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The effect of musical expertise on the representation of space
Lega, Carlotta
Cattaneo, Zaira
Merabet, Lotfi B.
Vecchi, Tomaso
Cucchi, Silvia
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Consistent evidence suggests that pitch height may be represented in a spatial format, having both a vertical and a horizontal representation. The spatial representation of pitch height results into response compatibility effects for which high pitch tones are preferentially associated to up-right responses, and low pitch tones are preferentially associated to down-left responses (i.e., the Spatial-Musical Association of Response Codes (SMARC) effect), with the strength of these associations depending on individuals' musical skills. In this study we investigated whether listening to tones of different pitch affects the representation of external space, as assessed in a visual and haptic line bisection paradigm, in musicians and non musicians. Low and high pitch tones affected the bisection performance in musicians differently, both when pitch was relevant and irrelevant for the task, and in both the visual and the haptic modality. No effect of pitch height was observed on the bisection performance of non musicians. Moreover, our data also show that musicians present a (supramodal) rightward bisection bias in both the visual and the haptic modality, extending previous findings limited to the visual modality, and consistent with the idea that intense practice with musical notation and bimanual instrument training affects hemispheric lateralization.
musicians; pitch; space perception; line bisection; pseudoneglect
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Faster decline of pitch memory over time in congenital amusia
Williamson, Victoria J.
McDonald, Claire
Deutsch, Diana
Griffiths, Timothy D.
Stewart, Lauren
Advances in Cognitive Psychology
Congenital amusia (amusia, hereafter) is a developmental disorder that impacts negatively on the perception of music. Psychophysical testing suggests that individuals with amusia have above average thresholds for detection of pitch change and pitch direction discrimination; however, a low-level auditory perceptual problem cannot completely explain the disorder, since discrimination of melodies is also impaired when the constituent intervals are suprathreshold for perception. The aim of the present study was to test pitch memory as a function of (a) time and (b) tonal interference, in order to determine whether pitch traces are inherently weaker in amusic individuals. Memory for the pitch of single tones was compared using two versions of a paradigm developed by Deutsch (1970a). In both tasks, participants compared the pitch of a standard (S) versus a comparison (C) tone. In the time task, the S and C tones were presented, separated in time by 0, 1, 5, 10, and 15 s (blocked presentation). In the interference task, the S and C tones were presented with a fixed time interval (5 s) but with a variable number of irrelevant tones in between 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 tones (blocked presentation). In the time task, control performance remained high for all time intervals, but amusics showed a performance decrement over time. In the interference task, controls and amusics showed a similar performance decrement with increasing number of irrelevant tones. Overall, the results suggest that the pitch representations of amusic individuals are less stable and more prone to decay than those of matched non-amusic individuals.
congenital amusia; short-term memory; delay; tonal interference
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Role of auditory feedback in the control of successive keystrokes during piano playing
Furuya, Shinichi
Soechting, John F.
Experimental brain research. Experimentelle Hirnforschung. Experimentation cerebrale
The purpose of this study was to elucidate the role of auditory feedback derived from one keystroke in the control of the rhythmicity and velocity of successive keystrokes during piano playing. We examined the effects of transient auditory perturbations with respect to the pitch, loudness, and timing of one tone on subsequent keystrokes while six pianists played short excerpts from three simple musical pieces having different tempi ("event rates"). Immediately after a delay in tone production, the inter-keystroke interval became shorter. This compensatory action depended on the tempo, being most prominent at the medium tempo. This indicates that temporal information provided by auditory feedback is utilized to regulate the timing of movement elements produced in a sequence. We also found that the keystroke velocity changed after the timing, pitch, or loudness of a tone was altered, although the response differed depending on the type of perturbation. While delaying the timing or altering the pitch led to an increase in the velocity, altering the loudness changed the velocity in an inconsistent manner. Furthermore, perturbing a tone elicited by the right hand also affected the rhythmicity and velocity of keystrokes with the left hand, indicating that bimanual coordination of tone production was maintained. Finally, altering the pitch sometimes resulted in striking an incorrect key, mostly in the slow piece, emphasizing the importance of pitch information for accurate planning and execution of sequential piano keystrokes.
Feedback control; Auditory motor integration; Sequential movements; Bimanual control; Musicians; Pianists; Music
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Perceptual organization of auditory streaming-task relies on neural entrainment of the stimulus-presentation rate: MEG evidence
Chakalov, Ivan
Draganova, Rossitza
Wollbrink, Andreas
Preissl, Hubert
Pantev, Christo
BMC Neuroscience
Humans are able to extract regularities from complex auditory scenes in order to form perceptually meaningful elements. It has been shown previously that this process depends critically on both the temporal integration of the sensory input over time and the degree of frequency separation between concurrent sound sources. Our goal was to examine the relationship between these two aspects by means of magnetoencephalography (MEG). To achieve this aim, we combined time-frequency analysis on a sensor space level with source analysis. Our paradigm consisted of asymmetric ABA-tone triplets wherein the B-tones were presented temporally closer to the first A-tones, providing different tempi within the same sequence. Participants attended to the slowest B-rhythm whilst the frequency separation between tones was manipulated (0-, 2-, 4- and 10-semitones).
The results revealed that the asymmetric ABA-triplets spontaneously elicited periodic-sustained responses corresponding to the temporal distribution of the A-B and B-A tone intervals in all conditions. Moreover, when attending to the B-tones, the neural representations of the A- and B-streams were both detectable in the scenarios which allow perceptual streaming (2-, 4- and 10-semitones). Alongside this, the steady-state responses tuned to the presentation of the B-tones enhanced significantly with increase of the frequency separation between tones. However, the strength of the B-tones related steady-state responses dominated the strength of the A-tones responses in the 10-semitones condition. Conversely, the representation of the A-tones dominated the B-tones in the cases of 2- and 4-semitones conditions, in which a greater effort was required for completing the task. Additionally, the P1 evoked fields' component following the B-tones increased in magnitude with the increase of inter-tonal frequency difference.
The enhancement of the evoked fields in the source space, along with the B-tones related activity of the time-frequency results, likely reflect the selective enhancement of the attended B-stream. The results also suggested a dissimilar efficiency of the temporal integration of separate streams depending on the degree of frequency separation between the sounds. Overall, the present findings suggest that the neural effects of auditory streaming could be directly captured in the time-frequency spectrum at the sensor-space level.
MEG; Time-frequency spectrum; Auditory scene analysis; Task-driven entrainment
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Haptic information stabilizes and destabilizes coordination dynamics.
Kelso, J. A.
Fink, P. W.
DeLaplain, C. R.
Carson, R. G.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Goal-directed, coordinated movements in humans emerge from a variety of constraints that range from 'high-level' cognitive strategies based on perception of the task to 'low-level' neuromuscular-skeletal factors such as differential contributions to coordination from flexor and extensor muscles. There has been a tendency in the literature to dichotomize these sources of constraint, favouring one or the other rather than recognizing and understanding their mutual interplay. In this experiment, subjects were required to coordinate rhythmic flexion and extension movements with an auditory metronome, the rate of which was systematically increased. When subjects started in extension on the beat of the metronome, there was a small tendency to switch to flexion at higher rates, but not vice versa. When subjects were asked to contact a physical stop, the location of which was either coincident with or counterphase to the auditory stimulus, two effects occurred. When haptic contact was coincident with sound, coordination was stabilized for both flexion and extension. When haptic contact was counterphase to the metronome, coordination was actually destabilized, with transitions occurring from both extension to flexion on the beat and from flexion to extension on the beat. These results reveal the complementary nature of strategic and neuromuscular factors in sensorimotor coordination. They also suggest the presence of a multimodal neural integration process - which is parametrizable by rate and context - in which intentional movement, touch and sound are bound into a single, coherent unit.
Related Articles
Brainstem pitch representation in native speakers of Mandarin is less susceptible to degradation of stimulus temporal regularity
Krishnan, Ananthanarayan
Gandour, Jackson T.
Bidelman, Gavin M.
Brain research
It has been demonstrated that neural encoding of pitch in the auditory brainstem is shaped by long-term experience with language. To date, however, all stimuli have exhibited a high degree of pitch saliency. The experimental design herein permits us to determine whether experience-dependent pitch representation in the brainstem is less susceptible to progressive degradation of the temporal regularity of iterated rippled noise (IRN). Brainstem responses were recorded from Chinese and English participants in response to IRN homologues of Mandarin Tone 2 (T2IRN). Six different iterations steps were utilized to systematically vary the degree of temporal regularity in the fine structure of the IRN stimuli in order to produce a pitch salience continuum ranging from low to high. Pitch-tracking accuracy and pitch strength were computed from the brainstem responses using autocorrelation algorithms. Analysis of variance of brainstem responses to T2IRN revealed that pitch-tracking accuracy is higher in the native tone language group (Chinese) relative to the non-tone language group (English) except for the three lowest steps along the continuum, and moreover, that pitch strength is greater in the Chinese group even in severely degraded stimuli for two of the six 40-ms sections of T2IRN that exhibit rapid changes in pitch. For these same two sections, exponential time constants for the stimulus continuum revealed that pitch strength emerges 2–3 times faster in the tone language than in the non-tone language group as a function of increasing pitch salience. These findings altogether suggest that experience-dependent brainstem mechanisms for pitch are especially sensitive to those dimensions of tonal contours that provide cues of high perceptual saliency in degraded as well as normal listening conditions.
auditory; language; pitch; iterated rippled noise (IRN); fundamental frequency following response (FFR); experience-dependent plasticity
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The Temporal Representation of In-Phase and Anti-Phase Movements
Spencer, Rebecca M. C.
Ivry, Richard B.
Human movement science
We have proposed that the stability of bimanual coordination is influenced by the complexity of the representation of the task goals. Here we present two experiments to explore this hypothesis. First, we examined whether a temporal event structure is present in continuous movements by having participants vocalize while producing bimanual circling movements. Participants tended to vocalize once per movement cycle when moving in-phase. In contrast, vocalizations were not synchronized with anti-phase movements. While the in-phase result is unexpected, the latter would suggest anti-phase continuous movements lack an event structure. Second, we examined the event structure of movements marked by salient turn-around points. Participants made bimanual wrist flexion movements and were instructed to move 'in synchrony' with a metronome, without specifying how they should couple the movements to the metronome. During in-phase movements, participants synchronized one hand cycle with every metronome beat; during anti-phase movements, participants synchronized flexion of one hand with one metronome beat and extension of the other hand with the next beat. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the instability of anti-phase movements is related to their more complex (or absent) event representation relative to that associated with in-phase movements.
coordination; constraints; in-phase; anti-phase; stability
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Musicians and tone-language speakers share enhanced brainstem encoding but not perceptual benefits for musical pitch
Bidelman, Gavin M.
Gandour, Jackson T.
Krishnan, Ananthanarayan
Brain and cognition
Behavioral and neurophysiological transfer effects from music experience to language processing are well-established but it is currently unclear whether or not linguistic expertise (e.g., speaking a tone language) benefits music-related processing and its perception. Here, we compare brainstem responses of English-speaking musicians/non-musicians and native speakers of Mandarin Chinese elicited by tuned and detuned musical chords, to determine if enhancements in subcortical processing translate to improvements in the perceptual discrimination of musical pitch. Relative to non-musicians, both musicians and Chinese had stronger brainstem representation of the defining pitches of musical sequences. In contrast, two behavioral pitch discrimination tasks revealed that neither Chinese nor non-musicians were able to discriminate subtle changes in musical pitch with the same accuracy as musicians. Pooled across all listeners, brainstem magnitudes predicted behavioral pitch discrimination performance but considering each group individually, only musicians showed connections between neural and behavioral measures. No brain-behavior correlations were found for tone language speakers or non-musicians. These findings point to a dissociation between subcortical neurophysiological processing and behavioral measures of pitch perception in Chinese listeners. We infer that sensory-level enhancement of musical pitch information yields cognitive-level perceptual benefits only when that information is behaviorally relevant to the listener.
Pitch discrimination; music perception; tone language; auditory evoked potentials; fundamental frequency-following response (FFR); experience-dependent plasticity
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The role of musical training in emergent and event-based timing
Baer, L. H.
Thibodeau, J. L. N.
Gralnick, T. M.
Li, K. Z. H.
Penhune, V. B.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Introduction: Musical performance is thought to rely predominantly on event-based timing involving a clock-like neural process and an explicit internal representation of the time interval. Some aspects of musical performance may rely on emergent timing, which is established through the optimization of movement kinematics, and can be maintained without reference to any explicit representation of the time interval. We predicted that musical training would have its largest effect on event-based timing, supporting the dissociability of these timing processes and the dominance of event-based timing in musical performance.
Materials and Methods: We compared 22 musicians and 17 non-musicians on the prototypical event-based timing task of finger tapping and on the typically emergently timed task of circle drawing. For each task, participants first responded in synchrony with a metronome (Paced) and then responded at the same rate without the metronome (Unpaced).
Results: Analyses of the Unpaced phase revealed that non-musicians were more variable in their inter-response intervals for finger tapping compared to circle drawing. Musicians did not differ between the two tasks. Between groups, non-musicians were more variable than musicians for tapping but not for drawing. We were able to show that the differences were due to less timer variability in musicians on the tapping task. Correlational analyses of movement jerk and inter-response interval variability revealed a negative association for tapping and a positive association for drawing in non-musicians only.
Discussion: These results suggest that musical training affects temporal variability in tapping but not drawing. Additionally, musicians and non-musicians may be employing different movement strategies to maintain accurate timing in the two tasks. These findings add to our understanding of how musical training affects timing and support the dissociability of event-based and emergent timing modes.
music; timing; finger tapping; circle drawing; emergent timing; event-based timing
Related Articles
Changes in Pitch with a Cochlear Implant Over Time
Reiss, Lina A.J.
Turner, Christopher W.
Erenberg, Sheryl R.
Gantz, Bruce J.
JARO: Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology
In the normal auditory system, the perceived pitch of a tone is closely linked to the cochlear place of vibration. It has generally been assumed that high-rate electrical stimulation by a cochlear implant electrode also evokes a pitch sensation corresponding to the electrode's cochlear place ("place" code) and stimulation rate ("temporal" code). However, other factors may affect electric pitch sensation, such as a substantial loss of nearby nerve fibers or even higher-level perceptual changes due to experience. The goals of this study were to measure electric pitch sensations in hybrid (short-electrode) cochlear implant patients and to examine which factors might contribute to the perceived pitch. To look at effects of experience, electric pitch sensations were compared with acoustic tone references presented to the non-implanted ear at various stages of implant use, ranging from hookup to 5 years. Here, we show that electric pitch perception often shifts in frequency, sometimes by as much as two octaves, during the first few years of implant use. Additional pitch measurements in more recently implanted patients at shorter time intervals up to 1 year of implant use suggest two likely contributions to these observed pitch shifts: intersession variability (up to one octave) and slow, systematic changes over time. We also found that the early pitch sensations for a constant electrode location can vary greatly across subjects and that these variations are strongly correlated with speech reception performance. Specifically, patients with an early low-pitch sensation tend to perform poorly with the implant compared to those with an early high-pitch sensation, which may be linked to less nerve survival in the basal end of the cochlea in the low-pitch patients. In contrast, late pitch sensations show no correlation with speech perception. These results together suggest that early pitch sensations may more closely reflect peripheral innervation patterns, while later pitch sensations may reflect higher-level, experience-dependent changes. These pitch shifts over time not only raise questions for strict place-based theories of pitch perception, but also imply that experience may have a greater influence on cochlear implant perception than previously thought.
cochlear implant; hybrid; frequency; tonotopy; speech; plasticity
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Language-dependent pitch encoding advantage in the brainstem is not limited to acceleration rates that occur in natural speech
Krishnan, Ananthanarayan
Gandour, Jackson T.
Smalt, Christopher J.
Bidelman, Gavin M.
Brain and language
Experience-dependent enhancement of neural encoding of pitch in the auditory brainstem has been observed for only specific portions of native pitch contours exhibiting high rates of pitch acceleration, irrespective of speech or nonspeech contexts. This experiment allows us to determine whether this language-dependent advantage transfers to acceleration rates that extend beyond the pitch range of natural speech. Brainstem frequency following responses (FFRs) were recorded from Chinese and English participants in response to four, 250-ms dynamic click-train stimuli with different rates of pitch acceleration. The maximum pitch acceleration rates in a given stimulus ranged from low (0.3 Hz/ms; Mandarin Tone 2) to high (2.7 Hz/ms; 2 octaves). Pitch strength measurements were computed from the FFRs using autocorrelation algorithms with an analysis window centered at the point of maximum pitch acceleration in each stimulus. Between-group comparisons of pitch strength revealed that Chinese exhibit more robust pitch representation than English across all four acceleration rates. Regardless of language group, pitch strength was greater in response to acceleration rates within or proximal to natural speech relative to those beyond its range. Though both groups showed decreasing pitch strength with increasing acceleration rates, pitch representations of the Chinese group were more resistant to degradation. FFR spectral data were complementary across acceleration rates. These findings demonstrate that perceptually salient pitch cues associated with lexical tone influence brainstem pitch extraction not only in the speech domain, but also in auditory signals that clearly fall outside the range of dynamic pitch that a native listener is exposed to.
auditory; human; brainstem; pitch; language; frequency following response (FFR); click trains; Mandarin Chinese; experience-dependent plasticity; speech perception
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Psychoacoustic Assessment to Improve Tinnitus Diagnosis
Basile, Charles-Édouard
Fournier, Philippe
Hutchins, Sean
Hébert, Sylvie
PLoS ONE
The diagnosis of tinnitus relies on self-report. Psychoacoustic measurements of tinnitus pitch and loudness are essential for assessing claims and discriminating true from false ones. For this reason, the quantification of tinnitus remains a challenging research goal. We aimed to: (1) assess the precision of a new tinnitus likeness rating procedure with a continuous-pitch presentation method, controlling for music training, and (2) test whether tinnitus psychoacoustic measurements have the sensitivity and specificity required to detect people faking tinnitus. Musicians and non-musicians with tinnitus, as well as simulated malingerers without tinnitus, were tested. Most were retested several weeks later. Tinnitus pitch matching was first assessed using the likeness rating method: pure tones from 0.25 to 16 kHz were presented randomly to participants, who had to rate the likeness of each tone to their tinnitus, and to adjust its level from 0 to 100 dB SPL. Tinnitus pitch matching was then assessed with a continuous-pitch method: participants had to match the pitch of their tinnitus to an external tone by moving their finger across a touch-sensitive strip, which generated a continuous pure tone from 0.5 to 20 kHz in 1-Hz steps. The predominant tinnitus pitch was consistent across both methods for both musicians and non-musicians, although musicians displayed better external tone pitch matching abilities. Simulated malingerers rated loudness much higher than did the other groups with a high degree of specificity (94.4%) and were unreliable in loudness (not pitch) matching from one session to the other. Retest data showed similar pitch matching responses for both methods for all participants. In conclusion, tinnitus pitch and loudness reliably correspond to the tinnitus percept, and psychoacoustic loudness matches are sensitive and specific to the presence of tinnitus.
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Thai lexical tone perception in native speakers of Thai, English and Mandarin Chinese: An event-related potentials training study
Kaan, Edith
Barkley, Christopher M
Bao, Mingzhen
Wayland, Ratree
BMC Neuroscience
Tone languages such as Thai and Mandarin Chinese use differences in fundamental frequency (F0, pitch) to distinguish lexical meaning. Previous behavioral studies have shown that native speakers of a non-tone language have difficulty discriminating among tone contrasts and are sensitive to different F0 dimensions than speakers of a tone language. The aim of the present ERP study was to investigate the effect of language background and training on the non-attentive processing of lexical tones. EEG was recorded from 12 adult native speakers of Mandarin Chinese, 12 native speakers of American English, and 11 Thai speakers while they were watching a movie and were presented with multiple tokens of low-falling, mid-level and high-rising Thai lexical tones. High-rising or low-falling tokens were presented as deviants among mid-level standard tokens, and vice versa. EEG data and data from a behavioral discrimination task were collected before and after a two-day perceptual categorization training task.
Behavioral discrimination improved after training in both the Chinese and the English groups. Low-falling tone deviants versus standards elicited a mismatch negativity (MMN) in all language groups. Before, but not after training, the English speakers showed a larger MMN compared to the Chinese, even though English speakers performed worst in the behavioral tasks. The MMN was followed by a late negativity, which became smaller with improved discrimination. The High-rising deviants versus standards elicited a late negativity, which was left-lateralized only in the English and Chinese groups.
Results showed that native speakers of English, Chinese and Thai recruited largely similar mechanisms when non-attentively processing Thai lexical tones. However, native Thai speakers differed from the Chinese and English speakers with respect to the processing of late F0 contour differences (high-rising versus mid-level tones). In addition, native speakers of a non-tone language (English) were initially more sensitive to F0 onset differences (low-falling versus mid-level contrast), which was suppressed as a result of training. This result converges with results from previous behavioral studies and supports the view that attentive as well as non-attentive processing of F0 contrasts is affected by language background, but is malleable even in adult learners.
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Altered sensory feedbacks in pianist's dystonia: the altered auditory feedback paradigm and the glove effect
Cheng, Felicia P.-H.
Großbach, Michael
Altenmüller, Eckart O.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Background: This study investigates the effect of altered auditory feedback (AAF) in musician's dystonia (MD) and discusses whether AAF can be considered as a sensory trick in MD. Furthermore, the effect of AAF is compared with altered tactile feedback, which can serve as a sensory trick in several other forms of focal dystonia.
Methods: The method is based on scale analysis (Jabusch et al., 2004). Experiment 1 employs synchronization paradigm: 12 MD patients and 25 healthy pianists had to repeatedly play C-major scales in synchrony with a metronome on a MIDI-piano with three auditory feedback conditions: (1) normal feedback; (2) no feedback; (3) constant delayed feedback. Experiment 2 employs synchronization-continuation paradigm: 12 MD patients and 12 healthy pianists had to repeatedly play C-major scales in two phases: first in synchrony with a metronome, secondly continue the established tempo without the metronome. There are four experimental conditions, among them three are the same AAF as in Experiment 1 and 1 is related to altered tactile sensory input. The coefficient of variation of inter-onset intervals of the key depressions was calculated to evaluate fine motor control.
Results: In both experiments, the healthy controls and the patients behaved very similarly. There is no difference in the regularity of playing between the two groups under any condition, and neither did AAF nor did altered tactile feedback have a beneficial effect on patients' fine motor control.
Conclusions: The results of the two experiments suggest that in the context of our experimental designs, AAF and altered tactile feedback play a minor role in motor coordination in patients with musicians' dystonia. We propose that altered auditory and tactile feedback do not serve as effective sensory tricks and may not temporarily reduce the symptoms of patients suffering from MD in this experimental context.
musician's dystonia; altered auditory feedback; glove effect; sensory trick; scale paradigm; sensorimotor integration
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The Effect of Temporal Stimulus Characteristics in Maintenance of the Acoustic Reflex
Chung, Brian J.
Buss, Emily
Hall, Joseph W.
Grose, John H.
JARO: Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology
In normal listeners, acoustic reflex decay (ARD) typically occurs for high- but not for low-frequency tones. In patients with acoustic neuromas, decay can be obtained at all frequencies, presumably due to poor neural synchrony. These observations have led us to hypothesize that resistance to decay is due to robust encoding of temporal fine structure of the eliciting stimulus. For a 4-kHz stimulus, ARD is reduced by sinusoidal amplitude modulation (SAM), a result attributed to the low-frequency pattern of SAM providing the temporal characteristics necessary to maintain the reflex. If this interpretation is correct, then further reductions in ARD should be seen for stimuli having temporal characteristics that even more closely resemble the neural response to low-frequency stimulus fine structure. On the other hand, if other perceptual qualities of a SAM tone are responsible for the effect (e.g., rate pitch), then manipulations of perceived sound quality, rather than temporal characteristics per se, should produce similar effects. The experiment reported here included a reference condition, (1) 5-kHz pure tone, and three "temporal" manipulations, composed of a 5-kHz tone multiplied by (2) a raised 100-Hz sinusoid, (3) a noise sample, lowpass filtered at 100 Hz, and (4) a half-wave rectified 100-Hz sinusoid. Additional conditions manipulated perceived pitch. These stimuli spanned 4.5–8 kHz, including a reference condition, (5) Gaussian noise, and a stimulus associated with a 100-Hz pitch, (6) iterated rippled noise. Results show the greatest reductions in ARD with the half-wave rectified stimulus, thought to most closely mimic the temporal characteristics of a low-frequency tone. Little or no reduction in ARD was associated with the iterated rippled noise, suggesting that perceived pitch does not play an important role in maintaining the acoustic reflex.
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Timing matters: the processing of pitch relations
Weise, Annekathrin
Grimm, Sabine
Trujillo-Barreto, Nelson J.
Schröger, Erich
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
The human central auditory system can automatically extract abstract regularities from a variant auditory input. To this end, temporarily separated events need to be related. This study tested whether the timing between events, falling either within or outside the temporal window of integration (~350 ms), impacts the extraction of abstract feature relations. We utilized tone pairs for which tones within but not across pairs revealed a constant pitch relation (e.g., pitch of second tone of a pair higher than pitch of first tone, while absolute pitch values varied across pairs). We measured the mismatch negativity (MMN; the brain's error signal to auditory regularity violations) to second tones that rarely violated the pitch relation (e.g., pitch of second tone lower). A Short condition in which tone duration (90 ms) and stimulus onset asynchrony between the tones of a pair were short (110 ms) was compared to two conditions, where this onset asynchrony was long (510 ms). In the Long Gap condition, the tone durations were identical to Short (90 ms), but the silent interval was prolonged by 400 ms. In Long Tone, the duration of the first tone was prolonged by 400 ms, while the silent interval was comparable to Short (20 ms). Results show a frontocentral MMN of comparable amplitude in all conditions. Thus, abstract pitch relations can be extracted even when the within-pair timing exceeds the integration period. Source analyses indicate MMN generators in the supratemporal cortex. Interestingly, they were located more anterior in Long Gap than in Short and Long Tone. Moreover, frontal generator activity was found for Long Gap and Long Tone. Thus, the way in which the system automatically registers irregular abstract pitch relations depends on the timing of the events to be linked. Pending that the current MMN data mirror established abstract rule representations coding the regular pitch relation, neural processes building these templates vary with timing.
abstract regularities; automatic processing; frontal generators; mismatch negativity; supratemporal generators; temporal window of integration
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Pitch Perception: Dissociating Frequency from Fundamental-Frequency Discrimination
Oxenham, Andrew J.
Micheyl, Christophe
Advances in experimental medicine and biology
High-frequency pure tones (>6 kHz), which alone do not produce salient melodic pitch information, provide melodic pitch information when they form part of a harmonic complex tone with a lower fundamental frequency (F0). We explored this phenomenon in normal-hearing listeners by measuring F0 difference limens (F0DLs) for harmonic complex tones and pure-tone frequency difference limens (FDLs) for each of the tones within the harmonic complexes. Two spectral regions were tested. The low- and high-frequency band-pass regions comprised harmonics 6–11 of a 280- or 1,400-Hz F0, respectively; thus, for the high-frequency region, audible frequencies present were all above 7 kHz. Frequency discrimination of inharmonic log-spaced tone complexes was also tested in control conditions. All tones were presented in a background of noise to limit the detection of distortion products. As found in previous studies, F0DLs in the low region were typically no better than the FDL for each of the constituent pure tones. In contrast, F0DLs for the high-region complex were considerably better than the FDLs found for most of the constituent (high-frequency) pure tones. The data were compared with models of optimal spectral integration of information, to assess the relative influence of peripheral and more central noise in limiting performance. The results demonstrate a dissociation in the way pitch information is integrated at low and high frequencies and provide new challenges and constraints in the search for the underlying neural mechanisms of pitch.
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Hand proximity facilitates spatial discrimination of auditory tones
Tseng, Philip
Yu, Jiaxin
Tzeng, Ovid J. L.
Hung, Daisy L.
Juan, Chi-Hung
Frontiers in Psychology
The effect of hand proximity on vision and visual attention has been well documented. In this study we tested whether such effect(s) would also be present in the auditory modality. With hands placed either near or away from the audio sources, participants performed an auditory-spatial discrimination (Experiment 1: left or right side), pitch discrimination (Experiment 2: high, med, or low tone), and spatial-plus-pitch (Experiment 3: left or right; high, med, or low) discrimination task. In Experiment 1, when hands were away from the audio source, participants consistently responded faster with their right hand regardless of stimulus location. This right hand advantage, however, disappeared in the hands-near condition because of a significant improvement in left hand's reaction time (RT). No effect of hand proximity was found in Experiments 2 or 3, where a choice RT task requiring pitch discrimination was used. Together, these results that the perceptual and attentional effect of hand proximity is not limited to one specific modality, but applicable to the entire "space" near the hands, including stimuli of different modality (at least visual and auditory) within that space. While these findings provide evidence from auditory attention that supports the multimodal account originally raised by Reed et al. (2006), we also discuss the possibility of a dual mechanism hypothesis to reconcile findings from the multimodal and magno/parvocellular account.
embodied cognition; hand-altered vision; peripersonal space
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Metronomic Dosing Enhances the Antiangiogenic Effect of Epothilone B
Stalder, Mark W.
Anthony, Catherine T.
Woltering, Eugene A.
The Journal of surgical research
High doses (10nM) of epothilone B, a microtubule stabilizer, will inhibit the development of human tumor-derived angiogenesis following short (14 day) drug exposure times. Metronomic dosing regimes use lower drug doses and prolonged drug exposure times in an attempt to decrease toxicity compared to standard dosing schedules.
We hypothesized that epothilone B would be an effective antiangiogenic agent when administered at very low doses over an extended period of time.
Fragments of four fresh human tumors were cultured in a fibrin-thrombin matrix and maintained in nutrient media plus 20% fetal bovine serum for 56 days. Tumor fragments (n=40–60 per group) were exposed to weekly doses of epothilone B at concentrations of 10, 5, 1, 0.5, or 0.1 nM. All of these concentrations are clinically achievable. Tumor angiogenesis was assessed weekly on day 14–56 using a validated visual grading system. This system rates neovessel growth, density, and length on a 0–16 scale [angiogenic index, (AI)]. The average change in AI between day 14 and 56 was calculated for all samples and used to evaluate the metronomic response.
Epothilone B produced a dose-dependent antiangiogenic response in all tumors. Two of the four tumors demonstrated a clear and significant metronomic antiangiogenic effect over time.
Epothilone B, when dosed by a metronomic schedule may have a significant antiangiogenic effect on human solid tumors. This study provides evidence for the potential use of epothilone B on a metronomic dosing schedule.
Angiogenesis; Metronomic; Human; Epothilone B; Cancer
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Crossmodal Interactions during Affective Picture Processing
Ferrari, Vera
Mastria, Serena
Bruno, Nicola
PLoS ONE
"Natural" crossmodal correspondences, such as the spontaneous tendency to associate high pitches with high spatial locations, are often hypothesized to occur preattentively and independently of task instructions (top-down attention). Here, we investigate bottom-up attentional engagement by using emotional scenes that are known to naturally and reflexively engage attentional resources. We presented emotional (pleasant and unpleasant) or neutral pictures either below or above a fixation cross, while participants were required to discriminate between a high or a low pitch tone (experiment 1). Results showed that despite a robust crossmodal attentional capture of task-irrelevant emotional pictures, the general advantage in classifying the tones for congruent over incongruent visual-auditory stimuli was similar for emotional and neutral pictures. On the other hand, when picture position was task-relevant (experiment 2), task-irrelevant tones did not interact with pictures with regard to their combination of pitch and visual vertical spatial position, but instead they were effective in minimizing the interference effect of emotional picture processing on the ongoing task. These results provide constraints on our current understanding of natural crossmodal correspondences.
Related Articles
Timing Dysfunctions in Schizophrenia as Measured By a Repetitive Finger Tapping Task
Carroll, Christine A.
O'Donnell, Brian F.
Shekhar, Anantha
Hetrick, William P.
Brain and cognition
Schizophrenia may be associated with a fundamental disturbance in the temporal coordination of information processing in the brain, leading to classic symptoms of schizophrenia such as thought disorder and disorganized and contextually inappropriate behavior. Although a variety of behavioral studies have provided strong evidence for perceptual timing deficits in schizophrenia, no study to date has directly examined overt temporal performance in schizophrenia using a task that differentially engages perceptual and motor-based timing processes. The present study aimed to isolate perceptual and motor-based temporal performance in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia using a repetitive finger-tapping task that has previously been shown to differentially engage brain regions associated with perceptual and motor-related timing behavior. Thirty-two individuals with schizophrenia and 31 non-psychiatric control participants completed the repetitive finger-tapping task, which required participants to first tap in time with computer-generated tones separated by a fixed intertone interval (tone-paced tapping), after which the tones were discontinued and participants were required to continue tapping at the established pace (self-paced tapping). Participants with schizophrenia displayed significantly faster tapping rates for both tone- and self-paced portions of the task compared to the non-psychiatric group. Individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia also displayed greater tapping variability during both tone- and self-paced portions of the task. The application of a mathematical timing model further indicated that group differences were primarily attributable to increased timing – as opposed to task implementation – difficulties in the schizophrenia group, which is noteworthy given the broad range of impairments typically associated with the disorder. These findings support the contention that schizophrenia is associated with a broad range of timing difficulties, including those associated with time perception as well as time production.
schizophrenia; timing; temporal processing; finger tapping; variability
Related Articles
Heart rate variability and sympathovagal balance: pharmacological validation
Bootsma, M.
Swenne, C.A.
Janssen, M.J.A.
Cats, V. Manger
Schalij, M.J.
Netherlands Heart Journal
We validated heart rate (HR) and six time and six frequency domain measures of heart rate variability (HRV) as estimators of autonomic outflow in 44 young healthy male subjects. Gold standards for autonomic outflow were the Rosenblueth-Simeone factors m (sympathetic tone) and n (vagal tone), and the sympathovagal balance m·n, determined by two-stage complete autonomic blockade.
Rank correlations were computed between HR and the HRV measures obtained before autonomic blockade, and m, n and m·n. Also, the maximal mean performances (averaged sensitivity and specificity) for HR and HRV as discriminators between low and high values of m, n or m·n were computed.
The spectral HRV measures showed less good correlations and performances than the time domain HRV measures. Correlations with sympathetic tone were all below 0.31. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia during 15 cycles/min metronome breathing was superior in estimating vagal tone and sympathovagal balance (correlations -0.71/-0.73; both performances 0.82), heart rate scored similarly for assessing the sympathovagal balance (correlation 0.71; performance 0.82).
It does not appear justified to evaluate HR or HRV in terms of sympathetic tone, vagal tone, or sympathovagal balance. HR and HRV are specifically weak in assessing sympathetic tone. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia during 15 cycles/min metronome breathing is superior in assessing vagal tone. Current HRV analysis techniques offer no advantages compared with HR in assessing the sympathovagal balance.
atropine; metoprolol; heart rate variability; Rosenblueth-Simeone model; sympathovagal balance
Related Articles
Things are sounding up: Affective influences on auditory tone perception
Weger, Ulrich W.
Meier, Brian P.
Robinson, Michael D.
Inhoff, Albrecht W.
Psychonomic bulletin & review
Recent studies have documented robust and intriguing associations between affect and performance in cognitive tasks. The present two experiments sought to extend this line of work with reference to potential cross-modal effects. Specifically, the present studies examined whether word evaluations would bias subsequent judgments of low- and high-pitch tones. Because affective metaphors and related associations consistently indicate that positive is high and negative is low, we predicted and found that positive evaluations biased tone judgment in the direction of high-pitch tones, whereas the opposite was true of negative evaluations. Effects were found on accuracy rates, response biases, and reaction times. These effects occurred despite the irrelevance of prime evaluations to the tone judgment task. In addition to clarifying the nature of these cross-modal associations, the present results further the idea that affective evaluations exert large effects on perceptual judgments related to verticality.
Related Articles
Processing of self-initiated speech-sounds is different in musicians
Ott, Cyrill G. M.
Jäncke, Lutz
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Musicians and musically untrained individuals have been shown to differ in a variety of functional brain processes such as auditory analysis and sensorimotor interaction. At the same time, internally operating forward models are assumed to enable the organism to discriminate the sensory outcomes of self-initiated actions from other sensory events by deriving predictions from efference copies of motor commands about forthcoming sensory consequences. As a consequence, sensory responses to stimuli that are triggered by a self-initiated motor act are suppressed relative to the same but externally initiated stimuli, a phenomenon referred to as motor-induced suppression (MIS) of sensory cortical feedback. Moreover, MIS in the auditory domain has been shown to be modulated by the predictability of certain properties such as frequency or stimulus onset. The present study compares auditory processing of predictable and unpredictable self-initiated 0-delay speech sounds and piano tones between musicians and musical laymen by means of an event-related potential (ERP) and topographic pattern analysis (TPA) [microstate analysis or evoked potential (EP) mapping] approach. As in previous research on the topic of MIS, the amplitudes of the auditory event-related potential (AEP) N1 component were significantly attenuated for predictable and unpredictable speech sounds in both experimental groups to a comparable extent. On the other hand, AEP N1 amplitudes were enhanced for unpredictable self-initiated piano tones in both experimental groups similarly and MIS did not develop for predictable self-initiated piano tones at all. The more refined EP mapping revealed that the microstate exhibiting a typical auditory N1-like topography was significantly shorter in musicians when speech sounds and piano tones were self-initiated and predictable. In contrast, non-musicians only exhibited shorter auditory N1-like microstate durations in response to self-initiated and predictable piano tones. Taken together, our findings suggest that besides the known effect of MIS, internally operating forward models also facilitate early acoustic analysis of complex tones by means of faster processing time as indicated by shorter auditory N1-like microstate durations in the first ~200 ms after stimulus onset. In addition, musicians seem to profit from this facilitation also during the analysis of speech sounds as indicated by comparable auditory N1-like microstate duration patterns between speech and piano conditions. In contrast, non-musicians did not show such an effect.
motor-induced suppression; musicians; speech; plasticity; internal forward model
Related Articles
Object representation in the human auditory system
Winkler, István
van Zuijen, Titia L.
Sussman, Elyse
Horváth, János
Näätänen, Risto
The European journal of neuroscience
One important principle of object processing is exclusive allocation. Any part of the sensory input, including the border between two objects, can only belong to one object at a time. We tested whether tones forming a spectro-temporal border between two sound patterns can belong to both patterns at the same time. Sequences were composed of low-, intermediate- and high-pitched tones. Tones were delivered with short onset-to-onset intervals causing the high and low tones to automatically form separate low and high sound streams. The intermediate-pitch tones could be perceived as part of either one or the other stream, but not both streams at the same time. Thus these tones formed a pitch 'border' between the two streams. The tones were presented in a fixed, cyclically repeating order. Linking the intermediate-pitch tones with the high or the low tones resulted in the perception of two different repeating tonal patterns. Participants were instructed to maintain perception of one of the two tone patterns throughout the stimulus sequences. Occasional changes violated either the selected or the alternative tone pattern, but not both at the same time. We found that only violations of the selected pattern elicited the mismatch negativity event-related potential, indicating that only this pattern was represented in the auditory system. This result suggests that individual sounds are processed as part of only one auditory pattern at a time. Thus tones forming a spectro-temporal border are exclusively assigned to one sound object at any given time, as are spatio-temporal borders in vision.
auditory sensory memory; auditory stream segregation; event-related potentials; implicit memory; spectro-temporal processing
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text: SDN Members don't see this ad. (About Ads) Just thought I'd contribute - I took my part 2 on feb 12 and 13th and just got my results yesterday. I passed with an 82 which I'm happy about, I got 345 right which is more than I thought I'd get. I really only studied for a couple of weeks and all I did was about 75% of Q bank and the exam in Mosby's. I think a lot of the questions are on things you just know from being in dental school, the second day sucked like everyone said but I'm just glad it's over, good luck everyone and seriously don't get too stressed over it!

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Gifts by Price
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Daily Sales Up to 70% OFF Limited-time deals start every day at 12 pm ET.
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Product Details
Drawers Included
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12 Issues of Money Magazine
Included with purchase ($20 value).
Weights & Dimensions
|Base Material: Wood; Manufactured wood
|Top Material: Wood
|Exterior Shelves: No
|Product Type: Accent chest
|Top Finish: Brown
|Base Finish: Blue Gray
|Mirrored Finish: No
|Distressed: Yes
|Solid Wood Construction: No
|Number of Items Included: 1
|Shape: Rectangular
|Lift Top: No
|Feet/Legs Included: Yes
Drawers Included: Yes
|Cabinets Included: No
|Country of Manufacture: China
About the ManufacturerIn 1968, President and CEO of Crestview Collection, Jerry Lee, began a journey to achieve the American dream. Traveling from Taiwan to America he brought with him natural Eastern philosophies and combined those with 30 plus years of Western experiences to lead his company. Along with a strong management team, creative designers, an expert sales staff and a group of talented office and factory personnel Jerry Lee's dream is being realized as Crestview Collection is becoming a leading source for accent furniture, portable lighting, and accessories.
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decorative chest karol from lake worth, FL on 10/15/2014 – Verified Buyer
looks just like the picture! had a problem with the first one but it was so easy to return and they were so nice about it.
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Almost as nice as picture JenL from Michigan on 07/07/2013
Unique cabinet but a bit overpriced for the quality and paint finish... Dimensions fit our hall area but wish for the money I would have waited and found something better all around from Home Goods.
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Great product...professional delivery....solid company! Joshua from Olney, MD on 02/01/2015 – Verified Buyer
Our first experience with Wayfair was excellent. The Wayfair website is user-friendly, and offered us many options to choose from for a chest of drawers. We needed a chest that was not too deep, as our guest room space is tight. Wayfair offered many choices, and we found a vintage-style that we works great in the space. The delivery company was professional, and delivered the product as promised, without scratches, dents or other damage. Overall, it was an excellent first experience with Wayfair, and we will be repeat customers!
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text:
Talk to Me (page 17)
Valencia Perkins Nashville #2145755 » Posted in: My online family
Hello Tyler Perry. I hope you a are having a wonderful day. I love your movies and shows. My name is Valencia Perkins and I am a Tennessee State University student and I am starting a clothing closet in order to get business professional and casual clothes. When I was a freshman someone at the university donated me clothes in order to be properly dressed to my interview. Not knowing how to dress and not having much money it was extremely hard in order to get clothes. I am having a very hard time getting gently used business clothes of all sizes for the students here on campus. If you could donate, or get one of your friends to donate. You could help students be interview and career ready who do not have the foundation at home. Thank you in advanced for reading. I know you are a busy man. Please consider.Reply
Nicholas maingi irving Tx #2145751 » Posted in: My online family
Hey Tyler perry,I followed your maiden story and you gave me hope,I was born and raised in kenya. I have sincere need I have been training as pilot for 5 years now and the funds are so limited I hav 3 kids and one income,I have a private pilot license and all hours required to finish commercial and instruments is just a click away. I saved and pain for 27 hours to finish intruments but run out of money the last week of training,I née seem help I have applied for scholaships and haven't given own yet,my Credit is low most banks say I need better one, Am really in need of this one time help that will help me finish up and serve humanity with my skill,I have a passion and Am equally bright,am willing to submit all needed records and copies of my training , I know you have a very busy life and commitments but Tyler if this one man gets this help you shall turn on the tv and see my life story impacting others,I have a dream.Blesinngs NicholasmReply
Hey. #2145746 » Posted in: My online family
Kaila #2145744 » Posted in: My online family
Will there be a "Why did I get married 3" movie?Reply
Denise Andrews Douglas Tampa, Florida #2145737 » Posted in: My online family
I am just asking for your deep prayers that my pet will receive much needed donations through "gofundme" website. I am 63 and on a fixed income & cannot afford my pet's medical treatments. I am a true believer in the power of prayers. I know you and I are of Christian faith. Thank you for your prayers.Reply
Grady Mackey Los Angeles #2145736 » Posted in: My online family
I see no reason why Keshia should have so much power over Richard; how the judges comedic order could have impacted Richard's life so negatively and gave a w**** the power over all his money. Why would a TV personality work for 367.00 per month under any circumstance. This scenario could never have happened in my life under any circumstance.....and Keshia,....well she would not be able to enjoy a penny of her theft for looking over her shoulder. Her daily life would be one half of a mistake from the grave.Reply
Hazel Summers goldsboro, N.C. #2145735 » Posted in: My online family
please give Richard a break.Reply
M.H #2145733 » Posted in: My online family
What did Tyler say yesterday? He said"Reply
I couldn't tell you because he doesn't TALK to me!!!Reply
He told me he Loved me.. #2145743
And that he would never leave me just hold on.. Or at least that is what I dreamt he said..Reply
Nah he said it he was talkin to his .. #2145747
Friend when he told him to believe.Reply
Well, #2145750
Whatever he said and whoever he said it to.. was NOT me!!! I have NOT heard a single WORD from him in OVER seven years.Reply
Are you certain do you listen.. #2145752
I sent his presents here all the time I can hear him he walks extremely heavy.Reply
Well, #2145753
I have NOT heard him with my "natural ears" in a little over seven years when he stepped to me and said, "Reply
Just keeping it real.. #2145754
He step to me and said that chivalry wasn't dead and asked me what was I doing,Reply
Keeping It Real #2145756
I'm glad that's what YOU "heard" him say!!!Reply
Sandra Bostic Washington DC #2145732 » Posted in: My online family
We will be coming to the Warner Theater on opening night to celebrate our friends 55th birthday, but more importantly Suviving breast cancer 17 years by the grace of God! We are trying to make it nice for her so we will be in the Grand Suites Suite E. That's how she said she wanted to celebrate, seeing Madea on athe Run. A shout out from you would make it a night she would never forget. Soooo, if you do things like that we are asking. "You have not because you ask not"! That's it, not asking to take up your time, not asking for pictures, just asking that you let people know the amazing healing power of Jehovah Rophe!!! See you at the Warner, Thursday night! Be blessed!!!Reply
Did you know #2145730 » Posted in: My online family
In order to love someone else you must first love yourself!Reply
Did you know? #2145740
People are haunted sometimes "controlled" by their past because they fail to deal with it?Reply
Then you must try #2145812
To deal with it now, or it will become your future! Your past belongs in the past. You can create your future whoever you want it to be.Reply
Jessie Marie Pedroza Miami #2145717 » Posted in: My online family
Tyler! Love all your movies, but above all I love how you always put Jesus first. Thank you for being an inspiration for all of us! May God keep blessing you! Thank you, Jessie Marie PedrozaReply
M.H #2145716 » Posted in: My online family
After the tone leave a message. (BEEP) Hey Tyler, I told you I was going to do it! And I'm tired of talking to your answering. Call me back, Negro!Reply


text:
What We Stand For
- Supporting Refugee Women
What We Believe That is Different
- Empowering women is fastest way to enabling financially sustainable refugee communities
- We ensure that the heartwarming and fulfilling nature of doing for others is conveyed in training women to be self-sufficient.
What We Do That is Different
- Ongoing Support: We are there for refugee women after their other caseworkers' mandate has ended.
- Customized: Our services are unique to each individuals, since their needs and goals differ.
- Woman Focused: WoW is the only non-profit serving the unique needs of women in the refugee community.
What We Must Do
- Supporting Case Management,
- Partnering in Health & Human Rights Services
- Support social network development & classes in English
Our Mission: Supporting Refugee Women to Achieve Self Reliance, Economic Empowerment, and a Voice in the Community
Recent Blog Posts at Women of the World
Recent Blog Posts at Women of the World
- Artistic Workshop in Rug-Making
August 30, 2015Artistic workshops are such an important way for the refugee women we work with at Women of the World to feel empowered. By providing a creative outlet for these women, we are not only opening up spac
- Public Radio Return on Refugee Service Investment
June 29, 2015This morning, the Salt Lake City Public radio station KRCL aired a brief interview with Women of the World Founder and Executive Director, Samira Harnish, on the "Return on Investment" that support fo
- Celebrating Mother's Day with Our New Neighbors
May 12, 2015The celebration of those that brought us into the world and that nurture and care for us throughout our lives is a key rite preserved in most cultures. In America, this rite is celebrated on the most
- 3rd Annual Refugee Fashion Show
March 10, 2015Women of the World's 3rd Annual Refugee Fashion show was a resounding success!!! Women from all over the world modeled in this celebration of the beauty and courage of our new neighbors. Burundi, Con
- Inside the Story KUTV news visits Women of the World
February 10, 2015Founder and President of Women of the World was featured this evening on the KUTV program "Inside the Story" with Dan Rascon -- The Iraqi Samaritan. The interview is an upbeat look at the sacrifices
- Follow Your Passion Media features Women of the World
January 21, 2015The 2015 Momentum Continues Women of the World's media momentum continues into 2015 with Nkoyo Iyamba's piece on KSL entitled "Follow Your Passion" in which she highlights Utah citizens that have left
- WoW Documentary Wins the Workman Film Festival Award
January 18, 2015Women of the World's introductory documentary film won the Short Documentary Film Category at the 17 January Workman Productions Online Award in the Documentary Category. Ana Breton, Breton Films, de
- Fashion Show Salt Lake City Event
January 16, 2015It is that time again... Women's Fashion Show Salt Lake City Event, celebrating International Women's Day and our new refugee neighbors and their cultural heritage. This fashion and cultural event is


text:
Google offers 'guided tour' of the moon
(AP) -- Google Inc. is offering a more wide-ranging view of the Moon, 40 years after humans first landed there.
(AP) -- Google Inc. is offering a more wide-ranging view of the Moon, 40 years after humans first landed there.
The US Congress on Wednesday bestowed its highest civilian honor on four American space pioneers of the 1960s, marking the first time the Congressional Gold Medal has been awarded to astronauts.
While astronaut Buzz Aldrin enjoys movies about space, he doesn't always think they get it right.
US astronaut Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 comrades Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins paid tribute to their late commander's talent and accomplishments on Saturday, noting that they would miss him.
NASA astronauts and engineers fought off tears Wednesday as Atlantis made its final approach toward Earth, bringing an end to the 30-year shuttle program and closing a chapter in human spaceflight.
(PhysOrg.com) -- A moon rock collected during the historic Apollo 11 mission more than 40 years ago will be heading back to space and a new home aboard the International Space Station, sharing quarters with a piece of Mt. ...
(AP) -- The spacesuit was one of three made for the last man to set foot on the moon, but Doug Fisher found it balled up and forgotten at the bottom of a cardboard box.
(AP)—Alaska's moon rocks from the 1969 Apollo 11 mission are back in the 49th state.
Looking very similar to the iconic first footprint on the Moon from the Apollo 11 landing, this new raw image from the Curiosity rover on Mars shows one of the first "scuff" marks from the rover's wheels on a small sandy ...
(AP) -- After more than a month's delay, space shuttle Endeavour and seven astronauts thundered into orbit Wednesday on a flight to the international space station, hauling up a veranda for Japan's enormous lab and looking ...


text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Apr 22, 2003
|Filing date
|Aug 21, 2000
|Priority date
|Aug 21, 2000
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Elliot Brenhouse
|Original Assignee
|Optimal Robotics Corp.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (27), Non-Patent Citations (2), Referenced by (39), Classifications (7), Legal Events (7)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
The present invention relates to an apparatus for self-serve checkout of large order purchases at a retail store. In particular, the invention relates to a self-serve checkout station with a carousel bagging platform.
Over the past few decades, retail point of sales systems have been greatly automated to expedite the checkout process. Technology has contributed significantly to advancements in the retail checkout process, as it has done in virtually all arenas of life.
In the typical retail environment, the customer selects various items for purchase and brings these items to a store clerk for checkout. In the traditional environment, the store clerk would tally the price of the items to be purchased either by hand or by entry of the price into a mechanical or electronic adding machine, which typically is integrated with a cash register into a point-of-sales terminal.
Over the last two decades, point-of-sales terminals have been further enhanced to be part of a computer-based point-of-sales system that includes a database of prices, inventory and other information related to the items for purchase. Each terminal typically has an optical scanner which scans the items to be purchased for a machine readable bar code that identifies the item on its packaging. The operator is able to save time by scanning the items rather than having to manually key in price and product information. When an item is scanned, the optical scanner sends a signal corresponding to the product number of the item to the data processing component of the point-of-sale system, which then obtains from the database the price and the description of the scanned item.
More recently, self-serve checkout point-of-sales systems have been popularized. The self-serve checkout system enables shoppers to scan, bag and pay for their purchases with limited intervention from store personnel, typically for payment, product identification or problem resolution.
These systems typically have self-serve checkout stations that allow the customer to scan the bar codes that appear on the items to be purchased. The station may also provide other user-friendly mechanisms, such as a series of menu choices on a touch-screen monitor, and voice prompts to guide shoppers through the transaction process. It may also assist with entry of product code for items not possessing bar codes. The station may also have an icon on the touch screen which calls a supervisory employee to enter a product code for an uncoded item.
The customer then places the item in an identification area. Eventually the customer, or the system, moves the item to a bag packing or storage area. The self-serve checkout stations may have receipt printers, magnetic payment card readers and coupon acceptors to further reduce the time the supervisory employee must spend on each order. The stations typically are equipped to accept cash, coins, credit cards and debit cards.
Some self-serve checkout stations are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,083,638, 5,115,888, 5,123,494, 5,125,465 and 5,168,961.
Self-serve checkout stations typically possess security features which deter customers from deliberately switching items. A cashier station manned by the supervisory employee typically is near several checkout stations. The proximity of the supervisory employee to the checkout stations has a natural tendency to discourage illicit activities at the checkout stations.
Another security feature includes comparing the weight changes on a packing scale at the identification area, which is adjacent to the scanner, with information retrieved from the computer database regarding the expected weight of the item. The packing area is also equipped with a weight scale, and the system keeps track of a running total weight as items are moved from the identification area to bags in the bagging area. A weighing platform comprising the identification area and bagging area typically accommodates no more than three bags of items at a time.
The self-serve checkout station may also be provided with a video camera unit which views the scales as the items are deposited. The video camera generates a signal received by a display in a supervisor station which allows a supervisory employee to approve non-bar coded items and to survey in general other items deposited on the scales. A plurality of self-serve checkout stations typically are selectively connected to a singular supervisor station by a switching unit, so that a single supervisory employee can monitor the activities at the plurality of checkout stations.
Automated self-serve checkout systems, such as the U-Scan Express� available from Optimal Robotics Corp., having video cameras and bagging platforms that recognize the weight of each scanned item have become popular amongst retailers throughout North America. The self-serve checkout systems have the potential to save supermarkets significant labor costs. In addition, shoppers find that self-service allows them to get in and out of retail stores more quickly.
The self-serve checkout systems known heretofore are designed as checkout systems for express lanes, i.e. 15 items or less. These self-serve checkout stations are not particularly suitable for large order purchases which require several bags to pack the items. The systems allow only a couple of bags at a particular checkout station to be weighed and monitored simultaneously.
The present invention overcomes these and other disadvantages of prior self-serve checkout systems and provides an apparatus for self-serve checkout of a large order purchase. The apparatus comprises a product code entry device that provides a product code signal corresponding to a product code of an item to be purchased, a rotating mechanism, a bag holding device that holds a plurality of bags open for packing a plurality of items, a scale underneath the rotating mechanism and the bag holding device, and a controller. The bag holding device is coupled with the rotating mechanism and rotates with the rotating mechanism to present a selected one of the plurality of open bags for packing the item to be purchased. The scale generates a weight signal representative of a weight of packed items in the plurality of bags held open by the bag holding device. The controller monitors the product code signal from the product code entry device and the weight signal from the scale to detect one or more abnormalities in the weight represented by the weight signal. The bag holding device may comprise a rack and a platter coupled to the rotating mechanism.
The product code entry device may be a scanner-scale that provides a second weight signal corresponding to a weight of a scanned item on the scanner-scale. The controller compares the weight of the scanned item to be purchased with a change in the weight represented by the weight signal from the scale.
The apparatus further may comprise a product lookup database. The controller retrieves a product entry, including a weight of the item to be purchased, from the product lookup database according to the product code signal corresponding to the item to be purchased, and compares the weight of the item to be purchased with a change in the weight represented by the weight signal from the scale.
The apparatus also may comprise a network interface coupled to the controller. The controller communicates through the network interface with a central point-of-sales database on an external network, and updates the product lookup database with product update information obtained from the centralpoint-of-sales database. The controller also may communicate through the network interface with a supervisor station on an external network.
The present invention also provides an apparatus for self-serve checkout of a large order purchase that comprises a product code entry device which provides a signal corresponding to a product code of an item to be purchased, a bag holding device that holds a plurality of bags open for packing a plurality of items, a first scale underneath the bag holding device which generates a first weight signal representative of a weight of packed items in the plurality of bags held open by the bag holding device, a large item holding assembly including a second scale generating a second weight signal representative of a weight of one or more oversized items on the large item holding assembly, and a controller receiving and monitoring the first weight signal from the first scale and the second weight signal from the second scale to detect one or more abnormalities in one or more of the weights represented by the first and second weight signals. The apparatus further may comprise a bill dispenser that dispenses up to three distinct denominations under a control of the controller.
The above and numerous other objectives, features and advantages which may be achieved by the present invention can be more readily understood from the following detailed description by referring to the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a carousel-type self-serve checkout station, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 2A-2D show components of a bagging carousel assembly;
FIGS. 3A-3D show components of a bagging carousel assembly;
FIGS. 4A-4D show components of a bagging carousel assembly;
FIGS. 5A-5C show components of a bagging carousel assembly;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of the carousel assembly for the checkout station of FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the carousel assembly for the checkout station of FIG. 1;
FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a carousel-type self-serve checkout station, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a system for self-serve checkout of large order purchases in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus for self- serve checkout of large order purchases is provided. In one embodiment of the invention, a self-serve checkout station 1 with a carousel assembly 25 is provide. The carousel expands the capability of the self-serve checkout station beyond use in an express lane. Using the carousel-type self-serve checkout station, a shopper can scan and checkout a large number of, e.g., six, bags of groceries quickly, without waiting on a long, slow-moving line that is typical of a conventional large order lane at a retail store.
The station with the carousel is configured such that it is no more than a few inches greater in dimension than the express lane type self-serve checkout station. Therefore, a number of the carousel-type self-serve checkout stations can be placed at the front of, or elsewhere in, the retail store without additional allocation of space that may be needed for the shelving or display of merchandise.
FIGS. 1 and 8 show different implementations of a modular carousel-type self-server checkout station 1. Self-serve checkout station 1 includes modules 6, 7 and 8.
Module 8 includes touchscreen display 31, scanner-scale 32 and video camera 33. A microprocessor-based computer, which controls operations of the apparatus, is in a compartment of module 8 under the scanner-scale 32. A speaker and a microphone also may be provided. Scanner 32 may be supplemented, or perhaps replaced, by other devices 55, such as keypads, optical character scanners and/or voice input devices, for entering the product code of an item to be purchased.
Module 7 comprises coin acceptor 21, bill acceptor 22, reader 23 for credit cards, charge cards and/or store cards, bagging rack 24 and carousel assembly 25.
Rack 24 is configured for six bags. This configuration, however, is not a limitation of the present invention. A rack accommodating four, five, or more than six bags alternatively may be used. The capacity is only limited by the strength of the rack assembly and the size of the carousel.
Referring to FIG. 6, one embodiment of the carousel assembly includes carousel housing 26, carousel scale 27, rotating mechanism 28 and carousel platter 29. The carousel platter 29 is supported by spindle 28 which rests on scale mechanism 27. The spindle is anchored to scale mechanism by ball bearing race 38, for example. The housing 26 has flange 39 to form a sleeve to hold the spindle 28 in place. Likewise, an inner housing 40 includes a pair of flanges 41 to provide further support to the spindle 28, and to cover and protect the ball bearing race 38. The spindle 28 contacts the scale 27 so that when items are added to the packing bags (not shown) on the rack 24, the scale registers the increase in weight and the system compares the expected weight (based upon the identification number of the item) with the weight of the item actually added to the scale.
FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative carousel 25 embodiment for the check out stations of the present invention. The carousel includes a turntable 29 which is attached to a base 43 by a plurality of beams 44 which support the turntable 29 within the housing 26. The base 43 is journalled on the scale 27 by a ball bearing race 45 which holds the base 43 while permitting it to rotate. The race 45 may include detents (not shown) to stop the turntable 29 after it has rotated a predetermined amount (for example, a quarter turn for each of four bagging stations on the bagging rack 24)
The bagging rack 24 and carousel platter 29 are free to rotate so that the customer can select an appropriate bag into which a scanned item can be placed. The apparatus is able to maintain a stable weight and is unaffected by lateral movement and rotation.
Referring to FIGS. 2A-2D, 3A-3D, 4A-4D, and 5A-5D, an additional embodiment of the carousel assembly 25 is shown. The assembly 25 includes a carousel housing 251 under the rotating platter 29. A base 253 serves as an attachment point for mechanical fastening into the system 1. The housing 251 includes bottom and top cross bracing 252 as well as supporting ribs 254 to provide mechanical strength to the carousel assembly.
The carousel assembly includes a scale support assembly 400 (the assembly 400 is shown in perspective, top, side, and side views in FIGS. 4A-4D, respectively). The assembly 400 includes arms 255 extend from a central spindle. The arms provide for coupling of platter 29 to a scale load cell 256. The assembly 400 may be coupled to a rotating assembly 500 (FIGS. 5A-5D). The rotating assembly may include, for example, a lazy-Susan type of rotation device 257 coupled to support arms 258.
Module 6 includes coin dispenser 11, bill dispenser 12, receipt printer 13, and side assembly 14 for oversize or additional items. Bill dispenser 12 preferably is configured to dispense up to three distinct denominations. Conventional bill dispensers which dispense up to two distinct denominations alternatively may be used. Side assembly 14, which includes platter 16 and scale 17 (FIG. 9) under platter 16, is provided for additional bags or oversized items which cannot fit in a bag.
Operation of touchscreen display 31, scanner 32 and other product code entry devices, video camera 33, coin acceptor 21, bill acceptor 22, card reader 23, bagging rack 24, coin dispenser 11 and receipt printer 13 are conventional and known in the art, as described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,083,638, 5,115,888, 5,123,494, 5,125,465 and 5,168,961.
Side assembly scale 17 and carousel scale 27 in a preferred configuration are each able to verify the weight of items to within 2/100 of a pound, in accordance with an established weight database for monitoring security. Carousel scale 27 is rated up to 300 lbs. Side assembly scale 17 is rated up to 150 lbs. Carousel scale 27 and side assembly scale 17 work (a) separately to verify the weight of each item as it is placed on one of the platters and (b) in combination to verify the combined weight of the items purchased.
The modular configuration of station 1 permits modules 6 through 8 to be assembled from left to right or from right to left. Module 7 preferably is in the center to make packing more efficient. Alternatively, module 8 with scanner 32 may be in the center.
The modules are mounted on a single base with wheels (not shown) underneath the base. The unit may be easily wheeled into an appropriate place in the store. Levers (not shown) may be attached to the base. When the levers are lowered, the unit is lifted off the wheels.
FIG. 9 shows a system for self-serve checkout of large order purchases, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Self-serve checkout station includes a computer 51 which may be configured similar to known microprocessor-based computers and has a CPU, a plurality of storage devices and an I/O interface.
The storage devices may include program memory, RAM, non-volatile memory (such as ROM, EEPPROM, etc.), and any or a combination of the mass storage devices known conventionally in the art, such as floppy disk, optical disk, hard disk and/or tape cartridge drives, plus appropriate device drivers. A product lookup database may be stored in the storage devices.
The CPU communicates via the I/O interface with multi-bag scale 54, side assembly scale 17 and scanner-scale 32, as well as with touchscreen display 31, other product code entry devices 55, video camera 33, coin acceptor 21, bill acceptor 22, card reader 23, coin dispenser 11, bill dispenser 12 and receipt printer 13.
Computer 51 can communicate via network interface 52 with devices, such as a supervisor station, on network 53. Network 53 may be any one or a combination of LAN, WAN, wireless and other networks. Network interface 52 includes the appropriate units for interfacing with network 53, including, for example, Ethernet card, modem, RF transceiver, etc.
For example, when a shopper at the self-serve checkout station needs assistance with entry of a product code for an item, the shopper may request assistance using means, such as a button, provided via the user interface, e.g., on the touch screen display, for making the request. The request is processed by computer 51 and communicated along with information describing the subject item, e.g., textual or audio information from the shopper or video information from the camera unit, via network interface to a supervisor station on network 53. A response is communicated from the supervisor station on network 53 to computer 51 via network interface 52, and perhaps also conveyed to the shopper in an appropriate manner, e.g., on the video display or via a speaker.
As another example, computer 51 may download product and other information from a central point-of-sales database on network 53, on power-up as well as periodically during operation, via network interface 52. Thus, the product lookup database stored in the storage devices may be updated.
Computer 51 in a security capacity monitors the weights and weight changes on multi-bag scale 54, side assembly scale 17 and scanner-scale 32. Abnormal weights and weight changes are detected in a manner known in the art and, for example, described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,083,638, 5,115,888, 5,123,494 and 5,125,465.
The bagging rack is shown in FIG. 1 with one of many possible designs. The rack may take on any of the many designs known in the art that allow bags to remain in an open configuration so that items can be packed efficiently in the bags.
The carousel in the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is circular. The carousel, however, may be one of a number of other shapes, such as pentagonal, a hexagonal, octagonal, or the like. The main requirement is that the carousel assembly can accommodate multiple bags (three or more) in a large order purchase. It is also desirable that the carousel is rotatable such that the shopper can easily select an appropriate one of the multiple bags into which a scanned item can be placed.
While the computer in a preferred configuration described above is microprocessor-based, it may comprise an off-the-shelf personal or workstation-type computer appropriately programmed. Alternatively, the computer may be configured as a controller comprising a combination of discrete components, an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) with program memory and RAM built-in, and/or a programmable logic array. Most importantly, the computer/controller should be programmable, in software, hardware or a combination of software and hardware, for monitoring the weights and weight changes on the scales in the system, and storing the weights of food and other items sold in a store.
Various changes and modifications of the described embodiments could be effected by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention recited in the appended claims. Improvements and modifications which become apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art after reading this disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims are deemed within the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims would cover any such modifications or improvements.
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|U.S. Classification
|186/66, 186/61
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Sep 25, 2000
|Jun 14, 2004
Owner name: FUJITSU TRANSACTION SOLUTIONS, INC.,TEXAS
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:OPTIMAL GROUP INC. (FORMERLY OPTIMAL ROBOTICS CORP.);REEL/FRAME:014725/0218
Effective date: 20040408
|Nov 29, 2004
Owner name: FUJITSU TRANSACTION SOLUTIONS, INC.,TEXAS
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:OPTIMAL GROUP INC.;REEL/FRAME:016050/0845
Effective date: 20040408
|Oct 9, 2006
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|Jun 3, 2009
Owner name: FUJITSU FRONTECH NORTH AMERICA INC.,TEXAS
Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:FUJITSU TRANSACTION SOLUTIONS INC.;REEL/FRAME:022773/0264
Effective date: 20090401
|Oct 22, 2010
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 8
|Oct 21, 2014
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 12


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