Brazilian neuroscientist reveals how viral infections transform the brain through microscopic detective work

UC Davis researcher develops groundbreaking animal models to understand how viruses like COVID-19 trigger neurological damage and accelerate Alzheimer's disease

Genomic Press

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Danielle Beckman, PhD, University of California, Davis, USA.

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Credit: Danielle Beckman, PhD

DAVIS, California, USA, 1 July 2025 – In a comprehensive Genomic Press Innovators & Ideas interview, Dr. Danielle Beckman reveals how her passion for microscopy has evolved into a mission to understand viral impacts on brain health, offering hope for patients suffering from post-viral neurological symptoms.

From Rio to Revolutionary Research

Dr. Beckman's journey from aspiring writer in Rio de Janeiro to leading neurovirology researcher exemplifies scientific determination. Her journey began to change during an undergraduate physiology course where she discovered her fascination with the brain. "I vividly remember that class and how fascinated I became with the brain," Dr. Beckman recalls. This pivotal moment launched her into neuroscience research, where she has remained dedicated ever since.

The personal dimension of her research became evident when her grandmother developed dementia symptoms. "This experience deepened my curiosity about what happens in the brain at the cellular level in Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia," she explains. This emotional connection drives her current work investigating how viral infections contribute to neurodegenerative processes.

Breakthrough Models Transform Understanding

Working under the mentorship of renowned neurobiologist Professor John Morrison at UC Davis, Dr. Beckman has revolutionized our understanding of viral neuroimmunology. Her team has developed novel rhesus monkey models that illuminate cellular mechanisms underlying Alzheimer's disease, Long COVID, and viral-induced brain pathology.

The research demonstrates how viruses like SARS-CoV-2 can infect neurons and trigger neuroinflammation within a few days after infection. "Unlike HIV, which induces a slower, progressive inflammatory process, our lab observed that SARS-CoV-2 can infect neurons and trigger neuroinflammation within just seven days," Dr. Beckman notes. These findings help explain the rapid onset of "brain fog" and cognitive symptoms experienced by COVID-19 patients.

Microscopic Obsession Yields Macro Impact

Dr. Beckman's dedication to advanced microscopy techniques has proven instrumental in her discoveries. "I enjoy working with microscopy, as it allows me to create beautiful images of the brain while investigating profound questions about how different cell types interact and contribute to disease," she explains. This technical expertise enables her to observe cellular-level changes that contribute to neurological symptoms.

Her research has established critical connections between viral infections and neurodegenerative processes. The work shows how viruses affect the same brain regions involved in memory and cognition, providing scientific evidence for post-viral cognitive symptoms. What implications might this have for our understanding of other viral infections and their long-term neurological consequences?

Long COVID Community Connection

As an active member of the World Health Network's Long COVID advisory group, Dr. Beckman bridges laboratory research with patient advocacy. "Over the past few years, I have connected with many people in the Long COVID community and formed friendships with individuals who are severely ill and desperately seeking help," she shares. This connection to affected communities drives her commitment to translational research.

Her ambitious goal reflects the urgency of the situation: "My biggest dream is to make a significant impact on the lives of people with neurological conditions following a viral infection." Currently, no approved treatments exist for Long COVID, highlighting the critical need for her research approach.

Accelerating Alzheimer's Research

Beyond COVID-19, Dr. Beckman's work addresses broader questions about inflammatory events contributing to neurodegenerative diseases. Her team has developed two novel monkey models for Alzheimer's disease research over eight years, focusing on amyloid pathology and tau propagation. These models represent significant advances in translational research, offering better platforms for therapy testing than traditional rodent models.

The primate models express the same versions of tau protein found in human brains, unlike rodents that only have one form. "We think the macaque is a better model, because it expresses the same versions of tau in the brain as humans do," Dr. Beckman explains. This similarity makes the models more relevant for understanding human neurodegenerative processes.

Diversity and Mentorship in Science

Dr. Beckman's commitment extends beyond research to fostering diversity in neuroscience. As a Brazilian and Latina woman, she has faced numerous obstacles reaching her current position. "From an early age, girls like me must combat prejudice, often hearing that we are not on the same level and that the STEM fields are not meant for us," she reflects.

Her pride in completing her education in Latin America challenges common perceptions about scientific training quality. "I take great pride in having completed all my education in Latin America, where the training we receive is just as good as that in wealthier countries," she emphasizes. This perspective influences her mentorship approach with trainees from underrepresented backgrounds.

Future Therapeutic Directions

The research implications extend far beyond academic understanding. Her focus on understanding viral disruption of brain homeostasis provides a framework for developing interventions that could prevent or mitigate neurological damage.

How might her discoveries about viral-induced neuroinflammation inform treatment strategies for other neurodegenerative conditions? The potential applications span from immediate Long COVID interventions to long-term Alzheimer's prevention strategies.

Dr. Danielle Beckman's Genomic Press interview is part of a larger series called Innovators & Ideas that highlights the people behind today's most influential scientific breakthroughs. Each interview in the series offers a blend of cutting-edge research and personal reflections, providing readers with a comprehensive view of the scientists shaping the future. By combining a focus on professional achievements with personal insights, this interview style invites a richer narrative that both engages and educates readers. This format provides an ideal starting point for profiles that explore the scientist's impact on the field, while also touching on broader human themes. More information on the research leaders and rising stars featured in our Innovators & Ideas – Genomic Press Interview series can be found in our publications website: https://genomicpress.kglmeridian.com/.

The Genomic Press Interview in Brain Medicine titled "Danielle Beckman – a neuroscientist driven by a microscopic obsession: Unravel how viruses play a role in brain pathology," is freely available via Open Access on 1 July 2025 in Brain Medicine at the following hyperlink: https://doi.org/10.61373/bm025k.0077.

About Brain Medicine: Brain Medicine (ISSN: 2997-2639, online and 2997-2647, print) is a high-quality medical research journal published by Genomic Press, New York. Brain Medicine is a new home for the cross-disciplinary pathway from innovation in fundamental neuroscience to translational initiatives in brain medicine. The journal's scope includes the underlying science, causes, outcomes, treatments, and societal impact of brain disorders, across all clinical disciplines and their interface.

Visit the Genomic Press Virtual Library: https://issues.genomicpress.com/bookcase/gtvov/

Our full website is at: https://genomicpress.kglmeridian.com/

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Journal

Brain Medicine

DOI

10.61373/bm025k.0077 

Method of Research

News article

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Danielle Beckman – a neuroscientist driven by a microscopic obsession: Unravel how viruses play a role in brain pathology

Article Publication Date

1-Jul-2025

 

U.S. uterine cancer incidence and mortality rates expected to significantly increase by 2050

Black women may face disproportionately higher rates than white women

American Association for Cancer Research

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Bottom Line: Uterine cancer incidence and mortality rates are projected to increase significantly over the next three decades in the United States, with incidence-based mortality expected to be nearly three times higher in Black women compared with white women by 2050.

Journal in Which the Study was Published: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)

Author: Jason D. Wright, MD, chief of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Columbia University

Background: While incidence and mortality rates for most cancer types have been on the decline in the United States, cases of uterine cancer increased an average of 0.7% each year between 2013 and 2022 and age-adjusted death rates increased 1.6% annually between 2014 and 2023, according to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Black women are disproportionally affected with a death rate from uterine cancer that is about twice as high compared with women of other races or ethnicities. 

“Overall, uterine cancer is one of the few cancers where both incidence and mortality have been increasing, and prior studies have consistently shown significant racial disparities among Black and white women,” said Wright, who is the lead author of the study. “Understanding future trends will help inform the development of robust strategies to reduce the burden and improve outcomes.” 

How the Study was Conducted: As part of the NCI’s Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET), Wright and his colleagues built the Columbia University Uterine Cancer Model (UTMO). This natural history model of uterine cancer simulates the trajectories for incidence and mortality based on characteristics from a sample population, taking into account factors such as age (between 18 and 84), race (Black and white), birth cohort (grouped in 10-year intervals starting in 1910-1920), stage (as determined by the American Joint Committee on Cancer), and histologic subtype (the more common endometrioid uterine cancer vs. non-endometrioid cancers, which tend to have a worse prognosis). Survival estimates are based on current available treatments with the model unable to account for potential advances in therapeutics.    

To validate the model, Wright and his team used UTMO to predict the median age of diagnosis, survival rate, and distribution of diagnosis by stage for uterine cancer in 2018, and found those projections were comparable to the actual SEER data from that year.   

Following this validation, they estimated the future rates of uterine cancer based on publicly available sources through 2018.

Results: Incidence was projected to increase from 57.7 cases per 100,000 in 2018 to 74.2 cases per 100,000 in 2050 for white women and from 56.8 cases per 100,000 to 86.9 cases per 100,000 for Black women. Incidence-based mortality was projected to increase from 6.1 per 100,000 to 11.2 per 100,000 among white women and from 14.1 per 100,000 to 27.9 per 100,000 among Black women.  

Further, while the incidence of endometrioid tumors is projected to increase considerably in both Black (34.2 per 100,000 to 50.5 per 100,000) and white (49.2 per 100,000 to 63.4 per 100,000) women, the increased incidence of non-endometrioid tumors was more significant in Black (from 22.5 per 100,000 to 36.3 per 100,000) than white (from 8.5 per 100,000 to 10.8 per 100,000) women. 

The model also showed that should hysterectomy rates continue to decrease and obesity rates continue to increase, the incidence and mortality rates for uterine cancer would increase more drastically for both white and Black women. Obesity is a known risk factor for uterine cancer, and while an increase in the use of obesity treatments like GLP-1s could instead cause obesity rates to decline, Wright explained it is hard to predict if that will be the case. Hysterectomy is known to reduce the risk of uterine cancer, but due to the availability of nonsurgical treatments for gynecologic disease, hysterectomy rates are projected to decline 25.7% from 2020 to 2035.  

Author’s Comments: “There are likely a number of factors that are associated with the increased burden of uterine cancer in Black women,” Wright said. “They more commonly have aggressive types of uterine cancer, face delayed diagnosis resulting in later-stage disease at diagnosis, and there are often delays in their treatment.”

Wright and his colleagues also performed a stress test of the model by incorporating hypothetical screening and intervention methods that could detect uterine cancer and precancerous changes prior to clinical diagnosis. The screening and intervention methods were most effective when introduced at age 55 with declines in cancer incidence that lasted up to 15 years in white women and up to 16 years in Black women. 

“The stress testing suggests that if there was an effective screening test, we may be able to substantially reduce the burden of disease,” Wright said. “While there is presently no screening or prevention that is routinely used for uterine cancer, we are currently examining the potential impact of integrating screening for this cancer into practice.” 

Study Limitations: Limitations of the study include the fact that the model is based only on population-level estimates, and some of the risk factors, though representing the highest quality of data available, could be outdated. Additionally, not all potential risk factors for uterine cancer were incorporated into the model, but Wright said they are working to develop more precise estimates of other risk factors. Other limitations include the smaller number of annual cases of non-endometrioid tumors, lack of data on uterine sarcomas, and inclusion of data on only Black and white women. 

Funding & Disclosures: The study was supported by funds from the NCI. Wright has received royalties from UpToDate, honoraria from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and research support from Merck. 

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Journal

Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention

DOI

10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-24-1422 

Article Title

Projected Trends in the Incidence and Mortality of Uterine Cancer in the United States

Article Publication Date

1-Jul-2025

COI Statement

Wright has received royalties from UpToDate, honoraria from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and research support from Merck.

 

New study finds no lasting impact of pandemic pet ownership on human well-being

Humans and their pets, a match made in heaven? Does adopting a new dog make you happier and less lonely?

Eötvös Loránd University

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New study finds no lasting impact of pandemic pet ownership on human well-being

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Credit: Photo: Vanda Molnár

A new study challenges the belief in a universal “pet effect” on human well-being. Using data collected during COVID-19 lockdowns, researchers found no significant change in respondents' well-being when they acquired or lost a pet in their household. The findings suggest that, even during a time of extreme isolation, human-animal bonds may not be as emotionally transformative as we like to believe.

Humans and their pets, a match made in heaven? Does adopting a new dog make you happier and less lonely? It is now commonplace to associate pet ownership with health and happiness for the human and the animal. Still, science has had a hard time pinning down the ‘pet effect’ - a hypothesised boost in life quality for those who surround themselves with cats, dogs, or other companion animals. Only a few years ago, circumstances presented us with a severe test of the importance of human-animal bonds—a global pandemic, COVID-19, which confined people to their homes, cutting them off from face-to-face contact in both work and personal life.

Researchers at ELTE Eötvös Loránd University have examined how pet acquisition and loss were experienced during the pandemic and the short- and long-term effects of acquiring a pet on the participants. The study was published in Scientific Reports. “Through a collaboration with a psychologist team led by Zsolt Demetrovics and Róbert Urbán, we had access to a unique data set”, explains Eniko Kubinyi, head of the MTA-ELTE ‘Momentum’ Companion Animals Research Group. “During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, almost three thousand people across Hungary participated three times in data collection, several months apart. We noticed that 65 people acquired a pet and 75 lost one during the study, and decided to investigate how their well-being changed over time.”

The researchers found little support for the romanticised view we hold of pet owners and their emotional well-being. A short-lived boost in cheerfulness appeared after acquiring a dog, however, in a long run, dog owners’ calmness, life-satisfaction, cheerfulness, and activity had gone down. Most surprisingly, the researchers found that losing a pet did not leave a mark on the well-being of their former owners.

Ádám Miklósi, who initiated the data collection on companion animals, emphasises, “We rarely have access to data that documents spontaneous pet acquisition from people unbiased in their attitude toward pet ownership. Usually, pet lovers are identified and studied when the decision to adopt an animal is already settled. It appears that, at least during stressful periods, the average person, who may not be the primary caregiver but simply shares a household with the pet, is not significantly affected by the pet’s loss, nor is their well-being a strong predictor of the decision to acquire one.”

“What surprised me most,’ adds Judit Mokos, data scientist and one of the paper's first authors, ‘was that a new pet in the household had no effect on the respondents’ loneliness. Dog adoption is often promoted as a solution for elderly and/or lonely people. Shelters and pet food companies promote adoption as a means of alleviating loneliness. However, our research suggests that dogs do not provide a real solution to loneliness; rather, they make the new owners more anxious."

Kubinyi concludes, “Based on the data, most people, living together with a companion animal, do not seem to experience any long-term ‘pet effect’, nor do they bond strongly with their animal. It is possible that the dynamics of the pandemic have led many to make impulsive choices against their long-term interest, or that only certain groups—like devoted animal lovers or older adults living alone—truly benefit from pets in stressful times.”

It appears that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the emotional bonds people formed with animals often fell short of expectations.

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Original study: Mokos*, J., Kubinyi*, E., Ujfalussy, D., Iotchec, I.B., Paksi, B., Demetrovics, Z., Urbán, R., Miklósi, Á. Short-term effects of pet acquisition and loss on well-being in an unbiased sample during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientific Report. *contributed equally. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-06987-7

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Journal

Scientific Reports

DOI

10.1038/s41598-025-06987-7 

Article Title

Short-term effects of pet acquisition and loss on well-being in an unbiased sample during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Article Publication Date

1-Jul-2025

 

Gut microbes could protect us from toxic ‘forever chemicals’

University of Cambridge

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Illustration showing gut bacteria accumulating perfluorononanoic acid – a forever chemical – as dense clumps.

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Credit: Peter Northrop / MRC Toxicology Unit

Scientists have discovered that certain species of microbe found in the human gut can absorb PFAS - the toxic and long-lasting ‘forever chemicals.’ They say boosting these species in our gut microbiome could help protect us from the harmful effects of PFAS.

PFAS have been linked with a range of health issues including decreased fertility, developmental delays in children, and a higher risk of certain cancers and cardiovascular diseases.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have identified a family of bacterial species, found naturally in the human gut, that absorb various PFAS molecules from their surroundings.  When nine of these bacterial species were introduced into the guts of mice to ‘humanise’ the mouse microbiome, the bacteria rapidly accumulated PFAS eaten by the mice - which were then excreted in faeces.

The researchers also found that as the mice were exposed to increasing levels of PFAS, the microbes worked harder, consistently removing the same percentage of the toxic chemicals. Within minutes of exposure, the bacterial species tested soaked up between 25% and 74% of the PFAS.

The results are the first evidence that our gut microbiome could play a helpful role in removing toxic PFAS chemicals from our body - although this has not yet been directly tested in humans.

The researchers plan to use their discovery to create probiotic dietary supplements that boost the levels of these helpful microbes in our gut, to protect against the toxic effects of PFAS.

The results are published today in the journal Nature Microbiology.

PFAS (Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) can’t be avoided in our modern world. These man-made chemicals are in many everyday items including waterproof clothing, non-stick pans, lipsticks and food packaging, used for their resistance to heat, water, oil and grease. But because they take thousands of years to break down, they are accumulating in large quantities in the environment – and in our bodies.

Dr Kiran Patil, in the University of Cambridge’s MRC Toxicology Unit and senior author of the report, said: “Given the scale of the problem of PFAS ‘forever chemicals’, particularly their effects on human health, it’s concerning that so little is being done about removing these from our bodies.”

“We found that certain species of human gut bacteria have a remarkably high capacity to soak up PFAS from their environment at a range of concentrations, and store these in clumps inside their cells. Due to aggregation of PFAS in these clumps, the bacteria themselves seem protected from the toxic effects.”

Dr Indra Roux, a researcher at the University of Cambridge’s MRC Toxicology Unit and a co-author of the study said: “The reality is that PFAS are already in the environment and in our bodies, and we need to try and mitigate their impact on our health now. We haven’t found a way to destroy PFAS, but our findings open the possibility of developing ways to get them out of our bodies where they do the most harm.”

There is increasing concern about the environmental and health impacts of PFAS, and in April 2025 the UK launched a parliamentary inquiry into their risks and regulation.

There are over 4,700 PFAS chemicals in widespread use. Some get cleared out of the body in our urine in a matter of days, but others with a longer molecular structure can hang around in the body for years.

Dr Anna Lindell, a researcher at the University of Cambridge’s MRC Toxicology Unit and first author of the study said: “We’re all being exposed to PFAS through our water and food – these chemicals are so widespread that they’re in all of us.

“PFAS were once considered safe, but it’s now clear that they’re not. It’s taken a long time for PFAS to become noticed because at low levels they’re not acutely toxic. But they’re like a slow poison.”

Lindell and Patil have co-founded a startup, Cambiotics, with serial entrepreneur Peter Holme Jensen to develop probiotics that remove PFAS from the body, and they are investigating various ways of turbo-charging the microbes’ performance. Cambiotics is supported by Cambridge Enterprise, the innovation arm of the University of Cambridge, which helps researchers translate their work into globally-leading economic and social impact.

While we wait for new probiotics to become available, the researchers say the best things we can do to help protect ourselves against PFAS are to avoid PFAS-coated cooking pans, and use a good water filter.

Illustration showing common sources of PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ and gut bacteria accumulating perfluorononanoic acid – a common PFAS – as dense clumps.

Credit

Indra Roux and Rachel Fellows/ MRC Toxicology Unit

The scientists have identified a family of bacterial species, found naturally in the human gut, that absorb various PFAS molecules from their surroundings.

Credit

MRC Toxicology Unit

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Journal

Nature Microbiology

DOI

10.1038/s41564-025-02032-5 

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Human gut bacteria bioaccumulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

Article Publication Date

1-Jul-2025

 

Hear here: How loudness and acoustic cues help us judge where a speaker is facing

Researchers explored how humans use loudness and other sound-related cues to understand the speaker’s facing direction in virtual environments

Sophia University

 

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Researchers at Sophia University discover that both loudness and frequency-based acoustic cues help listeners identify speaker’s facing direction, a breakthrough for spatial audio in virtual and augmented realities.

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Credit: Dr. Shinya Tsuji, Sophia University, Japan

As technology increasingly integrates complex soundscapes into virtual spaces, understanding how humans perceive directional audio becomes vital. This need is bolstered by the rise of immersive media, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), where users are virtually transported into other worlds. In a recent study, researchers explored how listeners identify the direction from which a speaker is facing while speaking.

 

The research was led by Dr. Shinya Tsuji, a postdoctoral fellow, Ms. Haruna Kashima, and Professor Takayuki Arai from the Department of Information and Communication Sciences, Sophia University, Japan. The team also included Dr. Takehiro Sugimoto, Mr. Kotaro Kinoshita, and Mr. Yasushige Nakayama from the NHK Science and Technology Research Laboratories, Japan. Their study was published in Volume 46, Issue 3 on May 1, 2025 in the journal Acoustical Science and Technology.

 

In the study, the researchers asked participants to identify the direction, a speaker was facing using only sound recordings, using two experiments. The first experiment involved sound recordings with variations in loudness, and the second experiment involved recordings with constant loudness. The researchers found that loudness was consistently a strong indicator in judging the speaker’s facing direction, but when loudness cues were minimized, listeners still managed to make correct judgments based on the spectral cues of the sound. These spectral cues involve the distribution and quality of sound frequencies that change subtly depending on the speaker’s orientation.

 

“Our study suggests that humans mainly rely on loudness to identify a speaker’s facing direction,” said Dr. Tsuji. “However, it can also be judged from some acoustic cues, such as the spectral component of the sound, not just loudness alone.”

 

These findings are particularly useful in virtual sound fields that allow six-degrees-of-freedom—immersive environments like those found in AR and VR applications, where users can move freely and experience audio in different spatial configurations. “In contents having virtual sound fields with six-degrees-of-freedom—like AR and VR—where listeners can freely appreciate sounds from various positions, the experience of human voices can be significantly enhanced using the findings from our research,” said Dr. Tsuji.

 

The research emerges at a time when immersive audio is a major design frontier for consumer tech companies. Devices such as Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro are already shifting how people interact with digital spaces. Accurate rendering of human voices in these environments can significantly elevate user experience—whether in entertainment, education, or communication.

 

“AR and VR have become common with advances in technology,” Dr. Tsuji added. “As more content is developed for these devices in the future, the findings of our study may contribute to such fields.”

 

Beyond the immediate applications, this research has broader implications in how we might build more intuitive and responsive soundscapes in the digital world. By improving realism through audio, companies can create more convincing immersive media—an important factor not only for entertainment, but also for accessibility solutions, virtual meetings, and therapeutic interventions.

 

By uncovering the role of both loudness and spectral cues in voice-based directionality, this study deepens our understanding of auditory perception and lays a foundation for the next generation of spatial audio systems. The findings pave the way for designing more realistic virtual interactions, particularly those involving human speech, which is probably the most familiar and meaningful sound we process every day.

  

Researchers identify how the speaker’s facing direction can influence the listener’s radiation characteristics by conducting experiments using loudness as a stimulus. The confusion matrices of the results illustrating results of experiment A (where the stimuli had  a difference in loudness) and experiment B (where loudness of the stimuli was constant), respectively. 

Image link:

 https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ast/46/3/46_e24.99/_article

Reference

Title of original paper	Perception of speech uttered as speaker faces different directions in horizontal plane: Identification of speaker’s facing directions from the listener
Journal	Acoustical Science and Technology
DOI	10.1250/ast.e24.99
Authors	Shinya Tsuji1, Haruna Kashima1, Takayuki Arai1, Takehiro Sugimoto2,Kotaro Kinoshita2, and Yasushige Nakayama2
Affiliations	1Department of Information and Communication Sciences, Sophia University, Japan, 2NHK Science and Technology Research Laboratories, Japan

 

About Sophia University

Established as a private Jesuit affiliated university in 1913, Sophia University is one of the most prestigious universities located in the heart of Tokyo, Japan.  Imparting education through 29 departments in 9 faculties and 25 majors in 10 graduate schools, Sophia hosts more than 13,000 students from around the world.

Conceived with the spirit of “For Others, With Others,” Sophia University truly values internationality and neighborliness, and believes in education and research that go beyond national, linguistic, and academic boundaries. Sophia emphasizes on the need for multidisciplinary and fusion research to find solutions for the most pressing global issues like climate change, poverty, conflict, and violence. Over the course of the last century, Sophia has made dedicated efforts to hone future-ready graduates who can contribute their talents and learnings for the benefit of others, and pave the way for a sustainable future while “Bringing the World Together.”

Website: https://www.sophia.ac.jp/eng/

 

About Dr. Shinya Tsuji from Sophia University, Japan

Dr. Shinya Tsuji is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Information and Communication Sciences, Sophia University. His major research interests include unilateral hearing loss,  and reverberation, and his expertise involves experimental psychology, human interfaces and interactions, informatics, and humanities and social sciences. He has published five articles. He is an honorable awardee of multiple recognitions, including the 2022 Student Outstanding Presentation Award from the Acoustical Society of Japan. He is also involved in social activities and contributes actively to the Information and Community Site for Unilateral Hearing Loss.

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Journal

Acoustical Science and Technology

DOI

10.1250/ast.e24.99 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Perception of speech uttered as speaker faces different directions in horizontal plane: Identification of speaker’s facing directions from the listener