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Psychophysiological aspects of middle-ear muscle function
D. Siddle, ed. /Psychophysiology
PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL
Society abstracts
265
ASPECTS OF MIDDLE-EAR MUSCLE FUNCTION
R.W. HAYES Department
of Psychology, North-East London Polytechnic,
Londo?l, U.K.
The present review aims to bring the nature of middle-ear muscle function to the attention of all psychophysiologists who use auditory stimuli, including speech, in their research. These middle-ear muscles (MEMs) have long been held to provide nothing more than a simple, reflex protection for the inner ear against environmental noise, but if the MEMs were indeed required only to perform a simple acoustic reflex ‘door-closing’ function their structure and innervation could reasonably be expected to be equally simple. However, evidence is examined here which shows that, on the contrary, the remarkable innervation and unusual muscle-fibre arrangement of these muscles makes them capable of exercising a very precise control of the auditory pathway on which they are acting. A number of studies are reviewed which indicate that the complex physiological structure of the MEMs does in fact appear to be reflected in functions far beyond mere door-closing. Since an adequate evaluation of the evidence concerning MEM function requires an understanding of the methodology involved, methods not likely to be very familiar to most psychophysiologists are briefly explained, and references given to more detailed explanations elsewhere. Particular attention is directed to the use of the electro-acoustic impedance meter, and a method for taking its output directly to one channel of a Grass Polygraph. Studies of the possible role of the MEMs in the location and comprehension of speech are reviewed, together with others relating MEM function to arousal, rapid eye-movement sleep and infantile autism.
PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL
RESEARCH IN RESPIRATION
R. RICHTER, B. DAHME and J. GRAHN Universitatskrankenhaus,
D-2000 Hamburg-Eppendorf,
W. Germany
The resistance of the airways is the very physiological variable which can directly be related to the sensation of breathlessness, the essential symptom in obstructive lung disease. A specific technique has been developed to determine the oscillatory resistance (R,,) of the respiratory system continuously during spontaneous breathing. A computerized pattern recognition of the pneumotachogram is presented, which is required for the exact determination of R,,.
PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL
Society abstracts
265
ASPECTS OF MIDDLE-EAR MUSCLE FUNCTION
R.W. HAYES Department
of Psychology, North-East London Polytechnic,
Londo?l, U.K.
The present review aims to bring the nature of middle-ear muscle function to the attention of all psychophysiologists who use auditory stimuli, including speech, in their research. These middle-ear muscles (MEMs) have long been held to provide nothing more than a simple, reflex protection for the inner ear against environmental noise, but if the MEMs were indeed required only to perform a simple acoustic reflex ‘door-closing’ function their structure and innervation could reasonably be expected to be equally simple. However, evidence is examined here which shows that, on the contrary, the remarkable innervation and unusual muscle-fibre arrangement of these muscles makes them capable of exercising a very precise control of the auditory pathway on which they are acting. A number of studies are reviewed which indicate that the complex physiological structure of the MEMs does in fact appear to be reflected in functions far beyond mere door-closing. Since an adequate evaluation of the evidence concerning MEM function requires an understanding of the methodology involved, methods not likely to be very familiar to most psychophysiologists are briefly explained, and references given to more detailed explanations elsewhere. Particular attention is directed to the use of the electro-acoustic impedance meter, and a method for taking its output directly to one channel of a Grass Polygraph. Studies of the possible role of the MEMs in the location and comprehension of speech are reviewed, together with others relating MEM function to arousal, rapid eye-movement sleep and infantile autism.
PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL
RESEARCH IN RESPIRATION
R. RICHTER, B. DAHME and J. GRAHN Universitatskrankenhaus,
D-2000 Hamburg-Eppendorf,
W. Germany
The resistance of the airways is the very physiological variable which can directly be related to the sensation of breathlessness, the essential symptom in obstructive lung disease. A specific technique has been developed to determine the oscillatory resistance (R,,) of the respiratory system continuously during spontaneous breathing. A computerized pattern recognition of the pneumotachogram is presented, which is required for the exact determination of R,,.