilled and novice football players. The present quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study was conducted on 60 randomly-selected subjects divided into trial and placebo groups (n=30 per group). The trial group received three 20-minute sessions of anodic stimulation at the intensity of 2 mA. The placebo group also received three sessions of sham anodic stimulation. Data were collected using the Wisconsin, Grant and Berg Card-Sorting Test (1948) and the ultimatum game and were then analyzed using the ANCOVA. The results showed significant differences between the skilled, semi-skilled and novice football players in the trial and placebo groups in terms of cognitive flexibility and social decision-making (P<0.01). TDCS appears to be able to improve cognitive flexibility and consequently social decision-making in football players and is recommended to sport psychologists and coaches as a useful intervention to increase cognitive flexibility and improve social decision-making in players.

Keywords: TDCS, cognitive flexibility, social decision-making, skilled, semi-skilled and novice football players

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Authors: Aji Budi Rinekso

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There are some common problems that are often faced by students in writing. The problems are related to macro and micro skills of writing, such as incorrect spellings, inappropriate diction, grammatical errors, random ideas, and irrelevant supporting sentences. Therefore, it is needed a teaching technique that can solve those problems. Dictogloss technique is a teaching technique that involves listening practices. So, it is a suitable teaching technique for students with auditory learning style. Dictogloss technique comprises of four basic steps; (1) warm up, (2) dictation, (3) reconstruction and (4) analysis and correction. Warm up is when students find out about topics and do some preparatory vocabulary works. Then, dictation is when the students listen to texts read at normal speed by a teacher. The text is read by the teacher twice where at the first reading the students only listen to the teacher and at the second reading the students listen to the teacher again and take notes. Next, reconstruction is when the students discuss the information from the text read by the teacher and start to write a text. Lastly, analysis and correction are when the students check their writings and revise them. Dictogloss offers some advantages in relation to the efforts of improving writing skills. Through the use of dictogloss technique, students can solve their problems both on macro skills and micro skills. Easier to generate ideas and better writing mechanics are the benefits of dictogloss.

Keywords: auditory learners, writing skills, dictogloss technique, second language learning

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Authors: Robert Lenzie

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Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) is significant in the research literature. However, the effects of tES on brain activity are still poorly understood at the surface level, the Brodmann Area level, and the impact on neural networks. Using a method like electroencephalography (EEG) in conjunction with tES might make it possible to comprehend the brain response and mechanisms behind published observed alterations in more depth. Using a method to directly see the effect of tES on EEG may offer high temporal resolution data on the brain activity changes/modulations brought on by tES that correlate to various processing stages within the brain. This paper provides unpublished information on a cutting-edge methodology that may reveal details about the dynamics of how the human brain works beyond what is now achievable with existing methods.

Keywords: tACS, frequency, EEG, optimal

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Authors: Seokbeen Lim, Gilwon Yoon

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The readiness potential in brain waves is a brain activity related with an intention whose potential arises even before its conscious intention. This study was carried out in order to understand the generation and mechanism of the readiness potential more. The experiment with two subjects was conducted in two ways following the Oddball task protocol. Firstly, auditory stimuli were randomly presented to the subjects. The subject was allowed to press the keyboard with the right index finger only when the subject heard the target stimulus but not the standard stimulus. Secondly, unlike the first one, the auditory stimuli were randomly presented, and the subjects pressed the keyboard in the same manner, but at the same time with grasping action of the left hand. The readiness potential showed up for both of these experiments. In the first Oddball experiment, the readiness potential was detected only when the target stimulus was presented. However, in the second Oddball experiment with the left hand action of grasping something, the readiness potential was detected at the presentation of for both standard and target stimuli. However, detected readiness potentials with the target stimuli were larger than those of the standard stimuli. We found an interesting phenomenon that the readiness potential was able to be detected even the standard stimulus. This indicates that motor-related readiness potentials can be generated only by the intention to move. These results present a new perspective in psychology and brain engineering since subconscious brain action may be prior to conscious recognition of the intention.

Keywords: readiness potential, auditory stimuli, event-related potential, electroencephalography, oddball task

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Authors: Jagmeet S. Kanwal, Julia F. Langley

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Music can heal the body, but a mechanistic understanding of this phenomenon is lacking. This study explores the effects of music presentation on neurologic and physiologic responses leading to metabolic changes in the human body. The mind and body co-exist in a corporeal entity and within this framework, sickness ensues when the mind-body balance goes awry. It is further hypothesized that music has the capacity to directly reset this balance. Two lines of inquiry taken together can provide a mechanistic understanding of this phenomenon 1) Empirical evidence for a sound-sensitive pressure sensor system in the body, and 2) The notion of a “healing center” within the brain that is activated by specific patterns of sounds. From an acoustics perspective, music is spatially distributed as pressure waves ranging from a few cm to several meters in wavelength. These waves interact and propagate in three-dimensions in unique ways, depending on the wavelength. Furthermore, music creates dynamically changing wave-fronts. Frequencies between 200 Hz and 1 kHz generate wavelengths that range from 5'6" to 1 foot. These dimensions are in the range of the body size of most people making it plausible that these pressure waves can geometrically interact with the body surface and create distinct patterns of pressure stimulation across the skin surface. For humans, short wavelength, high frequency (> 200 Hz) sounds are best received via cochlear receptors. For low frequency (< 200 Hz), long wavelength sound vibrations, however, the whole body may act as an ideal receiver. A vast array of highly sensitive pressure receptors (Pacinian corpuscles) is present just beneath the skin surface, as well as in the tendons, bones, several organs in the abdomen, and the sexual organs. Per the available empirical evidence, these receptors contribute to music perception by allowing the whole body to function as a sound receiver, and knowledge of how they function is essential to fully understanding the therapeutic effect of music. Neuroscientific studies have established that music stimulates the limbic system that can trigger states of anxiety, arousal, fear, and other emotions. These emotional states of brain activity play a crucial role in filtering top-down feedback from thoughts and bottom-up sensory inputs to the autonomic system, which automatically regulates bodily functions. Music likely exerts its pleasurable and healing effects by enhancing functional and effective connectivity and feedback mechanisms between brain regions that mediate reward, autonomic, and cognitive processing. Stimulation of pressure receptors under the skin by low-frequency music-induced sensations can activate multiple centers in the brain, including the amygdala, the cingulate cortex, and nucleus accumbens. Melodies in music in the low (< 600 Hz) frequency range may augment auditory inputs after convergence of the pressure-sensitive inputs from the vagus nerve onto emotive processing regions within the limbic system. The integration of music-generated auditory and somato-visceral inputs may lead to a synergistic input to the brain that promotes healing. Thus, music can literally heal humans through “touch” as it energizes the brain’s autonomic system for restoring homeostasis.

Keywords: acoustics, brain, music healing, pressure receptors

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Authors: Olusegun Oguntoke, Aramide Y. Tijani, Olayide R. Adetunji

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Environmental noise has become a major threat to the quality of human life, and it is generally more severe in cities. This study assessed the level of environmental noise, mapped the spatial pattern at different times of the day and examined the association with morbidity of auditory ailments in Abeokuta metropolis. The entire metropolis was divided into 80 cells (areas) of 1000 m by 1000 m; out of which 33 were randomly selected for noise levels assessment. Portable noise meter (AR824) was used to measure noise level, and Global Positioning System (Garmin GPS-72H) was employed to take the coordinates of the sample sites for mapping. Risk map of the noise levels was produced using Kriging interpolation techniques based on the spatial spread of measured noise values across the study area. Data on cases of hearing impairments were collected from four major hospitals in the city. Data collected from field measurements and medical records were subjected to descriptive (frequency and percentage) and inferential (mean, ANOVA and correlation) statistics using SPSS (version 20.0). ArcMap 10.1 was employed for spatial analysis and mapping. Results showed mean noise levels range at morning (42.4 ± 4.14 – 88.2 ± 15.1 dBA), afternoon (45.0 ± 6.72– 86.4 ± 12.5 dBA) and evening (51.0 ± 6.55–84.4 ± 5.19 dBA) across the study area. The interpolated maps identified Kuto, Okelowo, Isale-Igbein, and Sapon as high noise risk areas. These are the central business district and nucleus of Abeokuta metropolis where commercial activities, high traffic volume, and clustered buildings exist. The monitored noise levels varied significantly among the sampled areas in the morning, afternoon and evening (p < 0.05). A significant correlation was found between diagnosed cases of auditory ailments and noise levels measured in the morning (r=0.39 at p < 0.05). Common auditory ailments found across the metropolis included impaired hearing (25.8%), tinnitus (16.4%) and otitis (15.0%). The most affected age groups were between 11-30 years while the male gender had more cases of hearing impairments (51.2%) than the females. The study revealed that environmental noise levels exceeded the recommended standards in the morning, afternoon and evening in 60.6%, 61% and 72.7% of the sampled areas respectively. Summarily, environmental noise in the study area is high and contributes to the morbidity of auditory ailments. Areas identified as hot spots of noise pollution should be avoided in the location of noise sensitive activities while environmental noise monitoring should be included as part of the mandate of the regulatory agencies in Nigeria.

Keywords: noise pollution, associative analysis, auditory impairment, urban, human exposure

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Authors: Nighat Zia-ud-Den, Shazia Anwer Bukhari

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In the present study, sunflower seeds were exposed to magnetic bio-stimulation at different milli Tesla, and their effects were studied. The present study addressed to establish the effectiveness of magnetic bio-stimulation on seed germination, growth, and other dynamics of crop growth. The changes in physiological characters, i.e. the growth parameters of seedlings (biomass, root and shoot length, fresh and dry weight of root shoot leaf and fruit, leaf area, the height of plants, number of leaves, and number of fruits per plant) and antioxidant activities were measured. The parameters related to germination and growth were measured under controlled conditions while they changed significantly compared with that of the control. These changes suggested that magnetic seed stimulator enhanced the inner energy of seeds, which contributed to the acceleration of the growth and development of seedlings. Moreover, pretreatment with a magnetic field was found to be a positive impact on sunflower seeds germination, growth, and other biochemical parameters.

Keywords: sunflower seeds, physical priming method, biochemical parameters, antioxidant activities

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Authors: Areti Okalidou, Paul D. Hatzigiannakoglou, Aikaterini Vatou, George Kyriafinis

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Young children are nowadays adept at using technology. Hence, computer-based auditory training programs (CBATPs) have become increasingly popular in aural rehabilitation for children with hearing loss and/or with cochlear implants (CI). Yet, their clinical utility for prognostic, diagnostic, and monitoring purposes has not been explored. The purposes of the study were: a) to develop an updated version of the auditory rehabilitation tool for Greek-speaking children with cochlear implants, b) to develop a database for behavioral responses, and c) to compare accuracy rates and reaction times in children differing in hearing status and other medical and demographic characteristics, in order to assess the tool’s clinical utility in prognosis, diagnosis, and progress monitoring. The updated version of the auditory rehabilitation tool was developed on a tablet, retaining the User-Centered Design approach and the elements of the Virtual Reality (VR) serious game. The visual stimuli were farm animals acting in simple game scenarios designed to trigger children’s responses to animal sounds, names, and relevant sentences. Based on an extended version of Erber’s auditory development model, the VR game consisted of six stages, i.e., sound detection, sound discrimination, word discrimination, identification, comprehension of words in a carrier phrase, and comprehension of sentences. A familiarization stage (learning) was set prior to the game. Children’s tactile responses were recorded as correct, false, or impulsive, following a child-dependent set up of a valid delay time after stimulus offset for valid responses. Reaction times were also recorded, and the database was in Εxcel format. The tablet version of the auditory rehabilitation tool was piloted in 22 preschool children with Νormal Ηearing (ΝΗ), which led to improvements. The study took place in clinical settings or at children’s homes. Fifteen children with CI, aged 5;7-12;3 years with post-implantation 0;11-5;1 years used the auditory rehabilitation tool. Eight children with CI were monolingual, two were bilingual and five had additional disabilities. The control groups consisted of 13 children with ΝΗ, aged 2;6-9;11 years. A comparison of both accuracy rates, as percent correct, and reaction times (in sec) was made at each stage, across hearing status, age, and also, within the CI group, based on presence of additional disability and bilingualism. Both monolingual Greek-speaking children with CI with no additional disabilities and hearing peers showed high accuracy rates at all stages, with performances falling above the 3rd quartile. However, children with normal hearing scored higher than the children with CI, especially in the detection and word discrimination tasks. The reaction time differences between the two groups decreased in language-based tasks. Results for children with CI with additional disability or bilingualism varied. Finally, older children scored higher than younger ones in both groups (CI, NH), but larger differences occurred in children with CI. The interactions between familiarization of the software, age, hearing status and demographic characteristics are discussed. Overall, the VR game is a promising tool for tracking the development of auditory skills, as it provides multi-level longitudinal empirical data. Acknowledgment: This work is part of a project that has received funding from the Research Committee of the University of Macedonia under the Basic Research 2020-21 funding programme.

Keywords: VR serious games, auditory rehabilitation, auditory training, children with cochlear implants

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Authors: Maha Saliba Foster

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Speech perception has been recognized as a bi-sensory process involving the auditory and visual channels. Compared to the auditory modality, the contribution of the visual signal to speech perception is not very well understood. Studying how the visual modality affects speech recognition can have pedagogical implications in second language learning, as well as clinical application in speech therapy. The current investigation explores the potential effect of speech visual cues on the perception of Arabic emphatics (AEs). The corpus consists of 36 minimal pairs each containing two contrasting consonants, an AE versus a non-emphatic (NE). Movies of four Lebanese speakers were edited to allow perceivers to have partial view of facial regions: lips only, lips-cheeks, lips-chin, lips-cheeks-chin, lips-cheeks-chin-neck. In the absence of any auditory information and relying solely on visual speech, perceivers were above chance at correctly identifying AEs or NEs across vowel contexts; moreover, the models were able to predict the probability of perceivers’ accuracy in identifying some of the COIs produced by certain speakers; additionally, results showed an overlap between the measurements selected by the computer and those selected by human perceivers. The lack of significant face effect on the perception of AEs seems to point to the lips, present in all of the videos, as the most important and often sufficient facial feature for emphasis recognition. Future investigations will aim at refining the analyses of visual cues used by perceivers by using Principal Component Analysis and including time evolution of facial feature measurements.

Keywords: Arabic emphatics, machine learning, speech perception, visual speech perception

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Authors: Annika Skansberg

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Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) use vapor to deliver nicotine, have recently become popular, especially amongst adolescents. Because of this, the FDA has decided to regulate e-cigarettes, and therefore would like to determine the abuse liability of the products compared to traditional nicotine products. This will allow them to determine the impact of regulating them on public health and shape the decisions they make when creating new laws. This study assessed the abuse liability of Aroma E-juice Dark Honey Tobacco compared to nicotine using an animal model. This e-liquid contains minor alkaloids that may increase abuse liability compared to nicotine alone. The abuse liability of nicotine alone and e-juice liquid were compared in rats using intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) thresholds. E-liquid had less aversive effects at high nicotine doses in the ICSS model, suggesting that the minor alkaloids in the e-liquid allow users to use higher doses without experiencing the negative effects felt when using high doses of nicotine alone. This finding could mean that e-cigarettes have a higher abuse liability than nicotine alone, but more research is needed before this can be concluded. These findings are useful in observing the abuse liability of e-cigarettes and will help inform the FDA while regulating these products.

Keywords: electronic cigarettes, intra-cranial self stimulation, abuse liability, anhedonia

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Authors: Asrarul Fikri Abu Hassan, Muhammad Hafiz bin Hanafi, Jafri Malin Abdullah

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This study is to compare the motor evoked potential (MEP) changes using different settings of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in the post-haemorrhagic stroke patient which treated conservatively. The goal of the study is to determine changes in corticomotor excitability and functional outcome after repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) therapy regime. 20 post-stroke patients with upper limb hemiparesis were studied due to haemorrhagic stroke. One of the three settings; (I) Inhibitory setting, or (II) facilitatory setting, or (III) control group, no excitatory or inhibitory setting have been applied randomly during the first meeting. The motor evoked potential (MEP) were recorded before and after application of the rTMS setting. Functional outcomes were evaluated using the Barthel index score. We found pre-treatment MEP values of the lesional side were lower compared to post-treatment values in both settings. In contrast, we found that the pre-treatment MEP values of the non-lesional side were higher compared to post-treatment values in both settings. Interestingly, patients with treatment, either facilitatory setting and inhibitory setting have faster motor recovery compared to the control group. Our data showed both settings might improve the MEP of the upper extremity and functional outcomes in the haemorrhagic stroke patient.

Keywords: Barthel index, corticomotor excitability, motor evoked potential, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, stroke

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Authors: Vu Hoang Thu Huong

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Background: Surface electrical stimulation (SES) is a popular non-invasive approach that offers a wide range of treatments for many diseases of physical therapy. It involves applying electrical stimulation to the skin via surface electrodes to stimulate nerve fibers. SES was regularly used to treat the back and upper or lower extremities, but it was rarely used to treat the chest and abdomen. SES on the thorax and abdomen should be administered with more attention because crucial organs are under those areas (i.e., heart, lungs, liver, etc.). In these areas, safety precautions are suggested, and some SES applications might even be a contraindication. The fact that physical therapists have less experience with SES in these situations can also be attributed to these. Although a few earlier studies applied it to these settings and discovered hopeful results, none of them highlight the relationship between the intensity of SES and its depth of impact for safety considerations. Objective: To assure feasibility when using SES in these areas, the purpose of this study is to summarize the common location and intensity of those areas that have been conducted in previous studies. Method: A thorough systematic review was conducted to determine the common surface electrode position for the thorax and abdomen areas. The studies with the randomized controlled design were systematically searched using inclusion and exclusion criteria through nine electronic databases, including Pubmed, Scopus, etc., between 1975 and Dec 2021. Results: Thirty-three studies with over 1800 participants and 4 types of SES (TENS, IFC, NMES, and FES) with various categories of department hospitals were found. Following an anterior, lateral, and posterior observation, the particular SES positions found that it concentrated on 6 regions (the thoracic, abdomen, upper lateral, lower lateral, upper back, and lower back regions), and its intensity for each region was also summarized. Conclusion: This systematic review figured out the popular locations of SES in the thorax and abdominal areas as well as a summarized maximum of intensity that was found in previous studies with outstanding outcomes.

Keywords: surface electrical stimulation, electrical stimulation, thoracic, abdomen, abdominal.

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Authors: H. A. Alzomor, B. K. Ouda, A. M. Eldeib

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Successful regional anesthesia depends upon precise location of the peripheral nerve or nerve plexus. Locating peripheral nerves is preferred to be done using nerve stimulation. In order to generate a nerve impulse by electrical means, a minimum threshold stimulus of current “rheobase” must be applied to the nerve. The technique depends on stimulating muscular twitching at a close distance to the nerve without actually touching it. Success rate of this operation depends on the accuracy of current intensity pulses used for stimulation. In this paper, we will discuss a circuit and algorithm for closed loop control for the current, theoretical analysis and test results and compare them with previous techniques.

Keywords: Close Loop Control (CLC), constant current, nerve locator, rheobase

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Authors: Faraidoon Rahmanzai, Mizuki Takigawa, Yu Bomura, Shigeyuki Date

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To obtain the high quality and essential workability of mortar, different types of superplasticizers are used. The superplasticizers are the chemical admixture used in the mix to improve the fluidity of mortar. Many factors influenced the superplasticizer to disperse the cement particle in the mortar. Nature and amount of replaced cement by slag, mixing procedure, delayed addition time, and heat stimulation technique of superplasticizer cause the varied effect on the fluidity of the cementitious material. In this experiment, the superplasticizers were heated for 1 hour under 60 °C in a thermostatic chamber. Furthermore, the effect of delayed addition time of heat stimulated superplasticizers (SP) was also analyzed. This method was applied to two types of polycarboxylic acid based ether SP (precast type superplasticizer (SP2) and ready-mix type superplasticizer (SP1)) in combination with a partial replacement of normal Portland cement with blast furnace slag (BFS) with 30% w/c ratio. On the other hands, the fluidity, air content, fresh density, and compressive strength for 7 and 28 days were studied. The results indicate that the addition time and heat stimulation technique improved the flow and air content, decreased the density, and slightly decreased the compressive strength of mortar. Moreover, the slag improved the flow of mortar by increasing the amount of slag, and the effect of external temperature of SP on the flow of mortar was decreased. In comparison, the flow of mortar was improved on 5-minute delay for both kinds of SP, but SP1 has improved the flow in all conditions. Most importantly, the transition points in both types of SP appear to be the same, at about 5±1 min.  In addition, the optimum addition time of SP to mortar should be in this period.

Keywords: combined effect, delay addition, heat stimulation, flow of mortar

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Authors: P. G. S. Madushani, L. D. Illeperuma

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Abstract Noise is one of the most common physical hazards in industrial settings. The prevalence of Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is on the rise with increasedduration of exposure and the increase in the severity of hearing loss. The purpose of the study was to determine auditory effects among textile workers and to establish associations between the degree of hearing loss and exposure duration, degree of hearing loss and noise level and the proportion of hearing related complaints. A cross sectional descriptive study using purposive sampling was carried out. An interviewer administered questionnaire and Distortion Product Oto Acoustic Emission (DPOAE) hearing screening on 127 (72 female and 55 male) textile workers of the selected textile plant in Seeduwa, Sri Lanka was done (Age: M= 31.16, SD=7.75). Noise measurements were done in six sections of the factory and average noise levels were obtained. Diagnostic hearing evaluations were done for 60 (57.75%) subjects, referred from the DPOAE hearing screening test. The degree of hearing loss and the exposure duration had a significant association in the high frequency region of 4 kHz to 8 kHz (p < 0.05). Noise levels fluctuated between 90.3±0.8 dBA and 50.6. ±0.52 dBA. 30.83% of workers reported having NIHL. Most of the workers (33.9%) complained difficulty in conversing in noisy backgrounds. Other complaints as tinnitus, dizziness, ear fullness and headache were reported in less than 30%. workers who were exposed to noise for more than 15 years were affected with NIHL in the high frequency region. Administrative controls and engineering controls need to be implemented to manage hazardous noise levels in industrial settings. Hearing Conservation Programs should be initiated and implemented for textile workers.

Keywords: textile industry, NIHL, degree of hearing loss, noise levels, auditory effects

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