STUDY DESIGN: This study employed a repeated measures design.
SETTINGS: Otorhinolaryngology Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia.
PARTICIPANTS: Eligible Malaysian adults (N = 187, aged 21-75 years) were recruited and categorised into young (N = 60), middle-aged (N = 66) and older (N = 61) groups. Most of them were Malay, and 51.3% were men.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Subjective visual vertical angles (in degrees) were determined from each participant in a static upright condition using a computerised SVV device. They were asked to indicate their verticality perception for three types of visual images (solid line, dotted line and arrow pattern).
RESULTS: Three-way mixed ANOVA revealed insignificant influences of age and gender on SVV results (P > 0.05). In contrast, mean SVV angles were significantly higher for the arrow pattern than for other visual images (P = 0.004).
CONCLUSION: While the insignificant influences of age and gender on static SVV are further ascertained with larger samples, the perception of verticality is less accurate when aligning a more geometrically complex visual image (ie, arrow pattern). Further SVV research on vestibular-disordered patients is beneficial, particularly to verify the normative data obtained with this complex visual image.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of type of visual image and gender on subjective visual horizontal (SVH) perception among healthy adults.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this comparative study, 50 healthy young adults were enrolled. While in an upright body position, they were required to report their perception of horizontality for two types of visual images (solid line and arrow pattern) using a computerized SVH device.
RESULTS: The arrow pattern produced significantly bigger SVH angles than the solid line (p < .001). In contrast, no significant influence of gender was found on SVH results (p = .743), Based on the statistical outcomes, the preliminary normative data for SVH were established.
CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: The arrow pattern (a more complex visual image) produced bigger SVH deviations than the simple solid line image. In contrast, the horizontality perception does not appear to be affected by gender. The preliminary normative SVH data gathered from the present study can be beneficial for clinical and future research applications.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this repeated-measures study, 40 Malaysian adults (aged 19-26 years) with normal hearing bilaterally (based on PTA results) were enrolled. They then underwent the SAL test based on the recommended protocol by Jerger and Tillman (1960). The SAL normative data for each ear were obtained by calculating the differences between air conduction (AC) thresholds in quiet and AC thresholds in noise by means of insert earphone, B71 and B81 bone vibrators.
RESULTS: The SAL normative values were comparable between the ears (p > 0.05), and the data were pooled for subsequent analyses (n = 80 ears). Relative to B81 bone transducer, B71 bone vibrator produced statistically higher SAL normative data at all frequencies (p < 0.05). The SAL normative values established by the present study were statistically lower than those of the previous study (that utilised headphones) at most of frequencies tested (p < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: The SAL normative data produced by the two bone vibrators were significantly different. The SAL normative values were also affected by the type of earphone used. While conducting the SAL test on Malaysian patients, the information provided by this study can be useful to guide the respective clinicians in choosing the appropriate normative data.
Methods: This experimental study involved 61 Fourth Grade students from Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. The participants were divided into two groups: the angklung intervention group and silence intervention group. The two interventions were performed for 15 min before the morning classes for 2 months. The control group attended their classes as usual. Clinical parameters, namely, emotion and cognition, as well as the saliva oxytocin levels were measured.
Results: No significant differences were observed among the three groups in terms of concentration and cognitive flexibility. However, changes in oxytocin levels significantly differed among the three groups (P < 0.001) and the oxytocin levels were highest in the silence intervention group.
Conclusion: Practicing silence significantly increased the oxytocin levels, but it did not elicit changes in cognitive function and emotion of the students.