Detailed analysis of two detected overlaying transient components within the echolocation beam of a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).

Dolphin echolocation clicks measured far off-axis contain two time-separated components. Whether these components overlap and appear as a single signal on axis has received little attention. Here, the scaled reassigned spectrogram analysis was used to examine if bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) clicks measured near- or on-axis of the echolocation beam contained overlapping components. Across click trains, the number of overlapping components spatially varied within the echolocation beam. Two overlapping components were found to predominantly occur in the upper portion of the beam, whereas the lower portion of the beam predominantly contained a single component. When components overlapped, the trailing component generally had a higher center frequency and arrived less than 5 µs after the leading component. The spatial relationship of components was consistent with previous findings of two vertically distinct beam lobes with separated frequency content. The two components in the upper portion of the beam possibly result from a single transient click propagating through a geometrically dispersive media; specifically, the slower sound speed of the dolphin melon's core slightly delays the more directional, high frequency energy of the click, whereas the less directional, lower frequency energy propagates through more peripheral but higher sound speed portions of the melon.

Objective detection and time-frequency localization of components within transient signals.

An automatic component detection method for overlapping transient pulses in multi-component signals is presented and evaluated. The recently proposed scaled reassignment technique is shown to have the best achievable resolution for closely located Gaussian shaped transient pulses, even in heavy disruptive noise. As a result, the method automatically detects and counts the number of transients, giving the center times and center frequencies of all components with considerable accuracy. The presented method shows great potential for applications in several acoustic research fields, where coinciding Gaussian shaped transients are analyzed. The performance is tested on measured data from a laboratory pulse-echo setup and from a dolphin echolocation signal measured simultaneously at two different locations in the echolocation beam. Since the method requires little user input, it should be easily employed in a variety of research projects.

Scaled reassigned spectrograms applied to linear transducer signals.

This study evaluates the applicability of scaled reassigned spectrograms (ReSTS) on ultrasound radio frequency data obtained with a clinical linear array ultrasound transducer. The ReSTS's ability to resolve axially closely spaced objects in a phantom is compared to the classical cross-correlation method with respect to the ability to resolve closely spaced objects as individual reflectors using ultrasound pulses with different lengths. The results show that the axial resolution achieved with the ReSTS was superior to the cross-correlation method when the reflected pulses from two objects overlap. A novel B-mode imaging method, facilitating higher image resolution for distinct reflectors, is proposed.

Insights on Spectral Measures for HRV Based on a Novel Approach for Data Acquisition.

In this paper, we present new insights on classical spectral measures for heart rate variability (HRV), based on a novel method for HRV acquisition. A dynamic breathing task, where the test participants are asked to breathe following a metronome with slowly increasing frequency, allows for the acquisition of respiratory-related HRV-data covering the frequency range in which adults breathe in different everyday situations. We discuss how the use of a time-frequency representation, e.g. the spectrogram or the Wigner-Ville distribution, should be preferred to the traditional use of the periodogram, due to the non-stationarity of the data. We argue that this approach can highlight the correlation of spectral measures such as low-frequency and high-frequency HRV with relevant factors as age, gender and Body-Mass-Index, thanks to the improved quality of the spectral measures.

Multiple window correlation analysis of HRV power and respiratory frequency.

In this paper, we evaluate the correlation estimate, based on multiple window spectrum analysis, between the respiratory center frequency and the high-frequency band of the heartrate variability (HRV) power. One aim is to examine whether a more restricted frequency range would better capture respiratory related HR variation, especially when the HR variation is changing rapidly. The respiratory peak is detected and a narrow-banded measure of the high-frequency (HF) band of the HRV is defined as the respiratory frequency +/-0.05 Hz. We compare the mean square error of the correlation estimate between the frequency of the respiratory peak and the power of the HRV with the power in the usual 0.12-0.4 Hz frequency band. Different multiple window spectrum techniques are used for the estimation of the respiratory frequency as well as for the power of the HRV. We compare the peak-matched multiple windows with the Welch method while evaluating the two different HF-power estimates mentioned above. The results show that using a more narrow band for the power estimation gives stronger correlation which indicates that the estimate of the power is more robust.

Estimating time-varying RSA to examine psychophysiological linkage of marital dyads.

One of the primary tenets of polyvagal theory dictates that parasympathetic influence on heart rate, often estimated by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), shifts rapidly in response to changing environmental demands. The current standard analytic approach of aggregating RSA estimates across time to arrive at one value fails to capture this dynamic property within individuals. By utilizing recent methodological developments that enable precise RSA estimates at smaller time intervals, we demonstrate the utility of computing time-varying RSA for assessing psychophysiological linkage (or synchrony) in husband-wife dyads using time-locked data collected in a naturalistic setting.

Evaluation of the optimal lengths and number of multiple windows for spectrogram estimation of SSVEP.

The purpose of this paper is to present the optimal number of windows and window lengths using multiple window spectrogram for estimation of non-stationary processes with shorter or longer duration. Such processes could start in the EEG as a result of a stimuli, e.g., steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP). In many applications, the Welch method is used with standard set-ups for window lengths and number of averaged spectra/spectrograms. This paper optimizes the window lengths and number of windows of the Welch method and other more recent, so called, multiple window or multitaper methods and compares the mean squared errors of these methods. Approximative formulas for the choice of optimal number of windows and window lengths are also given. Examples of spectrogram estimation of SSVEP are shown.

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia in response to fear-relevant and fear-irrelevant stimuli.

Heart period variability and heart rate were studied in 15 women and 15 men while they were viewing negatively (snakes/spiders), neutrally (scenic views), and positively (cats and kittens/puppies and dogs) valenced films. Time-frequency analyses of the heart period variability power spectrum in the high frequency region (0.12-0.4 Hz), reflecting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), were carried out during 5 minutes in each condition. The main finding showed that RSA-magnitude (high frequency power) was inversely related to emotional valence: lowest magnitudes were found in response to positive films, and highest magnitude to negative films. The findings were interpreted as reflecting motor or behavioral inhibition, and increased attention to negatively valenced, stimuli.