What memory binding functions is the hippocampus responsible for?

The role of the hippocampus in binding information in working memory (WM) is little understood. When complex experiences comprise associations between different pieces of information such as objects and locations (relational binding), the function of the hippocampus is required to hold them in WM (Mitchell et al., 2000; 2006; Piekema, 2006). However, recent evidence suggests that if the to-be-associated information leads to the formation of integrated objects such as coloured shapes (conjunctive binding), the hippocampus is less involved in holding temporary representations of these complex events in WM (Baddeley et al., 2010; Piekema, 2006). We investigated the relational and conjunctive binding hypotheses of the hippocampal functions in a patient with right hippocampal damage. The patient and controls were asked to study visual arrays of stimuli which consisted of shape-colour relations (shape-colour pairs) or shape-colour conjunctions (coloured shapes). After the study array, they were presented with a new screen consisting of one set of shapes (line drawings) and one set of colours. They were asked to reconstruct the bindings by selecting the shapes and their corresponding colours. As compared to healthy controls, the patient was impaired in holding relations of shapes and colours in WM whereas he could retain the conjunctions similarly to controls. These results lend support to the role of the hippocampus in supporting memory for inter-item associations but not memory for conjunctions of features which define objects' identity

Paesaggi sonori: una nuova direzione per la progettazione urbana nel piano strategico d’azione del Comune di Firenze

Nell'attuale contesto ambientale delle città, caratterizzato da una sempre più forte richiesta di contenimento e riduzione della pressione esercitata sulla popolazione dall'inquinamento acustico, appare fondamentale il ruolo di controllo attivo e partecipato che la legge riserva alle Amministrazioni locali. La scelta delle azioni di risanamento deve essere riferita a indicatori, quantitativi; e qualitativi, a partire dai livelli di fruizione delle aree urbane, chiamando i cittadini ad esprimersi in fase di stesura e di attuazione del piano. Seguendo questa direzione, nell'ambito del Piano Strategico d'Azione dell'agglomerato urbano di Firenze, la riprogettazione delle aree quiete su basi qualitative legate alla percezione e alla fruizione, utilizzando la metodologia del soundscape, vuole contribuire a definire un nuovo approccio alla questione del rumore che disturba gli ambienti di vita comprendente il risanamento dell'inquinamento acustico e la riprogettazione delle aree urbane in modo partecipato, organico e condiviso dai cittadini

LIFE+2010 QUADMAP Project: results obtained from the analysis of data collected during the application of the new methodology to the pilot quiet areas

Since the 90s, quiet areas have commonly been considered as places to be acoustically preserved or where acoustic interventions should be implemented to reduce noise levels. With the enforcement of the Environmental Noise Directive in 2002, a formal definition of a ‘quiet area in agglomeration’ and a ‘quiet area in open country’ was established. However, many Member States complained about the absence of guidelines regarding the identification and management of quiet areas. The LIFE QUiet Areas Definition and Management in Action Plans (QUADMAP) project started in 2011 to contribute to the Directive’s incomplete requirements for quiet areas. The project’s main result has been the introduction of a flexible methodology for the selection, analysis and management of quiet areas in agglomeration in which both acoustic and nonacoustic parameters are evaluated. The current paper illustrates the analyses carried out on the data collected during the application of the selection, analysis and management phases of the developed methodology in the different pilot cases selected during the Project. Mentioned analysis are aimed at verifying the benefits of the proposed complementary selection criteria (‘relative quiet urban areas’ identification criteria and ‘homogeneous urban areas’ subdivision criteria), at defining the measurement periods most representative of the areas and the acoustic and nonacoustic parameters to be considered as the most significant.The authors would like to thank all who sustained this research, specifically the European Commission for its financial contribution to the QUADMAP project into the LIFE+2010 Programme

A survey on the soundscape perception before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy

Abstract At the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of lockdown measures highlights changes in terms of sounds and noises present in the everyday life. The present paper deals with this peculiar and unexpected scenario as studied by means of an online survey consisting of 18 questions and distributed to residents in the Italian territory. For studying the unprecedented effect of the pandemic, participants were asked to fill the questionnaire, providing personal data, describing context and characteristics of the house in which they live and making a comparison of the lockdown soundscape with the pre-lockdown one. About four hundred questionnaires have been collected and analysed in order to define correlations between personal and perception variables. Using logistic regression models, changes have been studied during the two abovementioned periods. It has been observed that the perception of traffic noise has increased for people over 35 years old and the noise produced by the neighbourhood has been more statistically significant for employed respondents. Future outlook might provide the spread of the questionnaire in other countries for a global evaluation of the data, to be also acquired with reference to the after-lockdown period

A renewed perception of living environments after restrictions due to pandemic in Italy

Abstract The rapid habitual changes induced by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic first and the end of the most restrictive phase coinciding with the lock-down later resulted in significant changes, also occurred at an environmental level and, specifically, with regard to the perception of the soundscape in all European countries. The seek for knowledge underlying the research illustrated in this article concerned whether or not the perception of the soundscape following the almost normal resumption of daily activities had returned to that of the period before the restrictions came into force. This article illustrates how an online questionnaire structured in 16 questions was designed and administered to a sample of Italian citizens, in order to understand whether and how the habits of the respondents had changed in the three reference time periods (before the pandemic spread, the period marked by lock-down or other restrictions in early 2020 and the period afterwards) and their perception of the perceived soundscape of the place where they spend most of their days. A total of around 70 questionnaires distributed throughout Italy were collected and analysed. The results obtained, through the use of descriptive statistical analyses and logistic models, are also presented in this article

Life Monza: project description and actions’ updating

The introduction of Low Emission Zones, urban areas subject to road traffic restrictions in order to ensure compliance with the air pollutants limit values set by the European Directive on ambient air quality (2008/50/EC), is a common and well-established action in the administrative government of cities. The impacts on air quality improvement are widely analysed, whereas the effects and benefits concerning the noise have not been addressed in a comprehensive manner. As a consequence, the definition, the criteria for the analysis and the management methods of a Noise Low Emission Zone are not clearly expressed and shared yet. The LIFE MONZA project (Methodologies fOr Noise low emission Zones introduction And management - LIFE15 ENV/IT/000586) addresses these issues. The first objective of the project, co-funded by the European Commission, is to introduce an easy-replicable method for the identification and the management of the Noise Low Emission Zone, an urban area subject to traffic restrictions, whose impacts and benefits regarding noise issues will be analyzed and tested in the pilot area of the city of Monza, located in Northern Italy. Background conditions, structure, objectives of the project and actions’ progress will be discussed in this article