Acoustic evidence of aberrant velocities in stutterers' fluent speech

Movement rates of formant frequencies and the extents of articulatory change were spectrographically analyzed in the fLuent (VCV) utterances of 20 stutterers and nonstutterers. The velocities of articulator movement throughout the first vowel and velocities into the second vowel were not significantly different for the two groups. These mean rates of movement, although nonsignificant, were slower in stutterers and slightly more variable, and the extent of articulator movement was comparable. These results do not support the contentions that stutterers use coarticulatory movements that are too rapid or that stutterers have a poorer competence for rapid coordination of speech movements. The rationales of rate-control treatment methods to slow coarticulatory movements in stutterers need to be reexamined.     

Changes in salt taste in dialysis and their relationship to blood constituents

Taste sensitivity for sodium chloride in solution and sensitivity and preference for sodium chloride in bread were measured in 14 male patients undergoing hemodialysis. There was an increase in sensitivity to salt taste following dialysis only when assessed using the bread samples. Patients on a lower sodium diet were more sensitive to salt taste in bread. Although the taste changes were not related to the decreases in serum sodium or to copper, greater increases in sensitivity were related to greater increases in serum zinc during dialysis.     

Effect of EMG-biofeedback training in reduction of muscle tension for individuals displaying type A behavior patterns

This study investigated the effect of EMG biofeedback training in reducing muscle tension among subjects who displayed Type A behavior. 22 Type A college students (19 to 22 yr. old) were randomly assigned to either a biofeedback group or a control group. After 6 wk. of training, Type A subjects showed a significant reduction in muscle tension for both resting and aroused states; however, the reduction of muscle tension did not result in reduction of Type A behavior patterns.     

Sex-role effects (if any)

Two studies that seem to show conflicting effects of sex role on psychomotor reminiscence and performance are reviewed, and an effort is made to reconcile the discrepant results.     

Test of the validity of the Vando R-A Scale

The purpose of this study was to gather evidence on the validity of the Vando R-A Scale, a paper-and-pencil measure of perceptual reactance. The Vando R-A Scale and Petrie's kinesthetic aftereffect measure of perceptual reactance were administered to 46 participants drawn from university undergraduates. The Vando R-A Scale was not a valid measure of perceptual reactance. The continued use of the Vando R-A Scale as an alternate measure of perceptual reactance is contraindicated.     

Perceptions by the aged of crime, criminals, and the criminal justice system

A general fear of crime victimization led to modified activities in the community and feelings of relative safety in their own area for 132 elderly respondents on a 24-item questionnaire. They held sympathetic views of crime perpetrators as disadvantaged victims of society themselves, but came to the unlikely conclusions that more police control and harsher prison sentences are needed.     

A new quantitative approach to the assessment of stages of vigilance as defined by spatiotemporal EEG patterning

Electroencephalographically oriented research on vigilance needs valid measures for assessing the level of vigilance between wakefulness and sleep. When studying different psychologically, psychopathologically, and pharmacologically induced states, special attention has to be paid to minor alterations of the level of vigilance which are reflected, essentially, in topographical changes of alpha-activity (Stage A). Since vigilance is a dynamic process, brief fluctuations in the range of a few seconds must also be recorded. In our opinion existing methods of quantification do not fully meet these demands. We have, therefore, developed a relatively simple procedure which can be characterized as an attempt quantitatively to reconstruct visually, i.e., spatiotemporally defined patterns of vigilance. The usefulness of this method, which also has certain limitations, has been demonstrated in psychopharmacological studies.     

Effect of directed attention on cerebral asymmetries in stuttering adults

9 stutterers and 9 nonstutterers were administered a dichotic digits test under conditions of free recall and directed attention. Analysis indicated right-ear preference for both groups and no differences between the free recall and directed listening conditions. Results are discussed in relation to previous studies in which dichotic digit-stimuli were presented to stutterers.     

Effects of auditory masking by white noise on primary stressing during spontaneous speech

6 adult subjects (3 men, 3 women) produced highly similar spontaneous speech utterances in quiet and with 90-dB SPL white noise. The frequency of occurrence of perceptual judgments of primary stressing in an utterance was not affected by the masking noise. This finding supplements our previous report that variability for stress production of fundamental frequency (fo) during spontaneous speech was preserved under short-term auditory disruption. Also, it adds further support to the contention that fo is under open-loop regulation.     

Effect of moderate doses of alcohol on simple auditory reaction time in a vigilance setting

An experiment was performed with 11 voluntary male subjects to test the effects of moderate doses of alcohol on simple auditory RT in a vigilance setting. Subjects were tested during a 30-min. session, during which signals were presented with an average intersignal interval of 3.75 sec. Subjects responded by pressing a microswitch held in the preferred hand. Analysis indicated that absolute means increased as a function of alcohol dose. With time-on-task alcohol produced a faster increase in RT and especially affected the longest RTs. Number of extreme long reactions (blockings) and mean duration of these reactions increased under alcohol and were directly related to time on task; alcohol produced a much faster increase in number of blockings with time on task. Results were discussed in terms of attentional processes and habituation theory. Some practical implications of the results were pointed out.