350
IndianBamne,
J Physiol
Jadhav
Pharmacol
and Fadia
2015; 59(3) : 350–354
Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2015; 59(3)
Short Communication
Effect of Pitch of Sound on Auditory Reaction Time :
A Gender Based Study
Shrikrishna N. Bamne* 1, Avantika V. Jadhav2 and Ameet D. Fadia 3
1
Department of Physiology
Index Medical College Hospital & Research Centre
Post Bhavlia khurd, Nemawar road,
Indore (M.P.) – 452 016
2
Department of Anatomy
Index Medical College Hospital & Research Centre
Post Bhavlia khurd, Nemawar road,
Indore (M.P.) – 452 016
3
Department of Physiology
Seth G.S. Medical College & K.E.M. Hospital
Parel, Mumbai – 400 012
Abstract
Reaction time has physiological significance and is a simple and non – invasive test for peripheral as well
as central neural structures. And the reaction time is influenced by different factors.
The purpose of this study was to find out whether the reaction time was faster for high pitch auditory or low
pitch auditory stimulus. In this study auditory reaction time (ART) was studied in 125 male & 125 female
medical students in the age group of 17-20 years. Subjects were presented with two auditory stimuli i.e.
High & Low pitch sound stimuli. Paired and unpaired ‘t’ test was used at appropriate places as a statistical
test. The p value <0.05 was considered significant.
The reaction time to low pitch sound stimuli was significantly lower than to high pitch sound stimuli in both
sexes.
Auditory reaction time in females was significantly higher compared to males.
Introduction
During our day – to – day lives we detect changes
in the environment and react appropriately. An
external stimulus is detected by one or more neurons
or specialized sensory receptors, which send the
sensory information to the central nervous system
(CNS) where it’s processed.
*Corresponding author :
Mobile No.: 09752532088
E-mail:[email protected]
(Received on April 12, 2014)
If a motor response is initiated, it usually involves a
series of action potentials (APs) that produce muscle
contraction (s) and the movement of one or more
Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2015; 59(3)
parts of the body. A simple reflex is perhaps the
easiest of this type of stimulus – response pathway.
The pathway for reflex is either monosynaptic or
polysynaptic and integrated at sub-cortical centers
and so having short latent period.
Whereas, Human Reaction Time (R.T.) is the time
interval between the application of a stimulus and
the appearance of appropriate voluntary response by
a subject.
It acts as a reliable indicator of rate of processing
of sensory stimuli by central nervous system and its
execution in the form of motor response.
Pathway for determining human reaction time is
polysynaptic and integrated at sub-cortical centers
and so having long latent period.
Reaction time measurement is an indirect index of
processing capability of central nervous system and
s im p l e m e a n s o f d e t e r m i n i n g s e n s o r y m o t o r
association and performance of an individual (1).
R.T. has physiological significance and is a simple
and non – invasive test for peripheral as well as
central neural structures (2).
Reaction time is crucial for our everyday lives &
requires intact sensory skills, cognitive processing
& motor performance.
Det erm ina tio n of r eac t ion t im e h as im p ort ant
implications in sports physiology; since performance
of an athlete is directly linked with duration of
reaction time and can be used as an index of cortical
arousal it can form an easy noninvasive test (3).
It determines the alertness of a person because how
quickly a person responds to a stimulus depends on
his reaction time & therefore it must be lesser in
certain occupation e.g. Drivers, sportsmen, pilots,
military people, doctors, nursing staff, security
guards.
There are various factors that affect the reaction time
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351
to a stimulus. Factors like intensity and duration of
the stimulus (4), age and gender of the participant
(5) and colour of stimulus, effect of practice, left or
right hand (6, 7), direct (central) versus peripheral
vision (8), practice, fatigue, fasting, breathing cycle
(9), personality types, exercise (10), yogasanas (11)
and intelligence of the subject can affect the reaction
time of an individual to a particular stimulus. For
example, there are relative differences between the
reaction time to visual and auditory stimuli between
genders. Male athletes tend to be faster than their
female counterparts in responding to different stimuli.
Researches done by Engel (9) and other people show
the reaction time to sound to be faster in males
when compared to females.
Faster reaction times are significant for better
performance of athletes. The faster the stimulus
reaches the brain, the faster the signal is processed
and the necessary responses are sent for the
necessary motor reaction.
The purpose of this study was to find out whether
the reaction time was faster for high pitch auditory
or low pitch auditory stimulus. And the factors
responsible for improving the performance of the
athlete and other professions requiring quickness and
alertness.
This human reaction time measurement had been
made from the volunteers subjected to high pitch &
low pitch sound stimuli.
Materials and Methods
Proper consent of volunteer students was taken :
(a) Inclusion Criteria: Students between 17-20 yrs
were included in this study on the basis of
physical examination-normal sensory and motor
examination, students having no muscle diseases
(i.e. Myast henia g ravis, periodic p aralys is ,
polymyositis) and students having no neural
diseases (i.e. poliomyelitis, polyneuropathy) were
included in the test and students having normal
auditory test as tested by Rinne’s test and
Weber’s test.
352
Bamne, Jadhav and Fadia
(b) Exclusion Criteria: Students below 17 yrs and
above 20 yrs age group, students not having
normal auditory function test as tested by Rinne’s
test and W eber’s test and students not having
normal sensory and motor examination, and
having muscular diseases and students having
neural diseases were excluded from the test.
Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2015; 59(3)
Statistical analysis:
To test whether there was any significant difference
in between males and females with reference to the
study variables between the study groups, paired
and unpaired ‘t’ test was used at appropriate
places as a statistical test. The p- value <0.05 was
considered significant.
St ud y pro ce du re
Study was carried out on the Medical students of
tertiary health centre of Municipal Corporation of
Greater Mumbai. 125 Male and 125 Female Medical
students fulfilling inclusion criteria were included. The
apparatus used in this study was ‘Research Reaction
Time apparatus’ Manufactured by Anand Agencies,
Pune-2. Proper consent of volunteer students was
obtained before the procedure. Each individual was
explained about the test & sufficient trials were given
for proper understanding. All the subjects were
subjected to the tests in the sound proof room. The
auditory reaction time was noted during morning
hours (10 am-12 pm).
i.
The apparatus is designed to measure R. T. for
4 stimuli: Two sound stimuli and two light stimuli.
Two response alternatives are provided by two
response keys. The chronoscope is built in to
count the reaction time.
ii. Subjects were instructed to press the response
button by the Rt. Index finger already on it to
stop the clock as soon as he/she will hear the
high pitch/low pitch sound stimuli from digital
display, reaction time was noted.
iii. Three readings of each stimulus taken & their
respective average calculated.
Results
Auditory and visual human reaction time was studied
in 250 medical students of Municipal Corporation of
greater Mumbai who formed the study group and out
of which 125 were male students, and 125 were
female students.
The range of age was from 17-20 years.
The results were tabulated and statistically analyzed.
To test whether there was any significant difference
in between males and females with reference to the
study variables between the study groups, paired ‘t’
and unpaired ‘t’ test was used at appropriate places
as a statistical test.
From Table No. I
i.
T he ART to high pitch sound in male was
154.10±12.32 and the ART to low pitch sound in
male was 153.33±12.32. The ART to high pitch
sound in male was more than the ART to low
pitch sound in male and the difference between
two were found statistically significant in case of
males (P = 0.000).
1.
Auditory reaction time to high pitch & low
pitch sound stimulus in males and females
separate.
ii. The ART to high pitch sound in female was
169.21±10.24 and the ART to low pitch sound in
female was 168.29±10.03. The ART to high pitch
sound in female was more than the ART to low
pitch sound in female and the difference between
two were found statistically significant in case of
female (P = 0.000).
2.
Auditory reaction time to high pitch & low
pitch sound stimulus between males and
females.
iii. The ART to high pitch sound in males was
154.10±12.32 and the ART to high pitch sound
in females was 169.21±10.24. The ART to high
A comparison were made between –
Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2015; 59(3)
TABLE I :
Sex
HP
LP
Male
Female
Male
Female
Aluminum & Ethanol : Open-Field Study
Measurement of ART to HP and
LP in males and females.
N
ART (in milliseconds)
p value
125
125
125
125
154.10±12.32
169.21±10.24
153.33±12.32
168.29±10.03
0.000*
0.000*
0.000*
0.000*
(Data presented are mean±SD, *P<0.05=significant, ARTauditory reaction Time, HP-high pitch sound stimuli, LPlow pitch sound stimuli).
353
The frequencies of sound that a young person can
hear, before aging has occurred in the ears, are
stated to be between 20 and 20000 cycles per
second. It is apparent that low – frequency sounds
cause maximal activation of the basilar membrane
near the apex of the cochlea, high frequency sounds
activate the basilar membrane near the base of the
cochlea, and intermediate frequency sounds activate
the membrane at intermediate distance between
these two extremes.
pitch sound in females was more than the ART
to high pitch sound in males and the difference
between two were f ound to be statistically
significant (P = 0.000).
Recording of signals in the auditory tracts of the
brainstem and in the auditory receptive fields of the
cerebral cortex shows that specific brain neurons
are activated by specific sound frequencies.
iv. The ART to low pitch sound in m ales was
153.33±12.32 and the ART to low pitch sound in
females was 168.29±10.03. The ART to low pitch
sound in females was more than the ART to low
pitch sound in males and the difference between
two were found to be statistically significant
(P = 0.000).
Therefore, the major method used by the nervous
system to detect different sound frequencies is to
determine the positions along the basilar membrane
that are most stimulated.
One can see that the distal end of the basilar
membrane at the helicotrema is stimulated by all
sound frequencies below 200 cycles per second.
Discussion
In the present study; it was found that there was
statistical significant difference in the auditory
reaction time (ART) for high pitch and low pitch
sound stimuli in either sex; ART for high pitch sound
stimuli was significantly more than low pitch sound
stimuli.
In contrast to the above findings in studies conducted
by Shinde et al. (2012) it was noted that auditory
re act ion tim e t o low pit ch sou nd s t im u li was
significantly higher than auditory reaction time to
high pitch sound stimuli in males and females (3).
And also it was found that there was statistical
significant difference in the auditory reaction time
(ART) for high pitch and low pitch sound stimuli) in
between males and females; ART (for high pitch and
low pitch sound stimuli) in females were significantly
more than ART in males. Our observations are
consistent with the observations of the other workers
(3, 4).
It is postulated that these low frequencies are
discriminated mainly by the so – called volleys or
frequency principle.
That is, low – frequency sounds, from 20 to 1500 to
2000 c yc les p er so und, ca n cause volleys of
impulses synchronized at the same frequencies, and
these volleys are transmitted by the cochlear nerve
into the cochlear nuclei of the brain. It is believed
that the cochlear nuclei can then distinguish the
different frequencies of the volleys (12).
Br over m an e t a l ( 13) s ugg este d t hat hear ing
sensitivity in females might be affected by estrogen
secretion through its influence on acetylcholine,
which has been shown to be the neurotransmitter in
auditory system.
Bruce and Russel (14) suggested that retention of
water and sodium due to variation in sex steroid
levels during menstrual cycles might influence the
process of axonal conduction time and availability of
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Bamne, Jadhav and Fadia
Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2015; 59(3)
neu r otr a n s m it ter at s yn a ps es in t h e au dit or y
pathways; changes in either of these two processes
might cause conduction time to vary during menstrual
cycle. The degree of premenstrual weight gain is
r e p o r t ed t o c o r r e la t e wi t h d e g r e e o f v a r io u s
premenstrual neurological symptomatologies in many
cases (1).
Noble et al. (1964); W elford (1980), Adam et al.
(1999), Dane and Erzurumlugoglu (2003) noted that
males have faster reaction time than females, and
female disadvantage is not reduced by practice.
Bellis (1933) reported that mean time to press a key
in response to light & for sound for males was lesser
than females (15). Botwinick and Thompson (1966)
found that almost all of the male – female difference
was accounted for by the lag between the
presentation of the stimulus and the beginning of
muscle contraction. Muscle contraction times were
the same for males and females. Taimell from Helsinki
Research Institute for sports and Exercise Medicine
conducted a study and observed that males were
faster than females in both reaction and movement.
In contrast to the above findings in studies conducted
by Shenvi et al. (1994) it was noted that auditory
human reaction time and visual human reaction time
were significantly higher in males as compared to
females in the age group of 17–18 years (16).
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