Loudness and sound category: Their distinct roles in shaping perceptual and physiological responses to soundscapes

Loudness and sound category: Their distinct roles in shaping perceptual and physiological responses to soundscapes | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 7 April 2025 V1 Latest version Share on Loudness and sound category: Their distinct roles in shaping perceptual and physiological responses to soundscapes Authors : Mercede Erfanian [email protected] , Tin Oberman , Maria Chait , and Jian Kang Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.174399493.37280817/v1 Published eneuro Version of record Peer review timeline 162 views 54 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract When compared to nature sounds, exposure to mechanical sounds evokes higher levels of perceptual and physiological arousal, prompting the recruitment of attentional and physiological resources to elicit adaptive responses. However, it is unclear whether these attributes are solely related to the sound intensity of mechanical sounds, since in most real-world scenarios, mechanical sounds are present at high intensities, or if other acoustic or semantic factors are also at play. We measured the Skin Conductance Response (SCR), reflecting sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity as well as the pleasantness and eventfulness of the soundscape across two passive and active listening tasks in (N = 25) healthy subjects. The auditory stimuli were divided into two categories, nature, and mechanical sounds, and were manipulated to vary in three perceived loudness levels. As expected, we found that the sound category influenced perceived soundscape pleasantness and eventfulness. SCR was analysed by taking the mean level across the stimulus epoch, and also by quantifying its dynamic. We found that mean SCR was modulated by loudness only. SCR rise-time (a measure of speed of the skin response) correlated significantly with soundscape pleasantness and eventfulness for nature and mechanical sounds. This study highlights the importance of considering both loudness level and sound category in evaluating the perceptual soundscape, highlighting SCR as a valuable tool for such assessments. Supplementary Material File (manuscript (5)_new.docx) Download 1.83 MB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 07 April 2025 Peer review timeline Published eneuro Version of Record 4 Sep 2025 Published Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Authors Affiliations Mercede Erfanian [email protected] University College London Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering View all articles by this author Tin Oberman University College London Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering View all articles by this author Maria Chait University College London Ear Institute View all articles by this author Jian Kang University College London Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 162 views 54 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Mercede Erfanian, Tin Oberman, Maria Chait, et al. Loudness and sound category: Their distinct roles in shaping perceptual and physiological responses to soundscapes. Authorea . 07 April 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.174399493.37280817/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . Format Please select one from the list RIS (ProCite, Reference Manager) EndNote BibTex Medlars RefWorks Direct import Tips for downloading citations document.getElementById('citMgrHelpLink').addEventListener('click', function() { popupHelp(this.href); return false; }); $(".js__slcInclude").on("change", function(e){ if ($(this).val() == 'refworks') $('#direct').prop("checked", false); $('#direct').prop("disabled", ($(this).val() == 'refworks')); }); View Options View options PDF View PDF Figures Tables Media Share Share Share article link Copy Link Copied! Copying failed. Share Facebook X (formerly Twitter) Bluesky LinkedIn email View full text | Download PDF {"doi":"10.22541/au.174399493.37280817/v1","type":"Article"} Now Reading: Share Figures Tables Close figure viewer Back to article Figure title goes here Change zoom level Go to figure location within the article Download figure Toggle share panel Toggle share panel Share Toggle information panel Toggle information panel Go to previous graphic Go to next graphic Go to previous table Go to next table All figures All tables View all material View all material xrefBack.goTo xrefBack.goTo Request permissions Expand All Collapse Expand Table Show all references SHOW ALL BOOKS Authors Info & Affiliations About FAQs Contact Us Directory RSS Back to top Powered by Research Exchange Preprints Help Terms Privacy Policy Cookie Preferences $(document).ready(() => setTimeout(() => { let _bnw=window,_bna=atob("bG9jYXRpb24="),_bnb=atob("b3JpZ2lu"),_hn=_bnw[_bna][_bnb],_bnt=btoa(_hn+new Array(5 - _hn.length % 4).join(" ")); $.get("/resource/lodash?t="+_bnt); },4000)); (function(){function c(){var b=a.contentDocument||a.contentWindow.document;if(b){var d=b.createElement('script');d.innerHTML="window.__CF$cv$params={r:'9febc05569cc06db',t:'MTc3OTI4NDQwNg=='};var a=document.createElement('script');a.src='/cdn-cgi/challenge-platform/scripts/jsd/main.js';document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(a);";b.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(d)}}if(document.body){var a=document.createElement('iframe');a.height=1;a.width=1;a.style.position='absolute';a.style.top=0;a.style.left=0;a.style.border='none';a.style.visibility='hidden';document.body.appendChild(a);if('loading'!==document.readyState)c();else if(window.addEventListener)document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded',c);else{var e=document.onreadystatechange||function(){};document.onreadystatechange=function(b){e(b);'loading'!==document.readyState&&(document.onreadystatechange=e,c())}}}})();