Nicola A Miller | University of Aberdeen (original) (raw)
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Papers by Nicola A Miller
Abstract Kinesthesis, the sense of muscular effort that accompanies bodily movement is known to b... more Abstract
Kinesthesis, the sense of muscular effort that accompanies bodily movement is known to be important in musical performance. Less well understood is the role of the kinesthetic sense in musical listening. Recent observations that listening to music is associated with very fast, very subtle, pitch-related patterns of kinesthetic sensations that involve the ears, eustachian tubes, nasopharynx, vocal tract and even muscles of facial expression challenges traditional accounts of auditory processing divorced from peripheral vocal input and suggests, instead, the hypothesis that auditory and vocal processing mechanisms rely on shared peripheral substrates in addition to shared central (brain-based) substrates. Furthermore, the presence of kinesthetic sensations that arise in response to novelty, following voluntary switches of attention and even in anticipation of familiar sounds suggests that the kinesthetic sense plays an important part in the listening process. Here, the significance of kinesthetic sensations associated with listening behavior is discussed within the context of recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) investigations (where pitch-related changes associated with vocal production are investigated under conditions that reduce articulatory and postural input to a minimum) together with evidence from a diverse range of historical and contemporary sources. Overall, evidence from a wide range of disciplines supports the hypothesis that auditory-vocal processing relies on shared peripheral substrates in addition to shared central substrates and suggests a framework within which kinesthetic vocal sensations may be further investigated. Wide-ranging implications arising from improved awareness of the part played by the kinesthetic sense in musical listening are discussed.
Keywords: kinesthesis, kinesthetic sensations, listening, voice, pitch
The aim of this project was to investigate the nature and possible significance of first-person k... more The aim of this project was to investigate the nature and possible significance of first-person kinaesthetic vocal sensations observed in association with musical listening. Hearing and voice are known to be closely linked but the mechanisms that underlie their close relationship are not yet understood. The presence of kinaesthetic vocal sensations challenges accounts of auditory processing that are divorced from peripheral vocal input and, instead, suggests the hypothesis that auditory and vocal processing mechanisms rely on shared peripheral substrates in addition to their increasingly recognized shared (brain-based) central substrates. To investigate this hypothesis, I used MRI and developed a measurement protocol (informed by established methods in cephalometry) that would allow me to relate vocal structures to their direct and indirect bony attachments to the craniofacial skeleton, cervical spine and sternum. After establishing the method’s validity in subjects at rest, I acquired midsagittal MR images (under conditions where articulatory and postural input was negligible) while subjects (1) hummed and (2) listened (in a focused way) to low and high notes at each end of their range. Geometric and shape analysis of craniocaudal, craniocervical and anteroposterior variables revealed significant differences between low- and high-note conditions and widespread correlations between variables for both humming and listening investigations. An unexpected association between pitch change and changes of cervical alignment was also found. These results were complemented and extended by using the same MR images to build an active shape model (ASM). In addition to showing how vocal structures move together, ASM showed goal-related vocal activity to consist of one or more independent modes of variation. Together, the observations, experimental results, and evidence from diverse historical and contemporary sources, support the hypothesis that mechanisms underlying auditory and vocal processing rely on shared central and peripheral substrates. Wide-ranging implications arising from this hypothesis are also discussed.
Journal of Voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation, Sep 2014
Objective The shape of the vocal tract and associated structures (e.g. tongue and velum) is comp... more Objective
The shape of the vocal tract and associated structures (e.g. tongue and velum) is complicated and varies according to development and function. This variability challenges interpretation of voice experiments. Quantifying differences between shapes and understanding how vocal structures move in relation to each other is difficult using traditional linear and angle measurements. With statistical shape models, shape can be characterized in terms of independent modes of variation. Here, we build an active shape model (ASM) to assess morphological and pitch-related functional changes affecting vocal structures and the airway.
Method
Using a cross-sectional study design, we obtained 6 midsagittal MR images from 10 healthy adults (5 males and five females) at rest, while breathing out, and while listening to and humming low and high notes. Eighty landmark points were chosen to define the shape of interest and an ASM was built using these (60) images. Principal component analysis was used to identify independent modes of variation and statistical analysis was performed using one-way repeated-measures ANOVA.
Results
Twenty modes of variation were identified with modes 1 and 2 accounting for half the total variance. Modes 1 and 9 were significantly associated with humming low and high notes (P < 0.001) and showed coordinated changes affecting the cervical spine, vocal structures and airway. Mode 2 highlighted wide structural variations between subjects.
Conclusion
This study highlights the potential of active shape modelling to advance understanding of factors underlying morphological and pitch-related functional variations affecting vocal structures and the airway in health and disease.
Journal of Voice: official journal of the Voice Foundation, Jan 2012
Objectives / Hypothesis Traditional voice research occurs within a phonetic context. Accordingly... more Objectives / Hypothesis
Traditional voice research occurs within a phonetic context. Accordingly, pitch-related contributions are inseparable from those due to articulator input. In humming, articulator input is negligible. Using MRI we test the hypothesis that voice production is accompanied by pitch-related adjustments unrelated to articulatory or postural input.
Study Design / Method
In this cross-sectional study, 10 healthy volunteers (5 males, 5 females, age 20-47, median 25 years) including singers (6 months-10 years tuition, median 2 years) and non-singers, were assessed to establish the lowest and highest notes they could comfortably sustain while humming over 20 seconds. With head position stable, mid-sagittal images were acquired while volunteers hummed these predetermined low and high notes. 22 craniocervical, angular and linear dimensions defined on these images were compared using One Way Repeated Measures ANOVA. Correlations between variables were sought using Pearson’s correlation coefficient.
Results
We found significant differences between low and high note conditions in 6/22 measures and widespread pitch-related correlations between variables (r ≥ 0.66, P < 0.05). Compared with low note humming, high note humming was accompanied by increased craniocervical angles opt/nsl and cvt/nsl (P = 0.008 and 0.002 respectively); widening of the C3-menton distance (P = 0.003), a rise of the larynx and hyoid in relation to the cranial base (P = 0.012 and < 0.001 respectively) and a decreased sternum-hyoid distance (P = 0.004).
Conclusion
Voice production is accompanied by pitch-related adjustments that are currently being masked by, or mistakenly attributed to, articulatory or postural input, identification of which could improve understanding of mechanisms underlying speech and song.
Journal of Voice: official journal of the Voice Foundation, Jan 2012
Objectives Traditional voice research focuses upon the vocal tract, articulators and larynx. By ... more Objectives
Traditional voice research focuses upon the vocal tract, articulators and larynx. By ignoring their direct/indirect attachments (skull, cervical spine, sternum) important information may be missed. We aim to investigate vocal structures within this wider context and assess the validity of this approach for subsequent voice production studies.
Study Design / Method
Using a cross-sectional study design we obtained mid-sagittal MR images from ten healthy adults (5 males, 5 females) while at rest and breathing quietly. With reference points based upon cephalometry, 17 craniocervical, craniocaudal and antero-posterior variables were chosen to describe craniofacial morphology, craniocervical posture and airway dimensions. Relationships between variables were sought using Pearson’s correlation coefficient.
Results
We found widespread correlations relating vocal structures to the craniofacial skeleton and cervical spine (r > 0.6). Increasing airway size (hyocervical distance) was associated with greater distances from the cranial base of the hyoid, larynx, epiglottis tip and uvula tip, and of C3 from the menton. A wider velopharyngeal opening was associated with a shorter and higher soft palate, and a greater (lower) craniocervical angle was associated with a wider laryngeal tube opening, narrower airway at the uvula tip and shorter distances of the hyoid and uvula tip from the cranial base.
Conclusion
Finding widespread correlations relating vocal structures to the craniofacial skeleton and cervical spine confirms the potential of this approach to uncover functional activity during voice production and demonstrates the importance of considering vocal structures and the airway within this wider context if important information is not to be missed.
Keywords
MRI-Cephalometry-Vocal Tract-Speech-Posture
Abstract Kinesthesis, the sense of muscular effort that accompanies bodily movement is known to b... more Abstract
Kinesthesis, the sense of muscular effort that accompanies bodily movement is known to be important in musical performance. Less well understood is the role of the kinesthetic sense in musical listening. Recent observations that listening to music is associated with very fast, very subtle, pitch-related patterns of kinesthetic sensations that involve the ears, eustachian tubes, nasopharynx, vocal tract and even muscles of facial expression challenges traditional accounts of auditory processing divorced from peripheral vocal input and suggests, instead, the hypothesis that auditory and vocal processing mechanisms rely on shared peripheral substrates in addition to shared central (brain-based) substrates. Furthermore, the presence of kinesthetic sensations that arise in response to novelty, following voluntary switches of attention and even in anticipation of familiar sounds suggests that the kinesthetic sense plays an important part in the listening process. Here, the significance of kinesthetic sensations associated with listening behavior is discussed within the context of recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) investigations (where pitch-related changes associated with vocal production are investigated under conditions that reduce articulatory and postural input to a minimum) together with evidence from a diverse range of historical and contemporary sources. Overall, evidence from a wide range of disciplines supports the hypothesis that auditory-vocal processing relies on shared peripheral substrates in addition to shared central substrates and suggests a framework within which kinesthetic vocal sensations may be further investigated. Wide-ranging implications arising from improved awareness of the part played by the kinesthetic sense in musical listening are discussed.
Keywords: kinesthesis, kinesthetic sensations, listening, voice, pitch
The aim of this project was to investigate the nature and possible significance of first-person k... more The aim of this project was to investigate the nature and possible significance of first-person kinaesthetic vocal sensations observed in association with musical listening. Hearing and voice are known to be closely linked but the mechanisms that underlie their close relationship are not yet understood. The presence of kinaesthetic vocal sensations challenges accounts of auditory processing that are divorced from peripheral vocal input and, instead, suggests the hypothesis that auditory and vocal processing mechanisms rely on shared peripheral substrates in addition to their increasingly recognized shared (brain-based) central substrates. To investigate this hypothesis, I used MRI and developed a measurement protocol (informed by established methods in cephalometry) that would allow me to relate vocal structures to their direct and indirect bony attachments to the craniofacial skeleton, cervical spine and sternum. After establishing the method’s validity in subjects at rest, I acquired midsagittal MR images (under conditions where articulatory and postural input was negligible) while subjects (1) hummed and (2) listened (in a focused way) to low and high notes at each end of their range. Geometric and shape analysis of craniocaudal, craniocervical and anteroposterior variables revealed significant differences between low- and high-note conditions and widespread correlations between variables for both humming and listening investigations. An unexpected association between pitch change and changes of cervical alignment was also found. These results were complemented and extended by using the same MR images to build an active shape model (ASM). In addition to showing how vocal structures move together, ASM showed goal-related vocal activity to consist of one or more independent modes of variation. Together, the observations, experimental results, and evidence from diverse historical and contemporary sources, support the hypothesis that mechanisms underlying auditory and vocal processing rely on shared central and peripheral substrates. Wide-ranging implications arising from this hypothesis are also discussed.
Journal of Voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation, Sep 2014
Objective The shape of the vocal tract and associated structures (e.g. tongue and velum) is comp... more Objective
The shape of the vocal tract and associated structures (e.g. tongue and velum) is complicated and varies according to development and function. This variability challenges interpretation of voice experiments. Quantifying differences between shapes and understanding how vocal structures move in relation to each other is difficult using traditional linear and angle measurements. With statistical shape models, shape can be characterized in terms of independent modes of variation. Here, we build an active shape model (ASM) to assess morphological and pitch-related functional changes affecting vocal structures and the airway.
Method
Using a cross-sectional study design, we obtained 6 midsagittal MR images from 10 healthy adults (5 males and five females) at rest, while breathing out, and while listening to and humming low and high notes. Eighty landmark points were chosen to define the shape of interest and an ASM was built using these (60) images. Principal component analysis was used to identify independent modes of variation and statistical analysis was performed using one-way repeated-measures ANOVA.
Results
Twenty modes of variation were identified with modes 1 and 2 accounting for half the total variance. Modes 1 and 9 were significantly associated with humming low and high notes (P < 0.001) and showed coordinated changes affecting the cervical spine, vocal structures and airway. Mode 2 highlighted wide structural variations between subjects.
Conclusion
This study highlights the potential of active shape modelling to advance understanding of factors underlying morphological and pitch-related functional variations affecting vocal structures and the airway in health and disease.
Journal of Voice: official journal of the Voice Foundation, Jan 2012
Objectives / Hypothesis Traditional voice research occurs within a phonetic context. Accordingly... more Objectives / Hypothesis
Traditional voice research occurs within a phonetic context. Accordingly, pitch-related contributions are inseparable from those due to articulator input. In humming, articulator input is negligible. Using MRI we test the hypothesis that voice production is accompanied by pitch-related adjustments unrelated to articulatory or postural input.
Study Design / Method
In this cross-sectional study, 10 healthy volunteers (5 males, 5 females, age 20-47, median 25 years) including singers (6 months-10 years tuition, median 2 years) and non-singers, were assessed to establish the lowest and highest notes they could comfortably sustain while humming over 20 seconds. With head position stable, mid-sagittal images were acquired while volunteers hummed these predetermined low and high notes. 22 craniocervical, angular and linear dimensions defined on these images were compared using One Way Repeated Measures ANOVA. Correlations between variables were sought using Pearson’s correlation coefficient.
Results
We found significant differences between low and high note conditions in 6/22 measures and widespread pitch-related correlations between variables (r ≥ 0.66, P < 0.05). Compared with low note humming, high note humming was accompanied by increased craniocervical angles opt/nsl and cvt/nsl (P = 0.008 and 0.002 respectively); widening of the C3-menton distance (P = 0.003), a rise of the larynx and hyoid in relation to the cranial base (P = 0.012 and < 0.001 respectively) and a decreased sternum-hyoid distance (P = 0.004).
Conclusion
Voice production is accompanied by pitch-related adjustments that are currently being masked by, or mistakenly attributed to, articulatory or postural input, identification of which could improve understanding of mechanisms underlying speech and song.
Journal of Voice: official journal of the Voice Foundation, Jan 2012
Objectives Traditional voice research focuses upon the vocal tract, articulators and larynx. By ... more Objectives
Traditional voice research focuses upon the vocal tract, articulators and larynx. By ignoring their direct/indirect attachments (skull, cervical spine, sternum) important information may be missed. We aim to investigate vocal structures within this wider context and assess the validity of this approach for subsequent voice production studies.
Study Design / Method
Using a cross-sectional study design we obtained mid-sagittal MR images from ten healthy adults (5 males, 5 females) while at rest and breathing quietly. With reference points based upon cephalometry, 17 craniocervical, craniocaudal and antero-posterior variables were chosen to describe craniofacial morphology, craniocervical posture and airway dimensions. Relationships between variables were sought using Pearson’s correlation coefficient.
Results
We found widespread correlations relating vocal structures to the craniofacial skeleton and cervical spine (r > 0.6). Increasing airway size (hyocervical distance) was associated with greater distances from the cranial base of the hyoid, larynx, epiglottis tip and uvula tip, and of C3 from the menton. A wider velopharyngeal opening was associated with a shorter and higher soft palate, and a greater (lower) craniocervical angle was associated with a wider laryngeal tube opening, narrower airway at the uvula tip and shorter distances of the hyoid and uvula tip from the cranial base.
Conclusion
Finding widespread correlations relating vocal structures to the craniofacial skeleton and cervical spine confirms the potential of this approach to uncover functional activity during voice production and demonstrates the importance of considering vocal structures and the airway within this wider context if important information is not to be missed.
Keywords
MRI-Cephalometry-Vocal Tract-Speech-Posture