Podcasts about francart

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.07.24.550310v1?rss=1 Authors: Accou, B., Bollens, L., Gillis, M., Verheijen, W., Van hamme, H., Francart, T. Abstract: Researchers investigating the neural mechanisms underlying speech perception often employ electroencephalography (EEG) to record brain activity while participants listen to spoken language. The high temporal resolution of EEG enables the study of neural responses to fast and dynamic speech signals. Previous studies have successfully extracted speech characteristics from EEG data and, conversely, predicted EEG activity from speech features. Machine learning techniques are generally employed to construct encoding and decoding models, which necessitate a substantial amount of data. We present SparrKULee: A Speech-evoked Auditory Repository of EEG, measured at KU Leuven, comprising 64-channel EEG recordings from 85 young individuals with normal hearing, each of whom listened to 90-150 minutes of natural speech. This dataset is more extensive than any currently available dataset in terms of both the number of participants and the amount of data per participant. It is suitable for training larger machine learning models. We evaluate the dataset using linear and state-of-the-art non-linear models in a speech encoding/decoding and match/mismatch paradigm, providing benchmark scores for future research. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.07.13.548824v1?rss=1 Authors: Rotaru, I., Geirnaert, S., Heintz, N., Van de Ryck, I., Bertrand, A., Francart, T. Abstract: Objective: Auditory attention decoding (AAD) refers to the task of identifying which speaker a person is listening to in a multi-talker setting, based on their neural recordings. The Common Spatial Patterns (CSP) algorithm has previously shown promising potential w.r.t. the state-of-the-art AAD algorithms to create discriminative features from electroencephalography (EEG) signals in a task of spatial AAD (sAAD). However, there has been some skepticism related to the underlying decoding mechanisms of such sAAD methods, as well as their generalization capabilities across subjects and experimental trials. In this study, we aimed to investigate (1) what type of mechanisms (neural vs. non-neural) drive the CSP decoding and (2) how well CSP filters can generalize across trials and subjects. Approach: We designed a two-speaker audiovisual sAAD protocol in which we enforced the spatial auditory and visual attention to be either congruent or incongruent, and we recorded EEG data from sixteen participants performing this task. Main results: Firstly, we found that the sAAD accuracy with CSP-derived features was significantly higher in scenarios where the target visual and auditory stimuli were co-located, potentially indicating that CSP decoders exploited eye-gaze information. Secondly, CSP decoding remained feasible even without relevant eye-gaze information, i.e., when the location of the attended visual target was continuously shifted to ensure spatial dissociation with the auditory stimulus' location. This finding suggests that CSPs are able to extract neural lateralization patterns reflecting spatial auditory attention independent of the eye-gaze direction. Thirdly, we identified a limitation in the between-trial generalization ability of the CSP feature embeddings, observing strong distribution shifts in the feature space across trials. However, we demonstrated this can be overcome by employing partially-unsupervised classification methods. Significance: Collectively, our findings confirm the feasibility of CSP filters in decoding the locus of auditory attention in various AV conditions, while equally emphasizing the need for novel algorithms that are robust to generalization. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.07.03.547477v1?rss=1 Authors: Van Hirtum, T., Somers, B., Dieudonne, B., Verschueren, E., Wouters, J., Francart, T. Abstract: Early assessment of hearing aid benefit is crucial, as the extent to which hearing aids provide audible speech information predicts speech and language outcomes. A growing body of research has proposed neural envelope tracking as an objective measure of speech, particularly for individuals unable to provide reliable behavioral feedback. However, its potential for evaluating speech intelligibility and hearing aid benefit in hearing-impaired children remains unexplored. This study examined neural envelope tracking in hearing-impaired children through two separate experiments. EEG data was recorded while children listened to age-appropriate stories (experiment 1) or an animated movie (experiment 2) under aided and unaided conditions (using personal hearing aids) at multiple stimulus intensities. Results in the delta band demonstrated that neural tracking increased with increasing stimulus intensity, but only in the unaided condition. In the aided condition, neural tracking remained stable across a wide range of intensities, as long as speech intelligibility was maintained. This suggests that acoustic degradation of the speech signal does not necessarily impact neural tracking. Additionally, the use of personal hearing aids significantly enhanced neural envelope tracking, particularly in challenging speech conditions (which would be inaudible when unaided). Furthermore, neural envelope tracking strongly correlated with behaviorally measured speech intelligibility. Altogether, these findings indicate that neural envelope tracking could be a valuable tool for predicting speech intelligibility benefits derived from personal hearing aids in hearing-impaired children. Incorporating narrated stories or engaging movies expands the accessibility of these methods even in clinical settings, offering new avenues for using objective speech measures to guide pediatric audiology decision-making. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

According to IMDb, Dan Davies is an internationally acclaimed and award winning writer/actor/producer. He has co-starred, produced or written feature films that have been nominated for a BIFA (British Independent Film Award), the African Academy Award, AIFI's American Indian Best Film Award, Toronto Film Festival Best Film, Raindance Film Festival Best Film and he has won Political Film Society's Best Film (Human Rights and Peace), the AMVCA (African Magic Viewers' Choice Award), AELA (African Entertainment Legend Award) and the Golden Movie Award (Africa) Best Supporting Actor Comedy.His awards and accomplishments are numerous.Donna Francart is a former deputy coroner who was assigned to investigate suspicious deaths, violent, unexpected and unknown cause deaths. During this time, she kept a journal about her experiences in dealing with families and other issues connected with the job. In addition to her job as a coroner, Francart also worked in a mortuary. Her book, “I've Seen Dead People,” not only covers her jobs but also the aftermath. Francart found herself not only seeing the dead during working hours but some visited her and her family after hours.Websites facebook.com/donna.francart imdb.com/name/nm3567207/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

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Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.04.17.536524v1?rss=1 Authors: Reisinger, P., Gillis, M., Suess, N., Vanthornhout, J., Haider, C. L., Hartmann, T., Hauswald, A., Schwarz, K., Francart, T., Weisz, N. Abstract: Observing lip movements of a speaker is known to facilitate speech understanding, especially in challenging listening situations. Converging evidence from neuroscientific studies shows enhanced processing of audiovisual stimuli. However, the interindividual variability of this visual benefit and its consequences on behavior are unknown. Here, we analyzed source-localized magnetoencephalographic (MEG) responses from normal-hearing participants listening to audiovisual speech with or without an additional distractor speaker. Using temporal response functions (TRFs), we show that neural responses to lip movements are, in general, enhanced when speech is challenging. After conducting a crucial control for speech acoustics, we show that lip movements effectively contribute to higher neural speech tracking, particularly when a distractor speaker is present. However, the extent of this visual benefit varied greatly among participants. Probing the behavioral relevance, we show that individuals who benefit more from lip movement information in terms of neural speech tracking, show a stronger drop in performance and an increase in perceived difficulty when the mouth is occluded by a surgical face mask. By contrast, no effect was found when the mouth was not occluded. We provide novel insights on how the benefit of lip movements in terms of neural speech tracking varies among individuals. Furthermore, we reveal its behavioral relevance by demonstrating negative consequences for behavior when visual speech is absent. Our results also offer potential implications for future objective assessments of audiovisual speech perception. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.03.30.534911v1?rss=1 Authors: Puffay, C., Vanthornhout, J., Gillis, M., Accou, B., Van hamme, H., Francart, T. Abstract: Objective: When listening to continuous speech, populations of neurons in the brain track different features of the signal. Neural tracking can be measured by relating the electroencephalography (EEG) and the speech signal. Recent studies have shown a significant contribution of linguistic features over acoustic neural tracking using linear models. Linear models cannot model the nonlinear dynamics of the brain. We introduce a convolutional neural network (CNN) that relates EEG to linguistic features using phoneme or word onsets as a control, and has the capacity to model non-linear relations. Approach: We integrate phoneme- and word-based linguistic features (phoneme surprisal, cohort entropy, word surprisal and word frequency) in our nonlinear CNN model and investigate if they carry additional information on top of lexical features (phoneme and word onsets). We compare the results to a linear decoder and a linear CNN, and evaluate the impact of the model's architecture, the presence of linguistic features and the training paradigm on a match-mismatch task performance. Main results: For the non-linear CNN, we found a significant contribution of cohort entropy over phoneme onsets, and of word surprisal and word frequency over word onsets. The training paradigm and architecture have a significant impact on the performance, and the non-linear CNN outperforms the linear baselines on the match-mismatch task. Significance: Measuring coding of linguistic features in the brain is important for auditory neuroscience research and applications that involve objectively measuring speech understanding. With linear models this is measurable, but the effects are very small. The proposed non-linear CNN model yields larger effect sizes and therefore could show effects that would be otherwise unmeasurable, and may in the future lead to improved within-subject measures and shorter recording durations. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.03.01.530707v1?rss=1 Authors: Kries, J., De Clercq, P., Gillis, M., Vanthornhout, J., Lemmens, R., Francart, T., Vandermosten, M. Abstract: Aphasia is a communication disorder that affects processing of language at different levels (e.g., acoustic, phonological, semantic). Neural tracking of continuous speech, such as a story, allows to analyze brain responses to acoustic and linguistic properties. Even though neural tracking of speech measured via EEG may be an interesting tool to study aphasia in an ecologically valid way, this method has not yet been investigated in individuals with stroke-induced aphasia. Here, we explored processing of acoustic and linguistic speech representations in individuals with aphasia in the chronic phase after stroke and age-matched healthy controls. We found decreased neural tracking of acoustic and segmentation-related speech representations in individuals with aphasia. In addition, linguistic speech representations at the word-level displayed decreased amplitudes in individuals with aphasia around 200 ms over left-sided frontal electrodes. These results show that there is potential for neural tracking to capture language processing impairments in individuals with aphasia. However, more research is needed to validate these results. Nonetheless, this exploratory study shows that neural tracking of naturalistic, continuous speech presents a powerful tool to study aphasia. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.02.22.529509v1?rss=1 Authors: Van Hirtum, T., Somers, B., Verschueren, E., Dieudonne, B., Francart, T. Abstract: Behavioral tests are currently the gold standard in measuring speech intelligibility. However, these tests can be difficult to administer in young children due to factors such as motivation, linguistic knowledge and cognitive skills. It has been shown that measures of neural envelope tracking can be used to predict speech intelligibility and overcome these issues. However, its potential as an objective measure for speech intelligibility in noise remains to be investigated in preschool children. Here, we evaluated neural envelope tracking as a function of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in 14 5-year-old children. We examined EEG responses to natural, continuous speech presented at different SNRs ranging from -8 (very difficult) to 8 dB SNR (very easy). As expected delta band (0.5-4 Hz) tracking increased with increasing stimulus SNR. However, this increase was not strictly monotonic as neural tracking reached a plateau between 0 and 4 dB SNR, similarly to the behavioral speech intelligibility outcomes. These findings indicate that neural tracking in the delta band remains stable, as long as the acoustical degradation of the speech signal does not reflect significant changes in speech intelligibility. Theta band tracking (4-8 Hz), on the other hand, was found to be drastically reduced and more easily affected by noise in children, making it less reliable as a measure of speech intelligibility. By contrast, neural envelope tracking in the delta band was directly associated with behavioral measures of speech intelligibility. This suggests that neural envelope tracking in the delta band is a valuable tool for evaluating speech-in-noise intelligibility in preschoolers, highlighting its potential as an objective measure of speech in difficult-to-test populations. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2022.12.14.520503v1?rss=1 Authors: Kries, J., De Clercq, P., Lemmens, R., Francart, T., Vandermosten, M. Abstract: Acoustic and phonemic processing are understudied in aphasia, a language disorder that can affect different levels and modalities of language processing. For successful speech comprehension, processing of the speech envelope is necessary, which relates to amplitude changes over time (e.g., the rise times). Moreover, to identify speech sounds (i.e., phonemes), efficient processing of spectro-temporal changes as reflected in formant transitions is essential. Given the lack of aphasia studies on these aspects, we tested rise time processing and phoneme identification in 29 individuals with post-stroke aphasia and 23 healthy age-matched controls. We found significantly lower performance in the aphasia group than in the control group on both tasks, even when controlling for individual differences in hearing levels and cognitive functioning. Further, by conducting an individual deviance analysis, we found a low-level acoustic or phonemic processing impairment in 76% of individuals with aphasia. Additionally, we investigated whether this impairment would propagate to higher-level language processing and found that rise time processing predicts phonological processing performance in individuals with aphasia. These findings show that it is important to develop diagnostic and treatment tools that target low-level language processing mechanisms. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2022.11.22.517477v1?rss=1 Authors: Gillis, M., Vanthornhout, J., Francart, T. Abstract: Speech comprehension is a complex neural process on which relies on activation and integration of multiple brain regions. In the current study, we evaluated whether speech comprehension can be investigated by neural tracking. Neural tracking is the phenomenon in which the brain responds in a time-locked fashion to specific features of the speech. These features can be acoustic, i.e., acoustic tracking, or derived from the content of the speech using language properties, i.e., language tracking. We evaluated whether neural tracking of speech differs between a comprehensible story, an incomprehensible story, and a word list. We evaluated the neural responses to speech of 19 participants (6 men). No significant difference regarding acoustic tracking was found. However, significant language tracking was only found for the comprehensible story. The most prominent effect was visible to word surprisal, a language feature at the word level. The neural response to word surprisal showed a prominent negativity between 300 and 400~ms, similar to the N400 in evoked response paradigms. This N400 was significantly more negative when the story was be comprehended, i.e., when words could be integrated in the context of previous words. These results show that language tracking can capture the effect of speech comprehension. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Several years ago, Donna Francart started volunteering for a community crisis response team. She became aware of her innate compassion in dealing with difficult situations, which ultimately led her to a new line of work as a Deputy Coroner. Francart shares her experiences, documented through years of journaling, in her memoir, "I've Seen Dead People: Diary of a Deputy Coroner." In this episode of Watching America, Dr. Alan Campbell speaks to Francart about the emotional and physical challenges of working with the dead--and most importantly, the friends and family left behind. "I've Seen Dead People" has been adapted into a screenplay by Frank Burmaster and Gary Revel, with plans to develop it for a feature film.

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2022.09.28.509945v1?rss=1 Authors: Accou, B., Vanthornhout, J., Van hamme, H., Francart, T. Abstract: To investigate the processing of speech in the brain, commonly simple linear models are used to establish a relationship between brain signals and speech features. However, these linear models are ill-equipped to model a highly-dynamic, complex non-linear system like the brain, and they often require a substantial amount of subject-specific training data. This work introduces a novel speech decoder architecture: the Very Large Augmented Auditory Inference (VLAAI) network. The VLAAI network outperformed state-of-the-art subject-independent models (median Pearson correlation of 0.19, p less than 0.001), yielding an increase over the well-established linear model by 52%. Using ablation techniques we identified the relative importance of each part of the VLAAI network and found that the non-linear components and output context module influenced model performance the most (10% relative performance increase). Subsequently, the VLAAI network was evaluated on a holdout dataset of 26 subjects and publicly available unseen dataset to test generalization for unseen subjects and stimuli. No significant difference was found between the holdout subjects and the default test set, and only a small difference between the default test set and the public dataset was found. Compared to the baseline models, the VLAAI network still significantly outperformed all baseline models on the public dataset. We evaluated the effect of training set size by training the VLAAI network on data from 1 up to 80 subjects and evaluated on 26 holdout subjects, revealing a logarithmic relationship between the number of subjects in the training set and the performance on unseen subjects. Finally, the subject-independent VLAAI network was fine-tuned for 26 holdout subjects to obtain subject-specific VLAAI models. With 5 minutes of data or more, a significant performance improvement was found, up to 34% (from 0.18 to 0.25 median Pearson correlation) with regards to the subject-independent VLAAI network. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by PaperPlayer

Entre notre invitée du jour, Alexandra Francart, et nous, il y a un dénominateur commun. J'aimerais vous dire que c'est notre sens du rythme ou notre précision en piste...pourtant non, ce qui nous rassemble aujourd'hui ce n'est malheureusement pas notre équitation mais plutôt notre partenaire, Dada Sport. Si vous nous suivez depuis le début de l'aventure I am an Equestrian, alors vous vous en souvenez sans doute, Dada Sport était le partenaire de notre tout premier épisode avec la talentueuse Jessica Rodrigues. A l'aune de nos premiers enregistrements, nous avions contacté Caroline, fondatrice de la marque pour lui pitcher notre projet. Une dose de passion, un brin d'esprit d'initiative et l'envie de construire : notre projet rejoignait l'identité Dada et l'équipe avait immédiatement accepté de soutenir la production de notre premier épisode.  D'ailleurs, souvenez-vous.. Caroline Boudier, fondatrice de Dada Sport, était également l'invitée de notre 3ème épisode. Cavalière, entrepreneure, passionnée d'équitation et de cheval... la recevoir dans le Podcast était une évidence ! Alexandra Francart, quant à elle, est la première cavalière à avoir rejoint la team Dada girls dès la création de la marque et elle ne l'a, depuis, jamais quitté.  Dada Sport faisait en 2012, une apparition fracassante dans notre paysage équestre, en proposant pour la première fois une collection polyvalente, à la frontière entre sport et lifestyle, avec des tenues de concours, d'entraînement ou des tenues du quotidien, à porter en cours, au bureau ou au restau.. Depuis cette date, chaque collection Dada Sport a su imposer son style contemporain, composé de modèles intemporels qui répondent aux contraintes des cavalières passionnées.  Parce que L'équitation est un art qui appelle la sensibilité, la délicatesse et la patience, Dada Sport va au-delà de la technicité de ses tissus et du confort de ses créations. Penser des lignes au design moderne et intemporel, maîtriser la qualité-l'exclusivité des matières et réhausser chaque pièce de détails - voilà ce qui forge la singularité de Dada Sport. 10 ans après sa création, la maison française est désormais reconnue en France et à l'international. Entourée de ses façonniers et fournisseurs exclusivement européens, Dada Sport n'a de cesse de renforcer son processus de création et d'innovation autour de valeurs fortes telles que la bienveillance, l'éthique ou encore la recherche de solutions toujours plus éco-responsables. D'année en année, Dada Sport a su poursuivre son chemin, se réinventer et proposer des collections où outerwear et activewear convergent pour incarner ces femmes libres et authentiques, qui cherchent à se surpasser tout en gardant une allure aussi singulière.  Libre, authentique et à l'allure singulière ? Ne serait-ce pas vous, Léa, moi mais surtout ... Alexandra ? 

Karen & Rob get to know Angie Francart!  Angie is a recently retired nurse that has for years juggled managing Eventing and operating a Thoughrobred rescue all while coching and nursing.  Angie and her programs are the grassroots of the sport!  Listen in to hear all about this amazing family operation!Sleeping Fox OTTB Rescue:http://www.sleepingfoxfarm.com/Sleeping Fox Farm Eventinghttps://www.facebook.com/SleepingFoxFarmEventing/about/?ref=page_internalPlease support our Sponsors:https://cowboymagic.com/https://manentailequine.com/https://exhibitorlabs.com/https://www.triplecrownfeed.com/https://www.fairfaxandfavor.com/https://www.turtleneck.biz/Save 10% off your Redingote purchase, use "MLE10" at checkout!https://landing.redingoteequestrian.com/mleCall Patricia Scott of the https://kathybarryagency.com/ at (484)319-8923Sign up for our mailing list!https://mailchi.mp/b232b86de7e5/majorleagueeventingllc?fbclid=IwAR2Wp0jijRKGwGU3TtPRN7wMo-UAWBwrUy2nYz3gQXXJRmSJVLIzswvtClECheckout the Major League Eventing store!https://www.majorleagueeventing.com/shop

Donna Francart was a deputy coroner for almost nine years. Her specialty was medicolegal death investigations which included unexpected, violent, suspicious, and unexplained deaths. But her work didn't stop at the autopsy table. She began having nightly visitations from ghostly beings. Visions which have continued and still occur.She began keeping track of her cases and visitations in a journal. Her book, “I've Seen Dead People,” provides an inside look at the job of a coroner and the things she experienced.Websitefacebook.com/donna.francartBook“I've Seen Dead People”

EPISODE #667 DIARY OF A DEPUTY CORONER  Richard welcomes a former deputy coroner about investigating deaths, and her encounters with the spirits of the dead. Guest: Donna Francart worked for nearly nine years as a deputy coroner conducting medico-legal death investigations, which are those involving suspicious, violent, unexplained, or unexpected deaths. Lacking access to structured debriefings, Francart turned to journaling as a way of privately unpacking the profound grief she faced and preserving her own mental well-being. As she did, she found herself in a conundrum of perplexing relationships with both the living and the dead. ​BOOK: I've Seen Dead People SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Life Change and Formula 13 Teas All Organic, No Caffeine, Non GMO!  More Energy!  Order now, use the code 'unlimited' to save 10% on all non-SALE items, PLUS... ALL your purchases ships for free!!! C60EVO -The Secret is out about this powerful anti-oxidant. The Purest C60 available is ESS60.  Buy Direct from the Source.  Buy Now and Save 10% – Use Coupon Code: EVRS at Checkout! Strange Planet Shop - If you're a fan of the radio show and the podcast, why not show it off?  Greats T-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, and more.  It's a Strange Planet - Dress For It! BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER FOR LESS THAN $2 PER MONTH If you're a fan of this podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a Premium Subscriber.  For just $1.99 per month, subscribers to my Conspiracy Unlimited Plus gain access to two exclusive, commercial-free episodes per month. They also gain access to my back catalog of episodes. The most recent 30 episodes of Conspiracy Unlimited will remain available for free.  Stream all episodes and Premium content on your mobile device by getting the FREE Conspiracy Unlimited APP for both IOS and Android devices... Available at the App Store and Google Play.

EPISODE #667 DIARY OF A DEPUTY CORONER  Richard welcomes a former deputy coroner about investigating deaths, and her encounters with the spirits of the dead. Guest: Donna Francart worked for nearly nine years as a deputy coroner conducting medico-legal death investigations, which are those involving suspicious, violent, unexplained, or unexpected deaths. Lacking access to structured debriefings, Francart turned to journaling as a way of privately unpacking the profound grief she faced and preserving her own mental well-being. As she did, she found herself in a conundrum of perplexing relationships with both the living and the dead. ​BOOK: I've Seen Dead People SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Life Change and Formula 13 Teas All Organic, No Caffeine, Non GMO!  More Energy!  Order now, use the code 'unlimited' to save 10% on all non-SALE items, PLUS... ALL your purchases ships for free!!!   C60EVO -The Secret is out about this powerful anti-oxidant. The Purest C60 available is ESS60.  Buy Direct from the Source.  Buy Now and Save 10% – Use Coupon Code: EVRS at Checkout!   Strange Planet Shop - If you're a fan of the radio show and the podcast, why not show it off?  Greats T-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, and more.  It's a Strange Planet - Dress For It! BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER FOR LESS THAN $2 PER MONTH If you're a fan of this podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a Premium Subscriber.  For just $1.99 per month, subscribers to my Conspiracy Unlimited Plus gain access to two exclusive, commercial-free episodes per month. They also gain access to my back catalog of episodes. The most recent 30 episodes of Conspiracy Unlimited will remain available for free.  Stream all episodes and Premium content on your mobile device by getting the FREE Conspiracy Unlimited APP for both IOS and Android devices... Available at the App Store and Google Play.

Stories from Twisted Sister's Jay Jay French In the first half, Richard speaks with a guitarist, founder, and manager of a world-famous heavy metal band about growing up in New York City in the sixties, working as a drug dealer and struggling as an addict before quitting cold-turkey, and finally, creating and cultivating Twisted Sister and turning it into one of the most successful brands in the world. ?https://www.jayjayfrench.com/ Guest: Jay Jay French founded Twisted Sister, the internationally renowned heavy metal band, nearly fifty years ago. Since then, he has catapulted his career to become one of the most successful managers, producers, and entrepreneurs in the music business. French has amassed thirty-nine gold and platinum albums as a musician, manager, producer, and executive producer, and has performed over 9,000 shows in forty countries, selling 20 million records around the world. A charter member of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, he is considered a leading expert on vintage guitars and high-end music equipment. Strange Stories from a Coroner In the second hour, Richard welcomes a former deputy coroner about investigating deaths, and her encounters with the spirits of the dead. Guest: Donna Francart worked for nearly nine years as a deputy coroner conducting medico-legal death investigations, which are those involving suspicious, violent, unexplained, or unexpected deaths. Lacking access to structured debriefings, Francart turned to journaling as a way of privately unpacking the profound grief she faced and preserving her own mental well-being. As she did, she found herself in a conundrum of perplexing relationships with both the living and the dead. With her book I've Seen Dead People, she shares her unfiltered thoughts and emotions as she navigates a world most of us cannot imagine

There are many ways to help people deal with the passing of a loved one. Be it an expected decline, or sudden, having to face the fact that you'll never be able to speak to someone again on this side of the veil can be unbearable for some people. Enter Donna Francart.Donna was a deputy coroner for 9 years, working on over 2,000 medicolegal cases, which means she has seen some stuff. Today, she joins us to discuss how she got into working with the coroner, her experience as a deputy coroner and some odd paranormal activity that seems to have followed her throughout her life.Since working with death all day, every day for years has a tendency to mess with your mind, Donna turned to journaling which became her book, “I've Seen Dead People.” After all, discussing the macabre details of death scenes isn't exactly dinner table conversation. Through the cathartic process of writing, she was able to help herself deal with the impact of death and learn how to help others.Listen in to this fascinating conversation with Donna as she chronicles a life of death, the paranormal, and the afterlife.Follow The Breakdown here: https://breakdradio.contactin.bio/

DEATH, FEAR, LOVE, EMOTIONS, SPIRITSStep inside the mind of Donna Francart, a former Deputy Coroner, as she describes to you her years of Medicolegal Death Investigations. What began as her personal diary written to herself, her way of Debriefing, began to form a heartbeat of it's own.She has allowed her inner most thoughts to be shared, with you, Of the fears, tears, and anger she battled with, along the way and the profound lessons she learned, not only from the dead but also from the living.https://www.amazon.com/Ive-Seen-Dead-People-Coroner/dp/B08WJY57NL/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=donna+francart&qid=1626382675&sr=8-1https://www.facebook.com/donna.francartJoin this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHzWqM_Xm-EgRfwt2cbBAHQ/joinConflict Radio - Discord Linkhttps://discord.com/invite/MykTtkvDRMConflict Radio - Episode 111 I'VE SEEN DEAD PEOPLE, Diary of a Deputy Coroner with Donna Francart https://conflictradio.net/

Rocky Downing visits with Donna Francart; a former Deputy Coroner who has a book out called 'I've Seen Dead People; Diary of a Deputy Coroner.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Several years ago, Donna Francart started volunteering for a community crisis response team. She became aware of her innate compassion in dealing with difficult situations, which ultimately led her to a new line of work as a Deputy Coroner. Francart shares her experiences, documented through years of journaling, in her memoir, “I've Seen Dead People: Diary of a Deputy Coroner.” In this episode of Watching America, Dr. Alan Campbell speaks to Francart about the emotional and physical challenges of working with the dead—and most importantly, the friends and family left behind. “I've Seen Dead People” has been adapted into a screenplay by Frank Burmaster and Gary Revel, with plans to develop it for a feature film.

Donna Francart is a former deputy coroner who was assigned to investigate suspicious deaths, violent, unexpected and unknown cause deaths. During this time, she kept a journal about her experiences in dealing with families and other issues connected with the job. In addition to her job as a coroner, Francart also worked in a mortuary. Her book, “I've Seen Dead People,” not only covers her jobs but also the aftermath. Francart found herself not only seeing the dead during working hours but some visited her and her family after hours. Book: I've Seen Dead People Website: facebook.com/donna.francart

Death is life's great equalizer, and for former deputy coroner Donna Francart, shepherding survivors through the aftermath of a loved one's unexpected passing was a calling she felt compelled to answer — at all hours — for nearly nine years. In her new book, I've Seen Dead People: Diary of a Deputy Coroner, Francart gives readers a rare look inside the complex emotional, physical and mental ups and downs of one of society's most mysterious — and to some, macabre — professions. As a deputy coroner, Francart worked medicolegal death investigations, which are those involving suspicious, violent, unexplained or unexpected deaths. She was often the bearer of bad news, notifying family members of the deceased and sitting with them as they processed a spectrum of emotions, from shock and disbelief to pain and sorrow. With I've Seen Dead People, Francart shares her unfiltered thoughts and emotions as she navigates a world most of us cannot imagine — a world Francart was drawn to out of a genuine desire to help others during their darkest hours. Get The Book: https://www.amazon.com/Ive-Seen-Dead-People-Coroner/dp/B08WJY7W98 “Every single one of us on this earth deserves to die with dignity and respect,” she says. “If our lives are robbed from us by the hands of another, our voices must be heard, to tell the truth and seek justice. Every one of us was a mother, a father, someone's brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin. Everyone is someone, and that is how I handled every single case that I was on.” Lacking access to structured debriefings, Francart turned to journaling as a way of privately unpacking the profound grief she faced in her role and preserving her own mental well-being. As she did, she found herself in a conundrum of perplexing relationships with both the living and the dead. I've Seen Dead People also chronicles everyday moments, as Francart tried to provide as normal an upbringing as possible for her two sons. Along the way, they all learned to share their space with the many spirits that Francart encountered, and to embrace the beauty of life. “One thing is guaranteed, you will walk away with your eyes opened a little more, your heart more giving and your life more cherished,” she adds. Author Donna Francart was born and raised in the Midwest. She served as a deputy coroner for nearly nine years beginning in 2007 and assisted with more than 2,000 death investigations. She now shares her life with her two adult sons, their two better halves and one granddaughter. I've Seen Dead People is her first book and has been adapted into a screenplay by Frank Burmaster and Gary Revel, with plans to develop it for a feature film. Revel owns Jongleur Books, a publishing company associated with Mother Nature Festival Live Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to stop global warming. I've Seen Dead People: Diary of a Deputy Coroner Publisher: Jongleur Books ISBN-13: 979-8708268082 Available from Amazon.com About the show: ► Website: http://www.ashsaidit.com ► Need Goli Gummies? https://go.goli.com/1loveash5 ► For $5 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link: https://www.lyft.com/ici/ASH584216 ►For discount Pangea Products: https://embracepangaea.grsm.io/ashsaiditmedia3226 ► Want the ‘coldest' water? https://thecoldestwater.com/?ref=ashleybrown12 ► Become A Podcast Legend: http://ashsaidit.podcastersmastery.zaxaa.com/s/6543767021305 ► Review Us: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ash-said-it/id1144197789 ► SUBSCRIBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/c/AshSaidItSuwanee ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1loveash ► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/1loveAsh ► Blog: http://www.ashsaidit.com/blog ► Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/1LoveAsh/ ► Newsletter: manage1.com/subscribe?u=2a2ca3b799467f125b53863http://ashsaidit.us11.list-c8&id=a6f43cd472 #atlanta #ashsaidit #ashsaidthat #ashblogsit #ashsaidit® Ash Brown is a gifted American producer, blogger, speaker, media personality and event emcee. The blog on AshSaidit.com showcases exclusive event invites, product reviews and so much more. Her motivational podcast "Ash Said It Daily" is available on major media platforms such as iTunes, iHeart Radio & Google Play. This program has over half a million streams worldwide. She uses these mediums to motivate & encourage her audience in the most powerful way. She keeps it real!

Death is life's great equalizer, and for former deputy coroner Donna Francart, shepherding survivors through the aftermath of a loved one's unexpected passing was a calling she felt compelled to answer — at all hours — for nearly nine years. In her new book, I've Seen Dead People: Diary of a Deputy Coroner, Francart gives readers a rare look inside the complex emotional, physical and mental ups and downs of one of society's most mysterious — and to some, macabre — professions. As a deputy coroner, Francart worked medicolegal death investigations, which are those involving suspicious, violent, unexplained or unexpected deaths. She was often the bearer of bad news, notifying family members of the deceased and sitting with them as they processed a spectrum of emotions, from shock and disbelief to pain and sorrow. With I've Seen Dead People, Francart shares her unfiltered thoughts and emotions as she navigates a world most of us cannot imagine — a world Francart was drawn to out of a genuine desire to help others during their darkest hours. Get The Book: https://www.amazon.com/Ive-Seen-Dead-People-Coroner/dp/B08WJY7W98 “Every single one of us on this earth deserves to die with dignity and respect,” she says. “If our lives are robbed from us by the hands of another, our voices must be heard, to tell the truth and seek justice. Every one of us was a mother, a father, someone's brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin. Everyone is someone, and that is how I handled every single case that I was on.” Lacking access to structured debriefings, Francart turned to journaling as a way of privately unpacking the profound grief she faced in her role and preserving her own mental well-being. As she did, she found herself in a conundrum of perplexing relationships with both the living and the dead. I've Seen Dead People also chronicles everyday moments, as Francart tried to provide as normal an upbringing as possible for her two sons. Along the way, they all learned to share their space with the many spirits that Francart encountered, and to embrace the beauty of life. “One thing is guaranteed, you will walk away with your eyes opened a little more, your heart more giving and your life more cherished,” she adds. Author Donna Francart was born and raised in the Midwest. She served as a deputy coroner for nearly nine years beginning in 2007 and assisted with more than 2,000 death investigations. She now shares her life with her two adult sons, their two better halves and one granddaughter. I've Seen Dead People is her first book and has been adapted into a screenplay by Frank Burmaster and Gary Revel, with plans to develop it for a feature film. Revel owns Jongleur Books, a publishing company associated with Mother Nature Festival Live Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to stop global warming. I've Seen Dead People: Diary of a Deputy Coroner Publisher: Jongleur Books ISBN-13: 979-8708268082 Available from Amazon.com About the show: ► Website: http://www.ashsaidit.com ► Need Goli Gummies? https://go.goli.com/1loveash5 ► For $5 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link: https://www.lyft.com/ici/ASH584216 ►For discount Pangea Products: https://embracepangaea.grsm.io/ashsaiditmedia3226 ► Want the ‘coldest' water? https://thecoldestwater.com/?ref=ashleybrown12 ► Become A Podcast Legend: http://ashsaidit.podcastersmastery.zaxaa.com/s/6543767021305 ► Review Us: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ash-said-it/id1144197789 ► SUBSCRIBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/c/AshSaidItSuwanee ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1loveash ► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/1loveAsh ► Blog: http://www.ashsaidit.com/blog ► Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/1LoveAsh/ ► Newsletter: manage1.com/subscribe?u=2a2ca3b799467f125b53863http://ashsaidit.us11.list-c8&id=a6f43cd472 #atlanta #ashsaidit #ashsaidthat #ashblogsit #ashsaidit® Ash Brown is a gifted American producer, blogger, speaker, media personality and event emcee. The blog on AshSaidit.com showcases exclusive event invites, product reviews and so much more. Her motivational podcast "Ash Said It Daily" is available on major media platforms such as iTunes, iHeart Radio & Google Play. This program has over half a million streams worldwide. She uses these mediums to motivate & encourage her audience in the most powerful way. She keeps it real!

West Coast Radio Welcomes Donna Francart to the program. Donna spent almost a decade as a deputy coroner in the midwest and wrote a tell-all book describing her experience. The Dead, Ghosts, Angels, it is all here for you on West Coast Radio. I’ve Seen Dead People Takes Readers Inside the Mind and Soul of Deputy Coroner — It was typical for Donna Francart to go to bed with her makeup on and hair styled; her clothes nearby and her tactical boots by the door. Seconds count when duty calls, and death doesn’t care if it’s the middle of the night. 'I've Seen Dead People: Diary of a Deputy Coroner' gives readers a rare look inside the mind and heart of one of society’s most mysterious — and to some, macabre — professions. For nearly nine years, Francart was a deputy coroner who worked medicolegal death investigations, which are those involving suspicious, violent, unexplained or unexpected deaths. Lacking access to structured debriefings, Francart turned to journaling as a way of privately unpacking the profound grief she faced and preserving her own mental well-being. As she did, she found herself in a conundrum of perplexing relationships with both the living and the dead. With 'I've Seen Dead People', she shares her unfiltered thoughts and emotions as she navigates a world most of us cannot imagine — a world Francart was drawn to out of a genuine desire to help others during their darkest hours. “Every single one of us on this earth deserves to die with dignity and respect,” she says. “If our lives are robbed from us by the hands of another, our voices must be heard, to tell the truth and seek justice. Every one of us was a mother, a father, someone's brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin. Everyone is someone, and that is how I handled every single case that I was on.” 'I've Seen Dead People' also chronicles everyday moments, as Francart tried to provide as normal an upbringing as possible for her two sons. Along the way, they all learned to share their space with the many spirits that Francart encountered, and to embrace the beauty of life.Donna's book, 'I've Seen Dead People: Diary of a Deputy Coroner' is available now on Amazon.com  

Darkness Radio presents I've Seen Dead People: Diary of a Deputy Coroner with guest Donna Francart Dave & Tim open the case files of a former Deputy Coroner, Donna Francart to reveal the tragic nature of her work, her coping mechanisms and  what she learned from the living that had committed crimes and the dead who insisted their stories be heard. For nearly nine years, Francart was a deputy coroner who worked medicolegal death investigations, which are those involving suspicious, violent, unexplained or unexpected deaths. Lacking access to structured debriefings, Francart turned to journaling as a way of privately unpacking the profound grief she faced and preserving her own mental well-being. As she did, she found herself in a conundrum of perplexing relationships with both the living and the dead.  With her new book, I've Seen Dead People, she shares her unfiltered thoughts and emotions as she navigates a world most of us cannot imagine — a world Francart was drawn to out of a genuine desire to help others during their darkest hours.  I've Seen Dead People also chronicles everyday moments, as Francart tried to provide as normal an upbringing as possible for her two sons. Along the way, they all learned to share their space with the many spirits that Francart encountered, and to embrace the beauty of life. Get her book here: https://amzn.to/2Q3dMpB  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Darkness Radio presents I've Seen Dead People: Diary of a Deputy Coroner with guest Donna Francart Dave & Tim open the case files of a former Deputy Coroner, Donna Francart to reveal the tragic nature of her work, her coping mechanisms and  what she learned from the living that had committed crimes and the dead who insisted their stories be heard. For nearly nine years, Francart was a deputy coroner who worked medicolegal death investigations, which are those involving suspicious, violent, unexplained or unexpected deaths. Lacking access to structured debriefings, Francart turned to journaling as a way of privately unpacking the profound grief she faced and preserving her own mental well-being. As she did, she found herself in a conundrum of perplexing relationships with both the living and the dead.  With her new book, I've Seen Dead People, she shares her unfiltered thoughts and emotions as she navigates a world most of us cannot imagine — a world Francart was drawn to out of a genuine desire to help others during their darkest hours.  I've Seen Dead People also chronicles everyday moments, as Francart tried to provide as normal an upbringing as possible for her two sons. Along the way, they all learned to share their space with the many spirits that Francart encountered, and to embrace the beauty of life. Get her book here: https://amzn.to/2Q3dMpB  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’ve Seen Dead People has been adapted into a screenplay with Jeff Olm attached as producer/director, and talks with agents of A-list talent are proceeding to fill the major roles. She’s a voice for the voiceless. An essence of calm amid turbulence. And often, a shepherd for lost souls. She’s Donna Francart, a former deputy coroner whose new book, I’ve Seen Dead People, lays bare the finality of death in all its forms and gives readers a rare look inside the complex emotional, physical and mental ups and downs of a job often cloaked in darkness. Please see the press release below, and let me know if you would like to receive a copy of I’ve Seen Dead People in consideration of a review, feature or interview with author Donna Francart, who makes a compelling guest. To watch a recent interview, please I’ve Seen Dead People Takes Readers Inside the Mind and Soul of Deputy Coroner Los Angeles, CA, April 26, 2021 — It was typical for Donna Francart to go to bed with her makeup on and hair styled; her clothes nearby and her tactical boots by the door. Seconds count when duty calls, and death doesn’t care if it’s the middle of the night. I've Seen Dead People: Diary of a Deputy Coroner gives readers a rare look inside the mind and heart of one of society’s most mysterious — and to some, macabre — professions. For nearly nine years, Francart was a deputy coroner who worked medicolegal death investigations, which are those involving suspicious, violent, unexplained or unexpected deaths. Lacking access to structured debriefings, Francart turned to journaling as a way of privately unpacking the profound grief she faced and preserving her own mental well-being. As she did, she found herself in a conundrum of perplexing relationships with both the living and the dead. With I've Seen Dead People, she shares her unfiltered thoughts and emotions as she navigates a world most of us cannot imagine — a world Francart was drawn to out of a genuine desire to help others during their darkest hours. “Every single one of us on this earth deserves to die with dignity and respect,” she says. “If our lives are robbed from us by the hands of another, our voices must be heard, to tell the truth and seek justice. Every one of us was a mother, a father, someone's brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin. Everyone is someone, and that is how I handled every single case that I was on.” I've Seen Dead People also chronicles everyday moments, as Francart tried to provide as normal an upbringing as possible for her two sons. Along the way, they all learned to share their space with the many spirits that Francart encountered, and to embrace the beauty of life. “One thing is guaranteed, you will walk away with your eyes opened a little more, your heart more giving and your life more cherished,” she adds. Author Donna Francart was born and raised in the Midwest. She served as a deputy coroner for nearly nine years beginning in 2007 and assisted with more than 2,000 death investigations. She now shares her life with her two adult sons, their two better halves and one granddaughter. I've Seen Dead People is her first book and is being adapted into a screenplay by Frank Burmaster and Gary Revel, with plans to develop it for a feature film. Revel owns Jongleur Books, a publishing company associated with Mother Nature Festival Live Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to stop global warming. I’ve Seen Dead People: Diary of a Deputy Coroner Publisher: Jongleur Books ISBN-13: 979-8708268082 Available from Amazon.com

This weeks episode of The Spoook Podcast sees host James McMahon talk Galician weirdness with Bala - one of his very favourite bands - and the end of the world with the brilliant Chicago born singer songwriter, Trevor Sensor. There's also a conversation with author and former Deputy Coroner Donna Francart about what working with death has taught her about the end. Oh, and there's a few uncredited celebrity guests! If you can identify them, tweet us, and we'll send you a Spoook goodie bag!Spoook is a magazine radio show. It's also a promoter, a shop, a Substack - it's many things. But it's weird and it's strange and it lives under your bed. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. And please do Like, Review and Subscribe - it actually really helps people find us! (NB: This episode features Episode 5 of another Spoook Mediargh production - James McMahon's The OCD Chronicles - spliced onto the end. If you like it, please do investigate the other episodes on wherever platforms that you get your podcasts). 

This weeks episode of The Spoook Podcast sees host James McMahon talk Galician weirdness with Bala - one of his very favourite bands - and the end of the world with the brilliant Chicago born singer songwriter, Trevor Sensor. There's also a conversation with author and former Deputy Coroner Donna Francart about what working with death has taught her about the end. Oh, and there's a few uncredited celebrity guests! If you can identify them, tweet us, and we'll send you a Spoook goodie bag!Spoook is a magazine radio show. It's also a promoter, a shop, a Substack - it's many things. But it's weird and it's strange and it lives under your bed. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. And please do Like, Review and Subscribe - it actually really helps people find us! (NB: This episode features Episode 5 of another Spoook Mediargh production - James McMahon's The OCD Chronicles - spliced onto the end. If you like it, please do investigate the other episodes on wherever platforms that you get your podcasts). 

Show Notes  Sometimes the next chapter in life involves a radical move. Our guest today is a perfect example. Donna Francart transitioned from an Executive Travel Agent to becoming a Deputy Coroner. Today we talk about Donna's new book I've Seen Dean People: Diary of a Deputy Coroner. In our lively conversation Donna tells us about life as a Deputy Coroner, visions of death, and poignant insights into the meaning of life and death. In what may seem like a darker subject, I think you will be surprised how engaging and meaningful our conversation is. Let's welcome former Deputy Coroner, Donna Francart. Get Donna's book: I've Seen Dean People For more on Charlie check out: www.thenextchapter.life  

Show Notes  Sometimes the next chapter in life involves a radical move. Our guest today is a perfect example. Donna Francart transitioned from an Executive Travel Agent to becoming a Deputy Coroner. Today we talk about Donna’s new book I’ve Seen Dean People: Diary of a Deputy Coroner. In our lively conversation Donna tells us about life as a Deputy Coroner, visions of death, and poignant insights into the meaning of life and death. In what may seem like a darker subject, I think you will be surprised how engaging and meaningful our conversation is. Let’s welcome former Deputy Coroner, Donna Francart. Get Donna’s book: I’ve Seen Dean People For more on Charlie check out: www.thenextchapter.life  

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.10.28.359034v1?rss=1 Authors: Van Canneyt, J., Wouters, J., Francart, T. Abstract: 'F0 tracking' is a novel method that investigates the neural processing of the fundamental frequency of the voice (f0) in continuous speech. Through linear modelling, a feature that reflects the stimulus f0 is predicted from the EEG data. Then, the neural response strength is evaluated through the correlation between the predicted and actual f0 feature. The aim of this study was to improve upon this 'f0 tracking' method by optimizing the f0 feature. Specifically, we aimed to design a feature that approximates the expected EEG responses to the f0. We hypothesized that this would improve neural tracking results, because the more similar the feature and the neural response are, the easier it will be to reconstruct the one from the other. Two techniques were explored: a phenomenological model to simulate neural processing in the auditory periphery and a low-pass filter to approximate the effect of more central processing on the f0 response. Since these optimizations target different aspects of the auditory system, they were also applied in a cumulative fashion. Results obtained from EEG evoked by a Flemish story in 34 subjects indicated that both the use of the auditory model and the addition of the low-pass filter significantly improved the correlations between the actual and reconstructed feature. The combination of both strategies almost doubled the mean correlation over subjects, from 0.78 to 0.13. Moreover, canonical correlation analysis with the modelled feature revealed two distinct processes contributing to the f0 response: one driven by the compound activity of auditory nerve fibers with center frequency up to 8 kHz and one driven predominantly by the auditory nerve fibers with center frequency below 1 kHz. The optimized f0 features developed in this study enhance the analysis of f0-tracking responses and facilitate future research and applications. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.08.26.267922v1?rss=1 Authors: Van Canneyt, J., Wouters, J., Francart, T. Abstract: Traditional electrophysiological methods to study temporal auditory processing of the fundamental frequency of the voice (f0) often use unnaturally repetitive stimuli. In this study, we investigate f0 processing of meaningful continuous speech. EEG responses evoked by stories in quiet were analysed with a novel 'f0-tracking' method that uses linear models to characterize both the strength and the spatio-temporal properties of the f0 response. Different samples of continuous speech (six stories by four speakers: two male and two female) were used to investigate stimulus effects on the f0 response. The results indicated stronger f0-tracking for the male-narrated stories compared to the female-narrated stories, for which many responses were not significant. Moreover, response strength was inversely related to the f0 of the speaker and the rate of f0 change throughout the story. These effects likely occur because phase-locking to the f0 is more challenging when the f0 is higher and/or more variable. From additional experiments, we conclude that female-narrated stories can be successfully used for continuous f0 responses but only if the rate of f0-change is low and the harmonic content is strong. Most natural female voices do not have these characteristics, so careful stimulus selection is required. The spatio-temporal analysis revealed a centrally-located peak response with latency between 7 and 12 ms for the female-narrated stories, suggestive of a brainstem source. In contrast, for male-narrated stories the analysis indicated at least two sources: one source with a latency of 13-15 ms, likely in the brainstem, and one right-dominant posterior temporal source with a latency of 23-25 ms, suggestive of the right primary auditory cortex. This adds to the growing evidence that auditory responses to frequencies in the lower range of the f0 (e.g. most male voices) do not originate solely from the brainstem but have additional cortical contributions. In conclusion, the novel f0-tracking method was successfully applied to a range of continuous speech samples and the findings on temporal processing of the f0 are in line with earlier findings from repetitive stimulus paradigms. The novel method is recommended over traditional paradigms because continuous speech is more relevant for day-to-day conversation and more engaging for the subjects, but also because the method allows for extensive analysis of both response strength and spatio-temporal characteristics. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.08.11.245761v1?rss=1 Authors: Verschueren, E., Vanthornhout, J., Francart, T. Abstract: Objectives: The last years there has been significant interest in attempting to recover the temporal envelope of a speech signal from the neural response to investigate neural speech processing. The research focus is now broadening from neural speech processing in normal-hearing listeners towards hearing-impaired listeners. When testing hearing-impaired listeners speech has to be amplified to resemble the effect of a hearing aid and compensate peripheral hearing loss. Until today, it is not known with certainty how or if neural speech tracking is influenced by sound amplification. As these higher intensities could influence the outcome, we investigated the influence of stimulus intensity on neural speech tracking. Design: We recorded the electroencephalogram (EEG) of 20 normal-hearing participants while they listened to a narrated story. The story was presented at intensities from 10 to 80~dB~A. To investigate the brain responses, we analyzed neural tracking of the speech envelope by reconstructing the envelope from EEG using a linear decoder and by correlating the reconstructed with the actual envelope. We investigated the delta (0.5-4 Hz) and the theta (4-8 Hz) band for each intensity. We also investigated the latencies and amplitudes of the responses in more detail using temporal response functions which are the estimated linear response functions between the stimulus envelope and the EEG. Results: Neural envelope tracking is dependent on stimulus intensity in both the TRF and envelope reconstruction analysis. However, provided that the decoder is applied on data of the same stimulus intensity as it was trained on, envelope reconstruction is robust to stimulus intensity. In addition, neural envelope tracking in the delta (but not theta) band seems to relate to speech intelligibility. Similar to the linear decoder analysis, TRF amplitudes and latencies are dependent on stimulus intensity: The amplitude of peak 1 (30-50 ms) increases and the latency of peak 2 (140-160 ms) decreases with increasing stimulus intensity. Conclusion: Although brain responses are influenced by stimulus intensity, neural envelope tracking is robust to stimulus intensity when using the same intensity to test and train the decoder. Therefore we can assume that intensity is not a confound when testing hearing-impaired participants with amplified speech using the linear decoder approach. In addition, neural envelope tracking in the delta band appears to be correlated with speech intelligibility, showing the potential of neural envelope tracking as an objective measure of speech intelligibility. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.07.16.206250v1?rss=1 Authors: Somers, B., Long, C. J., Francart, T. Abstract: The cochlear implant is one of the most successful medical prostheses, allowing deaf and severely hearing-impaired persons to hear again by electrically stimulating the auditory nerve. A trained audiologist adjusts the stimulation settings for good speech understanding, known as "fitting" the implant. This process is based on subjective feedback from the user, making it time-consuming and challenging, especially in paediatric or communication-impaired populations. Furthermore, fittings only happen during infrequent sessions at a clinic, and therefore cannot take into account variable factors that affect the user's hearing, such as physiological changes and different listening environments. Objective audiometry, in which brain responses evoked by auditory stimulation are collected and analysed, removes the need for active patient participation. However, recording of brain responses still requires expensive equipment that is cumbersome to use. An elegant solution is to record the neural signals using the implant itself. We demonstrate for the first time the recording of continuous electroencephalographic (EEG) signals from the implanted intracochlear electrode array in human subjects, using auditory evoked potentials originating from different brain regions. Furthermore, we show that the response morphologies and amplitudes depend crucially on the recording electrode configuration. The integration of an EEG system into cochlear implants paves the way towards chronic neuro-monitoring of hearing-impaired patients in their everyday environment, and neuro-steered hearing prostheses, which can autonomously adjust their output based on neural feedback. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.06.16.154450v1?rss=1 Authors: Geirnaert, S., Francart, T., Bertrand, A. Abstract: Objective: Noise reduction algorithms in current hearing prostheses lack information about the sound source a user attends to when multiple sources are present. To resolve this issue, they can be complemented with auditory attention decoding (AAD) algorithms, which decode the attention directly from the brain using electroencephalography (EEG) sensors. State-of-the-art AAD algorithms employ a stimulus reconstruction approach, in which the envelope of the attended source is reconstructed from the EEG and correlated with the envelopes of the individual sources. This approach, however, performs poorly on short signal segments, while longer segments yield impractically long detection delays when the user switches attention. Methods: We propose decoding the directional focus of attention using filterbank common spatial pattern filters (FB-CSP) as an alternative AAD paradigm, which does not require access to the clean source envelopes. Results: The proposed FB-CSP approach outperforms both the traditional stimulus reconstruction approach, as well as a convolutional neural network approach on the same task. We achieve a high accuracy (80% for 1s windows and 70% for quasi-instantaneous decisions), which is sufficient to reach minimal expected switch durations below 4s. We also demonstrate that the method can be used on unlabeled data from an unseen subject and with only a subset of EEG channels located around the ear to emulate a wearable EEG setup. Conclusion: The proposed FB-CSP method provides fast and accurate decoding of the directional focus of auditory attention. Significance: The high accuracy on very short data segments is a major step forward towards practical neuro-steered hearing prostheses. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info