Collaborative Research: Studies of Binaural Processing

9309263 约翰逊DH 双耳听觉（双耳）比单耳听觉（单耳听觉）更适合检测和定位声源，并在嘈杂的背景中理解语音。 在哺乳动物的大脑中，在脑干中，有一个被称为上级橄榄复合体的结构，它是听觉通路中直接参与双耳听觉的神经处理的第一个地方。 这个复合体包含形成为称为细胞核的组的神经细胞。 其中两个是外侧上级橄榄核（LSO）和斜方体内侧核。 两者都是神经网络LSO网络的一部分，LSO网络专门涉及中高频声音的双耳处理，即1.5kHz以上的声音。 这项工作是感觉神经生理学家和信号处理理论家之间的合作，采用跨学科的方法。 LSO网络中的神经元的响应被记录为接近正常"自由场"双耳条件的受控声学刺激，并且计算模型描述了这些响应如何发展双耳信号的神经表示。 信号阵列处理技术也将用于确定LSO网络对双耳感知的相应贡献。 这项工作的影响将超越听觉神经科学，一般的感觉处理，网络的计算建模，以及帮助或增强听力能力的设备。 ***

9309263 Johnson DH Hearing with two ears (binaural) is much better than with just one (monaural) for detecting and locating sound sources, and understanding speech in a noisy background. Within the mammalian brain, in the brainstem, there is a structure called the superior olivary complex that is the first place in the auditory pathway directly involved in the neural processing that underlies binaural hearing. This complex contains nerve cells formed into groups called nuclei. Two of these are the lateral superior olive nucleus (LSO), and the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body. Both are part of a neural network, the LSO network, that is specifically involved in binaural processing of mid- to high-frequency sounds, those above 1.5kHz. This work is a collaboration between a sensory neurophysiologist and a signal-processing theorist using an interdisciplinary approach. Responses of neurons in the LSO network are recorded for controlled acoustic stimuli which approximate normal "free-field" binaural conditions, and computational models describe how these responses devleop the neural representation of binaural signals. Signal array processing techniques also will be used to determine the consequent contributions of the LSO network to binaural perception. This work will have impact beyond auditory neuroscience to sensory processing in general, to computational modelling of networks, and to devices for aiding or enhancing hearing capabilities. ***