Testing spatial aspects of auditory salience

Auditory salience describes the extent to which sounds attract the listener’s attention. So far, there have not been any published studies testing if the location of sound relative to the listener influences its salience. In fact, not many experiments in general test auditory attention in a fully spatialised setting, with sounds in front and behind the listener. We modified two experimental methods from the literature so that they can be used to test spatial salience - one based on oddball detection and artificially created sounds, the other based on self-reported attention tracking in a more ecologically valid scenario. Each of these methods has its advantages and each presents different challenges. However, they both seem to indicate that high frequency sounds arriving from the back are slightly less salient. We believe this result could likely be explained by loudness differences

Happy but still focused: failures to find evidence for a mood-induced widening of visual attention

In models of affect and cognition it is held that positive affect broadens the scope of attention. Consistent with this claim, previous research has indeed suggested that positive affect is associated with impaired selective attention as evidenced by increased interference of spatially distant distractors. However, several recent findings cast doubt on the reliability of this observation. In the present study we examined whether selective attention in a visual flanker task is influenced by positive mood induction. Across three experiments, positive affect consistently failed to exert any impact on selective attention. The implications of this null-finding for theoretical models of affect and cognition are discussed

An investigation into the perception of spatial techniques used in multi-channel electroacoustic music

The paper reports on an experiment designed to examine the perception of the spatial attributes of envelopment and engulfment in spatial techniques used in multichannel electroacoustic music. Four spatial techniques were examined, they were: (i) Timbre Spatialisation [1], (ii) Spectral Splitting [2], (iii) Amplitude Point Source [3], and the proposed (iv) Dynamic Spectral Spatialisation technique. The multi-channel loudspeaker configuration consisted of 16 loudspeakers, eight horizontal and eight elevated. The experiment was design whereby the four above mentioned spatial techniques were presented in three conditions: (i) Horizontal only, (ii) Elevated only, and (iii) Horizontal and Elevated, referred to as Three Dimensional (3D), loudspeaker configurations. The experiment took place in the Spatialisation Auditory Display Environment (SpADE) at the University of Limerick and has physical attributes that conform to the ITU-R BS.1116-1 listening room standard [4]. Each participant individually undertook a listening experiment whereby they were asked to evaluate each spatial technique presented in the three conditions for perceived levels of envelopment and engulfment. A factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on the envelopment and engulfment ratings. The results of the analysis revealed a significant main effect for spatial techniques and loudspeaker configurations for both spatial attributes. Participants rated the Dynamic Spectral Spatialisation technique highest for levels of envelopment and engulfment. The Horizontal loudspeaker configuration was rated highest for envelopment and the Elevated loudspeaker configuration was rated highest for engulfment

Connecting Levels of Analysis in Educational Neuroscience: A Review of Multi-level Structure of Educational Neuroscience with Concrete Examples

In its origins educational neuroscience has started as an endeavor to discuss implications of neuroscience studies for education. However, it is now on its way to become a transdisciplinary field, incorporating findings, theoretical frameworks and methodologies from education, and cognitive and brain sciences. Given the differences and diversity in the originating disciplines, it has been a challenge for educational neuroscience to integrate both theoretical and methodological perspective in education and neuroscience in a coherent way. We present a multi-level framework for educational neuroscience, which argues for integration of multiple levels of analysis, some originating in brain and cognitive sciences, others in education, as a roadmap for the future of educational neuroscience with concrete examples in moral education

Use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy to evaluate cognitive change when using healthcare simulation tools

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by BMJ on 01/11/2020, available online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8936993/ The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.Background The use of brain imaging techniques in healthcare simulation is relatively rare. However, the use of mobile, wireless technique, such as functional nearinfrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), is becoming a useful tool for assessing the unique demands of simulation learning. For this study, this imaging technique was used to evaluate cognitive load during simulation learning events. Methods This study took place in relation to six simulation activities, paired for similarity, and evaluated comparative cognitive change between the three task pairs. The three paired tasks were: receiving a (1) face-toface and (2) video patient handover; observing a simulated scene in (1) two dimensions and (2) 360° field of vision; and on a simulated patient (1) taking a pulse and (2) taking a pulse and respiratory rate simultaneously. The total number of participants was n=12. Results In this study, fNIRS was sensitive to variations in task difficulty in common simulation tools and scenarios, showing an increase in oxygenated haemoglobin concentration and a decrease in deoxygenated haemoglobin concentration, as tasks increased in cognitive load. Conclusion Overall, findings confirmed the usefulness of neurohaemoglobin concentration markers as an evaluation tool of cognitive change in healthcare simulation. Study findings suggested that cognitive load increases in more complex cognitive tasks in simulation learning events. Task performance that increased in complexity therefore affected cognitive markers, with increase in mental effort required

Detect the unexpected: a science for surveillance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline a strategy for research development focused on addressing the neglected role of visual perception in real life tasks such as policing surveillance and command and control settings. Approach – The scale of surveillance task in modern control room is expanding as technology increases input capacity at an accelerating rate. The authors review recent literature highlighting the difficulties that apply to modern surveillance and give examples of how poor detection of the unexpected can be, and how surprising this deficit can be. Perceptual phenomena such as change blindness are linked to the perceptual processes undertaken by law-enforcement personnel. Findings – A scientific programme is outlined for how detection deficits can best be addressed in the context of a multidisciplinary collaborative agenda between researchers and practitioners. The development of a cognitive research field specifically examining the occurrence of perceptual “failures” provides an opportunity for policing agencies to relate laboratory findings in psychology to their own fields of day-to-day enquiry. Originality/value – The paper shows, with examples, where interdisciplinary research may best be focussed on evaluating practical solutions and on generating useable guidelines on procedure and practice. It also argues that these processes should be investigated in real and simulated context-specific studies to confirm the validity of the findings in these new applied scenarios

A Perceptual Investigation into Spatialization Techniques Used in Multichannel Electroacoustic Music for Envelopment and Engulfment

© 2017 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Composers of electroacoustic music have developed and creatively implemented various spatialization techniques for multichannel loudspeaker setups. What is not known is which of these spatialization techniques is most effective for exploiting the extended creative possibilities available in multidimensional sound. This article discusses an experiment investigating the perception of the spatial attributes of "envelopment" and "engulfment" within a high-density loudspeaker array. The spatialization techniques used in the experiment were timbre spatialization, spectral splitting, amplitude point-source panning, and dynamic spectral subband decorrelation. Three loudspeaker setups, or spatial dimensions, were investigated: horizontal-only; elevated-only; and three-dimensional, which consisted of both horizontal and elevated loudspeaker setups. Results suggest that dynamic spectral subband decorrelation was perceived as both the most enveloping and the most engulfing technique when compared to other techniques in these experimental loudspeaker configurations. We propose that the experimental results can be successfully implemented when composing electroacoustic music to exploit the creative possibilities in a high-density loudspeaker array or in other multichannel loudspeaker configurations