Predominantly, the impact of environmental noise is measured using sound level, ignoring the influence of other factors on subjective experience. The present study tested physiological responses to natural urban soundscapes, using functional magnetic resonance imaging and vector cardiogram. City-based recordings were matched in overall sound level (71 decibel A-weighted scale), but differed on ratings of pleasantness and vibrancy. Listening to soundscapes evoked significant activity in a number of auditory brain regions. Compared with soundscapes that evoked no (neutral) emotional response, those evoking a pleasant or unpleasant emotional response engaged an additional neural circuit including the right amygdala. Ratings of vibrancy had little effect overall, and brain responses were more sensitive to pleasantness than was heart rate. A novel finding is that urban soundscapes with similar loudness can have dramatically different effects on the brain's response to the environment.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.2010.01051.x | DOI Listing |
J Urban Health
January 2025
Southampton Business School, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Environmental noise is a significant public health concern, ranking among the top environmental risks to citizens' health and quality of life. Despite extensive research on atmospheric pollution's impact on mental health, spatial studies on noise pollution effects are lacking. This study fills this gap by exploring the association between noise pollution and depression in England, with a focus on localised patterns based on area deprivation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Acoust Soc Am
January 2025
Audio Communication Group, Technische Universität Berlin, Einsteinufer 17c, Berlin, 10587 Germany.
Soundscape studies vary considerably in study design, statistical methods, and model fit metrics used. Due to this confounding of data and methods, it is difficult to assess the suitability of statistical modelling techniques used in the literature. Therefore, five different methods and two performance metrics were applied to three existing soundscape datasets to model soundscape Pleasantness and Eventfulness based on seven acoustic and three sociodemographic predictors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsychophysiology
January 2025
Active Life Lab, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences, Mikkeli, Finland.
Stress and psychological disorders are substantial public health concerns, necessitating innovative therapeutic strategies. This study investigated the psychophysiological benefits of nature-based soundscapes, drawing on the biophilia hypothesis. Using a randomized, acute cross-over design, 53 healthy participants experienced either a nature-based or a reference soundscape for 10 min, with a 2-min washout period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Acoust Soc Am
January 2025
K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850, USA.
Rapid urban development impacts the integrity of tropical ecosystems on broad spatiotemporal scales. However, sustained long-term monitoring poses significant challenges, particularly in tropical regions. In this context, ecoacoustics emerges as a promising approach to address this gap.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
December 2024
Key Laboratory of Urban and Architectural Heritage Conservation, Ministry of Education, School of Architecture, Southeast University, 2# Sipailou, Nanjing, 210096, China.
Lightweight double leaf walls have been extensively employed in assembly and large-space buildings. Due to the complex and varied stud configurations in double leaf walls, accurately and efficiently predicting the sound transmission loss (STL) of such structures poses a significant challenge. To support performance-based design workflows, this paper presents an analytical model based on sound transmission path decoupling, enabling architects to quickly predict the STL of commonly used lightweight double leaf wall types, including wooden, steel, and acoustical stud constructions.
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