Vocal communication at the nest between mates in wild zebra finches : a private vocal duet?

Bird vocal duets are joint displays where two individuals, generally a mated pair, produce temporally coordinated vocalizations. Duets may contribute to pair bond maintenance, mate guarding or collaborative defence of resources. The degree of coordination between mates and the variety of vocalizations, however, vary considerably. Although only 3–4.3% of bird species have been reported to duet, this may be because studies have generally focused on conspicuous duets, and more private forms of duet might have been overlooked. We investigated private vocal communication between mates in wild zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, a gregarious Australian songbird that forms life-long pair bonds. The partners are inseparable unless nest building, incubating or brooding. Using microphones inside nestboxes, we monitored interactive communication between partners at the nest and its variation during different stages of breeding. After periods of separation, partners performed coordinated mutual vocal displays involving specific soft vocal elements that fulfilled all the criteria used to define duets. In addition, using playback experiments, we obtained preliminary results suggesting that these soft calls could allow mate recognition. Thus, we propose that mutual displays at the nest in zebra finches represent private vocal duets and may function to mediate pair bond maintenance.

Deficient cognitive control fuels children's exuberant false allegations.

In eyewitness studies as in actual investigations, a minority of children generate numerous false (and sometimes incredulous) allegations. To explore the characteristics of these children, we reinterviewed and administered a battery of tasks to 61 children (ages 4-9 years) who had previously participated in an eyewitness study where a man broke a "germ rule" twice when he tried to touch them. Performance on utilization, response conflict (Luria tapping), and theory of mind tasks predicted the number of false reports of touching (with age and time since the event controlled) and correctly classified 90.16% of the children as typical witnesses or exuberant (more than 3) false reporters. Results of a factor analysis pointed to a common process underlying performance on these tasks that accounted for 49% of the variability in false reports. Relations between task performance and testimony confirmed that the mechanisms underlying occasional intrusions are different from those that drive persistent confabulation and that deficient cognitive control fuels young children's exuberant false reports.

Avaliação da subluxação da articulação cricotireóidea no tratamento da paralisia unilateral de prega vocal

Resumo não disponível

Fermions bounded by kinks of false vacuum models

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Vocal evaluation in teachers with or without symptoms

The aim of this study was to perform voice evaluation in teachers with and without vocal symptoms, identifying etiologic factors of dysphonia, voice symptoms, vocal qualities, and laryngeal lesions. Eighty teachers were divided into two groups: GI (without or sporadic symptoms, 40) and GII (with frequent vocal symptoms, 40). They answered a specific questionnaire, and were subject to a perceptual vocal assessment (maximum phonation time, glottal attack, resonance, coordination of breathing and voicing, pitch, and loudness), GIRBAS scale, and to videolaryngoscopy. Females were predominant in both groups, and the age range was from 36 to 50 years. Elementary teachers predominated, working in classes with 31-40 students. Voice symptoms and alterations in the perceptual vocal analysis and in the GIRBAS scale were more frequent in GII In 46 teachers (GI-16; GII-30), videolaryngoscopy exams were abnormal with the vocal nodules being the most frequent lesions. These results indicate that a teacher's voice is compromised, and requires more attention including control of environmental factors and associated diseases, preventive vocal hygiene, periodic laryngeal examinations, and access to adequate specialist treatment.

Vocal Polyps: Clinical, Morphological, and Immunohistochemical Aspects

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Vocal Cysts: Clinical, Endoscopic, and Surgical Aspects

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Mucosal Bridge of the Vocal Fold: Difficulties in the Diagnosis and Treatment

Mucosal bridges are rare laryngeal lesions probably of genetic origin. They may cause dysphonia of varying degrees, especially when associated with other laryngeal lesions such as vocal sulci and cysts. Reports on mucosal bridges are rare, and the better treatment is inconclusive.Aim. To report the authors' experience in 14 cases of mucosal bridge showing details on endoscopic examinations and treatment.Study Design. Retrospective study.Methods. We reviewed the medical records of 14 patients with a diagnosis of mucosal bridge confirmed by video-laryngostroboscopy and direct laryngoscopy who attended the Outpatient Clinic of Voice Disorders of the Discipline of Otorhinolaryngology, Botucatu Medical School, São Paulo State University, São Paulo. Data collected included information on gender, age, symptoms, time of onset, history of intubation, smoking status, alcohol intake, associated laryngeal lesions, treatment, and GRBAS (grade of hoarseness, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, and stress) scale ratings.Results. of 14 patients, 10 were females and four were males. There was a prevalence of adults (n = 12), with only two of the patients being younger than 13 years (10 and 13 years). Mucosal bridges showed no correlations with smoking, alcohol intake, or gastroesophageal and sinonasal symptoms. Voice abuse was reported in 50% of the cases that consisted of patients who had high-voice demand occupations. In seven cases, mucosal bridges were associated with other laryngeal lesions, particularly vocal cysts and sulci. All patients who underwent surgery and phonotherapy showed improved vocal quality.Conclusions. We documented 14 patients with dysphonia caused by mucosal bridge. Promising results were obtained with surgery.