NEONATAL DEVELOPMENT OF AUDITORY FREQUENCY SELECTIVITY

一系列关于听觉早期发展的实验， 持续期间内的 这项研究的主要目的是检查 频率选择性的发展。 频率选择性是一种衡量 听觉系统如何区分不同的音调;或 相反，有多少音调在频率上略有不同， 相似。 结果将记录正常的发展， 分辨不同频率的能力。 初步的方法研究将改进衡量 新生儿的感知能力。 这些技术涉及测量 新生儿听到声音时抑制发声的自然反应 声音刺激 这些实验将优化测量 改变反应率，利用不断变化的注意力状态， 并确定持续时间如何影响阈值。 该提案的核心是心理物理实验，旨在 记录频率选择性的发展。 四种不同的听觉 掩蔽范例（临界比率、临界频带、陷波噪声和 掩蔽模式）用于行为实验，以测量不同的 在发展中的听觉系统的频率选择性方面。 测试 不同阈值评估的能力，以发现微妙的改善 声音刺激的变化。 这项研究的直接意义在于彻底记录了 新生儿听觉发育和改善心理物理技术， 年轻的科目。 对正常听觉发育的理解将有助于 在诊断和治疗交流和知觉障碍方面。

A series of experiments on the early development of auditory perception is continued. The primary purpose of this research is to examine the development of frequency selectivity. Frequency selectivity is a measure of how well the auditory system can separate different tones; or conversely, how much tones that differ slightly in frequency are perceived as similar. The results will document the normal development of the ability to resolve different frequencies. Preliminary methodological studies will improve procedures to measure the perceptual abilities of newborns. These techniques involve measuring the natural response of newborns to suppress their vocalizations when they hear an acoustic stimulus. These experiments will optimize the measurement of changing response rates, exploit the constantly changing attentional states of newborns, and determine how duration affects thresholds. In the core of the proposal are psychophysical experiments designed to document the development of frequency selectivity. Four different auditory masking paradigms (critical ratios, critical bands, notched noises and masking patterns) are used in behavioral experiments to measure different aspects of frequency selectivity in the developing auditory system. Tests of difference limens assess improvement in the ability to detect subtle changes in the acoustic stimuli. The immediate significance of the research is in thorough documentation of neonatal auditory development and in improved psychophysical techniques for young subjects. This understanding of normal auditory development will aid in the diagnosis and treatment of communicative and perceptual disorders.