Neural systems for speech and song in autism

Despite language disabilities in autism, music abilities are frequently preserved. Paradoxically, brain regions associated with these functions typically overlap, enabling investigation of neural organization supporting speech and song in autism. Neural systems sensitive to speech and song were compared in low-functioning autistic and age-matched control children using passive auditory stimulation during functional magnetic resonance and diffusion tensor imaging. Activation in left inferior frontal gyrus was reduced in autistic children relative to controls during speech stimulation, but was greater than controls during song stimulation. Functional connectivity for song relative to speech was also increased between left inferior frontal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus in autism, and large-scale connectivity showed increased frontal–posterior connections. Although fractional anisotropy of the left arcuate fasciculus was decreased in autistic children relative to controls, structural terminations of the arcuate fasciculus in inferior frontal gyrus were indistinguishable between autistic and control groups. Fractional anisotropy correlated with activity in left inferior frontal gyrus for both speech and song conditions. Together, these findings indicate that in autism, functional systems that process speech and song were more effectively engaged for song than for speech and projections of structural pathways associated with these functions were not distinguishable from controls

Neural processing of natural sounds

Natural sounds include animal vocalizations, environmental sounds such as wind, water and fire noises and non-vocal sounds made by animals and humans for communication. These natural sounds have characteristic statistical properties that make them perceptually salient and that drive auditory neurons in optimal regimes for information transmission.Recent advances in statistics and computer sciences have allowed neuro-physiologists to extract the stimulus-response function of complex auditory neurons from responses to natural sounds. These studies have shown a hierarchical processing that leads to the neural detection of progressively more complex natural sound features and have demonstrated the importance of the acoustical and behavioral contexts for the neural responses.High-level auditory neurons have shown to be exquisitely selective for conspecific calls. This fine selectivity could play an important role for species recognition, for vocal learning in songbirds and, in the case of the bats, for the processing of the sounds used in echolocation. Research that investigates how communication sounds are categorized into behaviorally meaningful groups (e.g. call types in animals, words in human speech) remains in its infancy.Animals and humans also excel at separating communication sounds from each other and from background noise. Neurons that detect communication calls in noise have been found but the neural computations involved in sound source separation and natural auditory scene analysis remain overall poorly understood. Thus, future auditory research will have to focus not only on how natural sounds are processed by the auditory system but also on the computations that allow for this processing to occur in natural listening situations.The complexity of the computations needed in the natural hearing task might require a high-dimensional representation provided by ensemble of neurons and the use of natural sounds might be the best solution for understanding the ensemble neural code

Secondhand smoke and Smoke-Free Policy

Smoke-free Policy in Kentucky 2006 is designed for policymakers and community advocates who want to know more about the health effects of secondhand smoke and the effects of smoke-free laws on communities. Secondhand smoke is a toxic air contaminant. Secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Secondhand smoke affects nearly every organ of the body, causing heart disease, lung and other cancers, breathing disorders such as asthma, and sudden infant death syndrome. Most Kentuckians do not smoke, but at least 74% are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke in public places. Comprehensive smoke-free laws protect smokers and nonsmokers from secondhand smoke. Smoke-free laws significantly reduce air pollution. Workers who experience smoke-free laws have an almost immediate improvement in breathing symptoms. Lexington’s hospitality workers showed a dramatic 56% decline in hair nicotine levels in just three months after the smoke-free law took effect. The majority of workers and the public like smoke- free laws. There is no scientific evidence that smoke-free laws harm business. Currently, only 6.9% of Kentuckians are covered by comprehensive smoke- free laws. An additional 19.1% are covered by partial smoke-free laws. In these communities, some workers are protected from secondhand smoke, and the public is protected some of the time. Some schools and some workplaces have voluntarily adopted policies to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke. Less than half (46.6%) of Kentucky public and private middle and high schools prohibit smoking everywhere on their campuses. Similarly, 49% of Kentucky manufacturing facilities voluntarily prohibit indoor smoking. Healthy People 2010 is a nationwide health promotion initiative grounded in science and designed to promote health and prevent illness, disability, and premature death. Is Kentucky making progress toward the Healthy People 2010 Objectives for eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke? There is some progress toward increasing the percentage of smoke-free environments at schools and workplaces; and in reducing the proportion of nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke by implementing comprehensive smoke-free policies in public places