The purpose was to measure any statistically significant differences in pitch-matching skills among three classes of third grade students when using either adult male voice, piano, or resonator bells as melodic models for rote instruction of classroom singing. Each class was randomly assigned one of the three melodic models for a ten week treatment phase. Results indicated no significant differences in pitch matching skills between any of the three groups. No significant differences in pitch matching skills were found according to gender of subjects or among class piano students and non-piano students. Findings indicated overall improvement in pitch matching skills of subjects from pre-test to post-test phase.

This study investigated whether fifth-grade students would sing more accurately when responding to pitch stimuli presented to the right ear as compared to left and both ears. Students were also classified as either strongly right-handed or other (left-handed or mixed) to see if ear treatment responses would differ with handedness. Sixty-six students were tested on their attempts to match 12 model pitches. Identical tests were given to each subject on 3 different days, with a different ear treatment each day. Vocal response scores were significantly better for both-ear presentation than for left-ear. No significant difference was found between right and both ears, right and left ears, or between handedness groups.

No description available.

Neurological evidence indicates that instrumental musicians experience changes in the auditory system following skill acquisition and sensory training; yet, little is known about auditory neural plasticity in formally trained vocal musicians. Furthermore, auditory pitch discrimination and laryngeal control are recognized as essential skills for vocal musicians; however, the relationship between physiological variables, perceptual abilities, and vocal production is unclear. Electrophysiologic and psychoacoustic measures were used to examine pitch production accuracy as well as pre-attentive and active pitch discrimination between nonmusicians and two classes of musicians. Participants included 40 formally trained musicians (19 vocalists/21 instrumentalists) and 21 nonmusician controls. All were right-handed young adult females with normal hearing. Stimuli were harmonic tone complexes approximating the physical characteristics of piano tones and represented the mid-frequency range of the untrained female vocal register extending from C4 to G4 (F0 = 261.63-392 Hz). Vocal pitch recordings were spectrally analyzed to determine pitch production accuracy. Difference limens for frequency (DLFs) were obtained by an adaptive psychophysical paradigm. Pre-attentive auditory discrimination was assessed by auditory evoked potentials (AEPs), including the mismatch negativity (MMN). A standard tone (G4 = 392 Hz) and three deviants differing in frequency (1.5%, 3%, and 6% below) were presented in a multi-deviant paradigm. All musicians demonstrated superior pitch perception and vocal production compared to nonmusicians. Pitch perception and production accuracy did not significantly differ between vocalists and instrumentalists; however, pitch production accuracy was most consistent within the vocalist group. Music training appears to facilitate both auditory perception and vocal production regardless of music specialty. Pitch perception and production were correlated skills only for instrumental musicians. Vocalists demonstrated minimal variability for both skills so that perception and production were not correlated. These two skills may be independent abilities between which a relationship develops with training. AEP analysis revealed an influence of musical expertise on neural responses as early as 50 ms after onset of musically relevant stimuli. MMN responses indicate that vocal musicians as well as instrumental musicians have superior sensory memory representations for acoustic parameters of harmonic stimuli and imply that auditory neural sensitivity is developed by intense music training.

Objectif: Cette thèse avait pour objectif principal la mise en oeuvre et la validation de la faisabilité, chez l'humain, du paradigme de modulation du réflexe acoustique de sursaut par un court silence (GPIAS) afin de l'utiliser comme mesure objective de l'acouphène. Pour ce faire, trois expériences ont été réalisées. L'expérience 1 avait pour objectif de valider l'inhibition du réflexe de sursaut par un court silence chez des participants humains normo-entendants (sans acouphène) lors de la présentation d'un bruit de fond centré en hautes et en basses fréquences afin de déterminer les paramètres optimaux du paradigme. L'expérience 2 avait pour objectif de valider la précision et la fidélité d'une méthode de caractérisation psychoacoustique de l'acouphène (appariement en intensité et en fréquence). Finalement, l'expérience 3 avait pour objectif d'appliquer le paradigme d'objectivation de l'acouphène par le réflexe de sursaut à des participants atteints d'acouphènes chroniques en utilisant les techniques développées lors des expériences 1 et 2. Méthodologie : L'expérience 1 incluait 157 participants testés dans l'une des conditions de durée du court silence (5, 25, 50, 100, 200 ms) et dans l'un des deux paradigmes (court silence à l'intérieur du bruit de fond ou suivant celui-ci) à l'aide de bruits de fond en hautes et en basses fréquences. L'expérience 2 incluait deux groupes de participants avec acouphène, l'un musicien (n=16) et l'autre sans expérience musicale (n=16) ainsi qu'un groupe de simulateur sans acouphène (n=18). Ils tous ont été évalués sur leur capacité d'appariement en fréquence et en intensité de leur acouphène. Les mesures ont été reprises chez un sous-groupe de participants plusieurs semaines plus tard. L'expérience 3 incluait 15 participants avec acouphène et 17 contrôles évalués à l'aide du paradigme d'inhibition du réflexe de sursaut à l'aide d'un court silence (GPIAS). Les paramètres psychoacoustiques de l'acouphène ont également été mesurés. Toutes les mesures ont été reprises plusieurs mois plus tard chez un sous-groupe de participants. Résultats : Expérience 1 : le paradigme d'inhibition du réflexe acoustique de sursaut par un court silence est applicable chez l'humain normo-entendant. Expérience 2 : les mesures psychoacoustiques informatisées de l'acouphène incluant l'appariement en fréquence et en intensité sont des mesures précises et fidèles du percept de l'acouphène. Expérience 3 : un déficit d'inhibition au paradigme du GPIAS a été retrouvé chez le groupe de participants avec acouphène pour les bruits de fond en hautes et en basses fréquences au test et au retest. Les mesures d'appariement en fréquence ont révélé un acouphène dont la fréquence prédominante était d'environ 16 000 Hz chez la plupart des participants. Discussion : Il est possible d'appliquer le paradigme d'inhibition du réflexe acoustique de sursaut par un court silence à des participants humains atteints d'acouphène, tel qu'il est utilisé en recherche animale pour « objectiver » la présence d'acouphène. Toutefois, le déficit d'inhibition mesuré n'est pas spécifique à la fréquence de l'acouphène lorsque validé à partir des données d'appariement psychoacoustique. Nos résultats soulèvent des questions quant à l'interprétation originale du paradigme pour détecter la présence d'un acouphène chez les animaux. / Objective: The main objective of this thesis was the implementation and validation of applying the gap prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex (GPIAS) paradigm in humans, in order to objectively measure tinnitus. To do this, three experiments were carried out. Experiment 1 was designed to validate the inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex by using a short gap within high and low frequency narrowband noise in normal hearing humans (without tinnitus) to determine the optimal paradigm parameters. Experiment 2 was designed to validate the accuracy and the test-retest fidelity of a tinnitus psychoacoustic characterization method (intensity and frequency matching). Finally, Experiment 3 applied the GPIAS paradigm to participants with chronic tinnitus using the techniques developed in experiments 1 and 2. Methods: Experiment 1 included 157 participants tested with only one gap duration (5, 25, 50, 100, 200 ms) and with one of the two paradigms (gap imbedded in the background noise or following it) including high and low frequencies background noise. Experiment 2 included two groups of participants with tinnitus, one group consisting of musicians (n=16) and one group without musical experience (n=16). A third group consisted of adults who were instructed to simulate having tinnitus (n = 18). Tinnitus pitch and intensity matching abilities were assessed for all participants. A subgroup of participants was retested several weeks later. Experiment 3 included 15 participants with tinnitus and 17 controls assessed with the GPIAS. The psychoacoustic parameters of tinnitus were also measured. A subgroup of participants was retested several weeks later. Results: Experiment 1: the GPIAS is applicable in humans with normal hearing. Experiment 2: psychoacoustic measurements of tinnitus frequency and intensity using a computerized matching procedure produced precise and accurate measurements of the tinnitus percept. Experiment 3: an inhibition deficit was found using the GPIAS paradigm in the tinnitus group for background noise of high and low frequency compared to the control group, at test and retest. The frequency matching measurements revealed a 16,000 Hz tinnitus predominant frequency for most tinnitus participants. Discussion: It is possible to apply the gap prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex paradigm on human participants with tinnitus, as used in animal research to "objectify" the presence of tinnitus. However, the inhibition deficit found in the tinnitus group was not specific to their tinnitus frequency. This was validated by psychoacoustic tinnitus pitch matching. Our results question the original interpretation of the GPIAS paradigm for objectifying the presence of tinnitus.