Purpose: To examine the influence of sound immersion techniques and speech production tasks on speech adaptation in noise. Method: In Experiment 1, we compared the modification of speakers' perception and speech production in noise when noise is played into headphones (with and without additional self-monitoring feedback) or over loudspeakers. We also examined how this sound immersion effect depends on noise type (broadband or cocktail party) and level (from 62 to 86dB SPL). In Experiment 2, we compared the modification of acoustic and lip articulatory parameters in noise when speakers interact or not with a speech partner. Results: Speech modifications in noise were greater when cocktail party noise was played in headphones than over loudspeakers. Such an effect was less noticeable in broadband noise. Adding a self-monitoring feedback into headphones reduced this effect but did not completely compensate for it. Speech modifications in noise were greater in interactive situation and concerned parameters that may not be related to voice intensity. Conclusions:The results support the idea that the Lombard effect is both a communicative adaptation and an automatic regulation of vocal intensity. The influence of auditory and communicative factors has some methodological implications on the choice of appropriate paradigms to study the Lombard effect.

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sounds and feels, and consequently conceptualization structures, rely on the variations in style and expertise of different violinists, the broader semantic categories emerging from sensory descriptions remain common across performers with diverse musical profiles, reflecting a shared perception of physical parameter patterns that allowed us to develop a musician-driven framework for understanding how the dynamic behavior of a violin might relate to its perceived quality. Implications for timbre perception and the crossmodal audiotactile sensation of sound in music performance are discussed.

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There is increasing interest in the notion that acoustic environments may affect human health, not only at high exposure levels, but also where the acoustic environment is pleasant and of high quality. In this paper we explore the notion that access to high quality acoustic environments may have a role in quality of life. This can be intrinsically, or by way of mediation for people otherwise exposed to adverse environments, through some restorative and health promoting mechanism(s). First the limited literature on soundscapes and restoration, and their interconnection, is discussed. Next, the results of secondary analysis on several data sets are presented. It is concluded that evidence on the intrinsic positive value of areas with high acoustic quality (green-blue areas) for restoration, by way of an immediate pathway, is limited. Temporary respite from environmental noise can mitigate the negative effects on health and wellbeing, but the long-term effects have scarcely been studied. Based on the secondary analysis, key determinants of perceived soundscapes and overall evaluation of sound quality in different conditions are presented. Next, the evaluation of overall sound quality and perceived soundscapes is linked to restoration at places which people frequent to relax, socialize or for physical exercise.

Résumé Le but de la présente recherche est de contribuer à identifier les principes de l'organisation des représentations en mémoire. Nous avons collecté les productions d'exemplaires appartenant à 22 catégories sémantiques, dénotant soit des objets (naturels ou fabriqués), soit des activités humaines et ce à partir de deux consignes différentes : l'une insiste sur la production de mots, l'autre sur la production d'une image préalablement à la dénomination. Les résultats montrent : — une importante stabilité interindividuelle, permettant d'assigner un statut de « normes » à ces productions verbales ; — une importante diversité entre catégories sur les critères que nous avons analysés ; — la non-exclusivité des déterminations linguistiques (lexicales) dans la distribution des réponses des sujets ; — la contribution possible des représentations imagées dans l'organisation de certaines catégories. Ces facteurs n'épuisant cependant pas la richesse des déterminants de la structuration catégorielle, ce travail suggère en conclusion de nouvelles investigations des déterminations de l'organisation des représentations cognitives humaines. Mots clefs : Représentation, catégorisation, lexique, imagerie.

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Insulin-producing pancreatic β cells are functionally impaired or destroyed in diabetes mellitus. The onset of type 1 diabetes (T1D) represents the culmination of a prolonged prediabetic phase of immune-mediated β-cell destruction. To assess the in vivo metabolic status of these cells, we used the ATP-sensitive firefly luciferase bioluminescence imaging approach, as a noninvasive probe to monitor pathological alterations in β-cell function in the nonobese-diabetic (NOD) mouse model of T1D. Hence, we generated the ToIβ-NOD transgenic mice in which doxycycline-inducible luciferase gene is selectively expressed in β cells. A sharp reduction in bioluminescence emitted in vivo from β cells at the early stages, preceded by several weeks of a limited reduction in β-cell mass. Since this decline could be due to the ongoing inflammatory process occurring in vivo, we exposed control islets to inflammatory cytokines and observed a dramatic decrease in luciferase luminescence, which appears to be due in part to a decrease in protein levels and a drop in intracellular ATP levels. This is the first evidence that selective expression of the luciferase gene represents a sensitive method for noninvasive in vivo monitoring of early β-cell dysfunction, subtle metabolic changes, such as endogenous ATP levels, indicative of a pathological condition in a tissue at the cellular level.