The relation between psychoacoustical factors and annoyance under different noise reduction conditions for railway noise.

The A-weighted sound pressure level (SPL) is commonly used to assess the effect of noise reduction measures on noise-induced annoyance. While for road traffic noise loudness seems to be a better descriptor of annoyance, for railway noise a systematic investigation seems to be lacking. Thus, in this study, the relation between annoyance and perceptually motivated descriptors was investigated for various conditions of binaural recordings of pass-bys of cargo and passenger trains.

Alveolar and Velarized Laterals in Albanian and in the Viennese Dialect.

A comparison of alveolar and velarized lateral realizations in two language varieties, Albanian and the Viennese dialect, has been performed. Albanian distinguishes the two laterals phonemically, whereas in the Viennese dialect, the velarized lateral was introduced by language contact with Czech immigrants. A categorical distinction between the two lateral phonemes is fully maintained in Albanian.

Platelet serotonin transporter function predicts default-mode network activity.

Background: The serotonin transporter (5-HTT) is abundantly expressed in humans by the serotonin transporter gene SLC6A4 and removes serotonin (5-HT) from extracellular space. A blood-brain relationship between platelet and synaptosomal 5-HT reuptake has been suggested, but it is unknown today, if platelet 5-HT uptake can predict neural activation of human brain networks that are known to be under serotonergic influence.

Methods: A functional magnetic resonance study was performed in 48 healthy subjects and maximal 5-HT uptake velocity (Vmax) was assessed in blood platelets.

Effect of train type on annoyance and acoustic features of the rolling noise.

This study investigated the annoyance associated with the rolling noise of different railway stock. Passbys of nine train types (passenger and freight trains) equipped with different braking systems were recorded. Acoustic features showed a clear distinction of the braking system with the A-weighted energy equivalent sound level (LAeq) showing a difference in the range of 10 dB between cast-iron braked trains and trains with disk or K-block brakes.

Group ICA of resting-state data: a comparison.

Objective: Independent component analysis (ICA) has proven its applicability in both standard and resting-state fMRI. While there is consensus on single-subject ICA methodology, the extension to group ICA is more complex and a number of approaches have been suggested. Currently, two software packages are most frequently used for ICA group analysis: (1) GIFT introduced by Calhoun et al.

Multiple serial picture presentation with millisecond resolution using a three-way LC-shutter-tachistoscope.

Throughout recent years there has been an increasing interest in studying unconscious visual processes. Such conditions of unawareness are typically achieved by either a sufficient reduction of the stimulus presentation time or visual masking. However, there are growing concerns about the reliability of the presentation devices used.

Multi-subject analyses with dynamic causal modeling.

Currently, most studies that employ dynamic causal modeling (DCM) use random-effects (RFX) analysis to make group inferences, applying a second-level frequentist test to subjects' parameter estimates. In some instances, however, fixed-effects (FFX) analysis can be more appropriate. Such analyses can be implemented by combining the subjects' posterior densities according to Bayes' theorem either on a multivariate (Bayesian parameter averaging or BPA) or univariate basis (posterior variance weighted averaging or PVWA), or by applying DCM to time-series averaged across subjects beforehand (temporal averaging or TA).

The suppressive influence of SMA on M1 in motor imagery revealed by fMRI and dynamic causal modeling.

Although motor imagery is widely used for motor learning in rehabilitation and sports training, the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. Based on fMRI data sets acquired with very high temporal resolution (300 ms) under motor execution and imagery conditions, we utilized Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM) to determine effective connectivity measures between supplementary motor area (SMA) and primary motor cortex (M1). A set of 28 models was tested in a Bayesian framework and the by-far best-performing model revealed a strong suppressive influence of the motor imagery condition on the forward connection between SMA and M1.