Psychophysical Reweighting of Auditory Spatial Cues

项目摘要/摘要 空间听觉本质上是多维的，因为许多声学特征(“线索”)是不同的 与听觉场景的空间方面同步。这些包括双耳提示(耳间时间 差异[ITD]和耳间电平差异[ILD])以及单声道光谱提示、时间提示和 与来源和环境特征相关的强度线索。在自然倾听中，各种线索是 不是多余的；它们经常相互冲突，它们的价值观随着时间的推移而变化 力矩和频率不同。每个单独的提示X时间X频率组合可能提供 关于听觉空间的有用信息，但仅定义了多个感觉维度中的一个 集成以在复杂的声学环境中支持强大的感知和行为。以前的工作有 通过测量双耳线索对线索的相对影响(或知觉权重)来研究这一过程 类型(例如，ITD/ILD交易；Harris 1960，Stecker 2010)、时间(Saberi 1996，Stecker 2014)和频率 (Heller&Trahiotis 1996，Bibee&Stecker 2016)。这项工作揭示了默认权重模式，这表明 该提示权重通常遵循自然听觉场景的统计：感知上占优势的提示(例如， 低频ITD和声音开始提示)往往是那些受回声引起的失真影响最小的提示， 混响，以及相互竞争的声音。 以前的工作主要集中在典型听证和中性语境下的线索加权，即“默认”。 权重模式。因此，关键问题仍然存在：这些权重模式是固定的还是随着时间的推移而变化 经验？他们能快速适应当前场景的实际统计数据(“重新加权”)吗？如果是这样的话， 由手头刺激措施的结构性变化或从最近收集到的信息推动的权重调整 曝光？这些问题的答案对信号处理算法具有重要的影响 在辅助和增强听力中改变可用线索的平衡，以及听觉空间的适应 不同听众的意识。拟议的研究在正常听力和正常听力两个方面都解决了这些问题 听力受损的听者对带有多个空间线索的声音的空间判断。多重回归将 用于测量听者在某些提示被扭曲时对这些提示的相对敏感度(对于 例如通过助听器或模拟混响)以及当目标声音之前有其他声音时 具有一致的特征与不一致的特征。比较有经验和没有经验的助听器使用者将 量化因助听器使用和长期接触改变的线索而导致的权重模式的差异， 为未来空间听力康复方面的工作铺平道路。

Project Summary / Abstract Spatial hearing is fundamentally multidimensional, in that numerous acoustical features (“cues”) vary simultaneously with spatial aspects of the auditory scene. These include the binaural cues (interaural time differences [ITD] and interaural level differences [ILD]) along with monaural spectral cues, temporal cues, and intensity cues that correlate with source and environmental features. In natural listening, the various cues are not redundant; they are often in conflict with one another, and they take on values that change from moment to moment and differ across frequency. Each individual cue X time X frequency combination provides potentially useful information about auditory space, but defines only one of multiple sensory dimensions that must be integrated to support robust perception and behavior in acoustically complex environments. Previous work has studied that process by measuring the relative influence–or perceptual weight–of binaural cues across cue type (e.g., ITD/ILD “trading;” Harris 1960, Stecker 2010), time (Saberi 1996, Stecker 2014), and frequency (Heller & Trahiotis 1996, Bibee & Stecker 2016). The default weighting patterns revealed by that work suggest that cue weighting generally follows the statistics of natural auditory scenes: perceptually dominant cues (e.g., low-frequency ITD and sound-onset cues) tend to be those least affected by distortion due to echoes, reverberation, and competing sounds. Previous work has focused on cue-weighting in typical hearing and in neutral contexts, i.e. the “default” weighting patterns. Thus, key questions remain: are these weighting patterns fixed or do they change with experience? Can they adapt rapidly to the actual statistics of the current scene (“reweighting”)? And, if so, is reweighting driven by structural changes to the stimulus at hand, or by information gleaned from recent exposure? The answers to these questions have important implications for signal-processing algorithms that alter the balance of available cues in aided and augmented listening, and for the habilitation of auditory spatial awareness in diverse listeners. The proposed study addresses these questions in both normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners' spatial judgments of sounds that carry multiple spatial cues. Multiple regression will be used to measure listeners' relative sensitivity to those cues when some of the cues have been distorted (for example by hearing aids or simulated reverberation) and when target sounds are preceded by other sounds with consistent versus inconsistent features. Comparing experienced and inexperienced hearing-aid users will quantify differences in weighting patterns due to hearing-aid use and long-term exposure to altered cues, paving the way for future work on the potential habilitation of spatial hearing.