Effectiveness of computer-based auditory training in improving the perception of noise-vocoded speech

Five experiments were designed to evaluate the effectiveness of “high-variability” lexical training in improving the ability of normal-hearing subjects to perceive noise-vocoded speech that had been spectrally shifted to simulate tonotopic misalignment. Two approaches to training were implemented. One training approach required subjects to recognize isolated words, while the other training approach required subjects to recognize words in sentences. Both approaches to training improved the ability to identify words in sentences. Improvements following a single session (lasting 1–2 h) of auditory training ranged between 7 and 12 %pts and were significantly larger than improvements following a visual control task that was matched with the auditory training task in terms of the response demands. An additional three sessions of word- and sentence-based training led to further improvements, with the average overall improvement ranging from 13 to 18 %pts. When a tonotopic misalignment of 3 mm rather than 6 mm was simulated, training with several talkers led to greater generalization to new talkers than training with a single talker. The results confirm that computer-based lexical training can help overcome the effects of spectral distortions in speech, and they suggest that training materials are most effective when several talkers are included

Potential novel candidate polymorphisms identified in genome-wide association study for breast cancer susceptibility

Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have shown several risk alleles to be associated with breast cancer. However, the variants identified so far contribute to only a small proportion of disease risk. The objective of our GWAS was to identify additional novel breast cancer susceptibility variants and to replicate these findings in an independent cohort. We performed a two-stage association study in a cohort of 3,064 women from Alberta, Canada. In Stage I, we interrogated 906,600 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on Affymetrix SNP 6.0 arrays using 348 breast cancer cases and 348 controls. We used single-locus association tests to determine statistical significance for the observed differences in allele frequencies between cases and controls. In Stage II, we attempted to replicate 35 significant markers identified in Stage I in an independent study of 1,153 cases and 1,215 controls. Genotyping of Stage II samples was done using Sequenom Mass-ARRAY iPlex platform. Six loci from four different gene regions (chromosomes 4, 5, 16 and 19) showed statistically significant differences between cases and controls in both Stage I and Stage II testing, and also in joint analysis. The identified variants were from EDNRA, ROPN1L, C16orf61 and ZNF577 gene regions. The presented joint analyses from the two-stage study design were not significant after genome-wide correction. The SNPs identified in this study may serve as potential candidate loci for breast cancer risk in a further replication study in Stage III from Alberta population or independent validation in Caucasian cohorts elsewhere

The contribution of visual information to the perception of speech in noise with and without informative temporal fine structure

Understanding what is said in demanding listening situations is assisted greatly by looking at the face of a talker. Previous studies have observed that normal-hearing listeners can benefit from this visual information when a talker’s voice is presented in background noise. These benefits have also been observed in quiet listening conditions in cochlear-implant users, whose device does not convey the informative temporal fine structure cues in speech, and when normal-hearing individuals listen to speech processed to remove these informative temporal fine structure cues. The current study (1) characterised the benefits of visual information when listening in background noise; and (2) used sine-wave vocoding to compare the size of the visual benefit when speech is presented with or without informative temporal fine structure. The accuracy with which normal-hearing individuals reported words in spoken sentences was assessed across three experiments. The availability of visual information and informative temporal fine structure cues was varied within and across the experiments. The results showed that visual benefit was observed using open- and closed-set tests of speech perception. The size of the benefit increased when informative temporal fine structure cues were removed. This finding suggests that visual information may play an important role in the ability of cochlear-implant users to understand speech in many everyday situations. Models of audio-visual integration were able to account for the additional benefit of visual information when speech was degraded and suggested that auditory and visual information was being integrated in a similar way in all conditions. The modelling results were consistent with the notion that audio-visual benefit is derived from the optimal combination of auditory and visual sensory cues

The Efficacy of Auditory Perceptual Training for Tinnitus: A Systematic Review

Auditory perceptual training affects neural plasticity and so represents a potential strategy for tinnitus management. We assessed the effects of auditory perceptual training on tinnitus perception and/or its intrusiveness via a systematic review of published literature. An electronic database search using the keywords ‘tinnitus and learning’ or ‘tinnitus and training’ was conducted, updated by a hand search. The ten studies identified were reviewed independently by two reviewers, data were extracted, study quality was assessed according to a number of specific criteria and the information was synthesised using a narrative approach. Nine out of the ten studies reported some significant change in either self-reported or psychoacoustic outcome measures after auditory training. However, all studies were quality rated as providing low or moderate levels of evidence for an effect. We identify a need for appropriately randomised and controlled studies that will generate high-quality unbiased and generalisable evidence to ascertain whether or not auditory perceptual training has a clinically relevant effect on tinnitus

Voice parade procedures: optimising witness performance

Unfamiliar voice identification is error-prone. Whilst the investigation of system variables may indicate ways of boosting earwitness performance, this is an under-researched area. Two experiments were conducted to investigate how methods of presenting voices during a parade affect accuracy and self-rated confidence. In each experiment participants listened to a target voice, and were later asked to identify that voice from a nine-person target present or target absent parade. In Experiment 1, accuracy did not vary across parades comprising 15 or 30 s sample durations. Overall, when the target was present, participants correctly identified the target voice with 39% accuracy. However, when the target was absent, participants correctly rejected the parade 6% of the time. There was no relationship between accuracy and confidence. In Experiment 2, performance with a serial procedure, in which participants responded after hearing all nine voices, was compared with a sequential procedure, in which participants made a decision after listening to each voice. Overall accuracy was higher with the sequential procedure. These results highlight the importance of system variable research in voice identification. Different methods of presenting voices have the potential to support higher levels of accuracy than the procedure currently recommended in England and Wales

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Genetic correction of PSA values using sequence variants associated with PSA levels

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldMeasuring serum levels of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the most common screening method for prostate cancer. However, PSA levels are affected by a number of factors apart from neoplasia. Notably, around 40% of the variability of PSA levels in the general population is accounted for by inherited factors, suggesting that it may be possible to improve both sensitivity and specificity by adjusting test results for genetic effects. To search for sequence variants that associate with PSA levels, we performed a genome-wide association study and follow-up analysis using PSA information from 15,757 Icelandic and 454 British men not diagnosed with prostate cancer. Overall, we detected a genome-wide significant association between PSA levels and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at six loci: 5p15.33 (rs2736098), 10q11 (rs10993994), 10q26 (rs10788160), 12q24 (rs11067228), 17q12 (rs4430796), and 19q13.33 [rs17632542 (KLK3: I179T)], each with P(combined) <3 × 10(-10). Among 3834 men who underwent a biopsy of the prostate, the 10q26, 12q24, and 19q13.33 alleles that associate with high PSA levels are associated with higher probability of a negative biopsy (odds ratio between 1.15 and 1.27). Assessment of association between the six loci and prostate cancer risk in 5325 cases and 41,417 controls from Iceland, the Netherlands, Spain, Romania, and the United States showed that the SNPs at 10q26 and 12q24 were exclusively associated with PSA levels, whereas the other four loci also were associated with prostate cancer risk. We propose that a personalized PSA cutoff value, based on genotype, should be used when deciding to perform a prostate biopsy.info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/202059/ 218071 Urological Research Foundation P50 CA90386-05S2 Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center p30 CA60553 Health Technology Assessment Programme 96/20/06 96/20/99 Department of Health, England Cancer Research UK C522/A8649 Medical Research Council of England G0500966 ID 75466 National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI), UK Southwest National Health Service Research and Development NCRI National Institute for Health Resear

Genome-wide association analyses identify new susceptibility loci for oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer

We conducted a genome-wide association study of oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer in 6,034 cases and 6,585 controls from Europe, North America and South America. We detected eight significantly associated loci (P < 5 x 10(-8)), seven of which are new for these cancer sites. Oral and pharyngeal cancers combined were associated with loci at 6p21.32 (rs3828805, HLA-DQB1), 10q26.13 (rs201982221, LHPP) and 11p15.4 (rs1453414, OR52N2-TRIM5). Oral cancer was associated with two new regions, 2p23.3 (rs6547741, GPN1) and 9q34.12 (rs928674, LAMC3), and with known cancer-related loci-9p21.3 (rs8181047, CDKN2B-AS1) and 5p15.33 (rs10462706, CLPTM1L). Oropharyngeal cancer associations were limited to the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region, and classical HLA allele imputation showed a protective association with the class II haplotype HLA-DRB1*1301-HLA-DQA1*0103-HLA-DQB1*0603 (odds ratio (OR) = 0.59, P = 2.7 x 10(-9)). Stratified analyses on a subgroup of oropharyngeal cases with information available on human papillomavirus (HPV) status indicated that this association was considerably stronger in HPV-positive (OR = 0.23, P = 1.6 x 10(-6)) than in HPV-negative (OR = 0.75, P = 0.16) cancers