New approaches to the single-interval adjustment matrix yes-no task.

Two adaptations of the Single-Interval Adjust-Matrix Yes-No (SIAM-YN) task, designed to increase the efficiency of absolute threshold estimation, are described. The first, the SIAM Twin Track (SIAM-TT) task, consists of two interleaved tracks of the standard SIAM-YN that are run in the same trial with a single response. The second new task modifies the binary SIAM-YN task by using a six-point rating-scale (SIAM-Rating).

Advancing textural heterogeneity: Effect of manipulating multi-component model foods on the perception of textural complexity.

The aim of this study was to identify the individual and interacting effects of varying the mechanical properties of two inserts (к-carrageenan beads; 1, 2 and 4% w/w and/or agar-based disks; 0.3, 1.2 and 3% w/w) in pectin-based gels on the perception of textural complexity.

Can binaural beats facilitate autonomic recovery following exposure to an acute stressor?

Background And Purpose: Binaural beats are seen as a new type of 'digital-drug'. The aim of this study was to determine if binaural beats could facilitate physiological recovery from a mental stressor.

Materials And Methods: 92 adults were exposed five times each to a 2-min mental stressor and a subsequent 4-min rest period containing silence or 1-of-4 examples of binaural beats (2, 5, 10, and 24 Hz).

The use of freeze-dried retronasal stimuli to assess olfactory function.

Objectives: To evaluate a test of olfactory perception that uses freeze-dried stimuli developed to rapidly release aromas capable of migrating to the olfactory mucosa retronasally.

Design: Validation study.

Setting: Psychology and Chemistry Departments.

Electrophysiological indices of amplitude modulated sounds and sensitivity to noise.

Annoyance to unwanted sound differs across individuals, though why noise sensitive individuals are more reactive to noise while others are more resilient remains unanswered. The Information Processing Hypothesis posits that noise sensitive individuals are vulnerable to higher-order auditory processing deficits. The aim of this study was to test the veracity of this hypothesis by documenting differences in pre-attentive auditory evoked potentials (ERP) between high noise sensitive and low noise sensitive individuals.