Sunday, December 6, 2020

Parallel Processing and Auditory Implications


  The ability to exist in a daily lifestyle requires the human body to share a level of processing that is both complex and dynamic. An important facet of complex processing stems from the contribution of Parallel Processing. Various tasks require cognitive regulation; these acts range from writing with a pencil to putting on one's mask. Because predictability is essential to these processes, parallel regulation of the Past, Present, and Future are necessary functions. 

    In the study, "Parallel Regulation of Past, Present, and Future Actions During Sequencing" by Lawrence Behmer Jr, et.al, researchers observed Motor Evoked Potentials(MEP) against the onset of typing words and their expected locations. The relationship between sequence production and parallel regulation was performed to determine the context to which MEPs displayed serial inhibition. Based on the results, a single letter typed by the right index finger in positions 1-5 displayed peak MEPs at the second interval but inhibited action for the remaining letters. The recruited subjects consisted of fourteen participants, seven of whom were females and the other seven being male. They were all right-handed individuals who participated in the typing activity. Figure one of this model focuses on the Competetive Queuing Model which assumes that all responses to a given stimulus are activated in parallel and then each action inhibits the following action. This is important about the range of inhibitive processes that the brain partakes in, for example, the MEP amplitude spikes in different positions indicate a dependence on experience.

   This is a prima facie case of application to simple processing events, however, questions regarding the hierarchical organization of functional segregation and location-specific damage to the brain remain tentative. In a separate study, "An Oscillator model of the timing of turn-taking" by Marget Wilson and Thomas Wilson, researchers observe the implications of conventionalized arrangements with conversation engagement. The continuous and nonsimultaneous exchange of language during conversations brings endogenous oscillation to the frame when relating to parallel processing. An endogenous Oscillator is a neural circuit that generates repeating sequences of neural activity. These biological clocks are cued by rhythmic environmental cues that can affect hearing and hearing loss in mammals -- and humans in particular. A good example of this process is healing loss during treatment for MDR-TB with Kanamycin or noise-induced hearing loss. 

    Lawrence Behmer Jr, et.al focus on Predicted Response Activation where models of stimulus queuing are utilized to understand rhythmic sequence production. In models of temporal reasoning and the relationship to parallel regulation in hearing and conversation, a deeper understanding of hearing and auditory support for hearing loss can be paired by observing precise action control and response to sequence production tasks. Researchers in Behmer's study were able to support serial inhibition and rapid deactivation. For individuals with semi hearing loss, they are required to utilize a bidirectional hierarchical cascade that forms a prediction error in their processing of visual cues from lip-reading and social-auditory cues. When individuals pick up on a visual and auditory cue, the response can evoke MEPs/ Action Potentials that follow a similar pattern of inhibitive processing. When action states are controlled by a timed signal, the cued action in response to hearing loss individuals may be inhibited for a longer period of time. However, conversation analysis may be able to pick up on particular syllables, phonetics, and sounds that evoke a greater degree of action potentials. 

   The studies conducted by Lawrence Behmer Jr, et.al, and by  Margaret and Thomas Wilson are important contributors to the understanding of cognitive processing and the ways research can support individuals with a disability. The combination of various cognitive processing models and action regulation allows researchers to understand a wide range of responses in people. By validating inhibition in action modulated responses and understanding Oscillation based timing, future involvement in cognitive therapy may be possible. Modes of speech therapy and prediction based practices for hearing-impaired populations could be resourced with a deeper understanding of parallel processing. If researchers come to understand how parallel processing serves auditory processing comprehensively and responsively, the potential for understanding cognitive developments post-semi-hearing loss can open new avenues of research. 


Works Cited

Behmer, Lawrence & Jantzen, Kelly & Martinez, Sarah & Walls, Rachel & Amir-Brownstein, Elisabeth & Jaye, Andrew & Leytze, Mckaila & Lucier, Kathleen & Crump, Matthew. (2018). Parallel Regulation of Past, Present, and Future Actions During Sequencing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. 44. 10.1037/xhp0000507. 

Wilson M, Wilson TP. An oscillator model of the timing of turn-taking. Psychon Bull Rev. 2005 Dec;12(6):957-68. doi: 10.3758/bf03206432. PMID: 16615316.

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