Human Auditory Detection and Discrimination Measured with the Pupil Dilation Response.

In the standard Hughson-Westlake hearing tests (Carhart and Jerger 1959), patient responses like a button press, raised hand, or verbal response are used to assess detection of brief test signals such as tones of varying pitch and level. Because of its reliance on voluntary responses, Hughson-Westlake audiometry is not suitable for patients who cannot follow instructions reliably, such as pre-lingual infants (Northern and Downs 2002). As an alternative approach, we explored the use of the pupillary dilation response (PDR), a short-latency component of the orienting response evoked by novel stimuli, as an indicator of sound detection.

Intra- and Intersexual swim bladder dimorphisms in the plainfin midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus): Implications of swim bladder proximity to the inner ear for sound pressure detection.

The plainfin midshipman fish, Porichthys notatus, is a nocturnal marine teleost that uses social acoustic signals for communication during the breeding season. Nesting type I males produce multiharmonic advertisement calls by contracting their swim bladder sonic muscles to attract females for courtship and spawning while subsequently attracting cuckholding type II males. Here, we report intra- and intersexual dimorphisms of the swim bladder in a vocal teleost fish and detail the swim bladder dimorphisms in the three sexual phenotypes (females, type I and II males) of plainfin midshipman fish.

Seasonal plasticity of auditory saccular sensitivity in "sneaker" type II male plainfin midshipman fish, Porichthys notatus.

Adult female and nesting (type I) male midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus) exhibit an adaptive form of auditory plasticity for the enhanced detection of social acoustic signals. Whether this adaptive plasticity also occurs in "sneaker" type II males is unknown. Here, we characterize auditory-evoked potentials recorded from hair cells in the saccule of reproductive and non-reproductive "sneaker" type II male midshipman to determine whether this sexual phenotype exhibits seasonal, reproductive state-dependent changes in auditory sensitivity and frequency response to behaviorally relevant auditory stimuli.

The role of familiarity in daily well-being: developmental and cultural variation.

The present study examined life stage and cultural differences in the degree to which familiarity of one's physical location and interaction partner is associated with daily well-being. Participants reported all the activities they engaged in and how they felt during these activities on a previous day using the Day Reconstruction Method (Kahneman, Krueger, Schkade, Schwarz, & Stone, 2004). Both Korean and American retirees were happier when in a familiar place than in an unfamiliar place, whereas the reverse was true for both Korean and American working adults.