The Impact of Sensitivity to Fast Spectrotemporal Chirps on Speech Encoding in the Mammalian Inferior Colliculus

哺乳动物下丘对快速频谱时间线性调频的敏感性对语音编码的影响

• 批准号: 10311583
• 负责人: Paul Mitchell
• 金额: $ 4.6万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-07-01 至 2023-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10311583
• 关键词: Address; Affect; Auditory; Auditory system; Behavior; Binaural; Brain; Caring; Cell model; Cells; Code; Communication; Complex; Comprehension; Computer Models; Cueing for speech; Cues; Dangerousness; Data; Data Analyses; Dependence; Development; Educational workshop; Ensure; Environment; Experimental Designs; Exposure to; Frequencies; Generations; Goals; Hearing; Hearing Aids; Individual; Inferior Colliculus; Journals; Literature; Location; Medical Device; Methods; Midbrain structure; Modeling; Nature; Neurons; Neurosciences; Noise; Oryctolagus cuniculus; Periodicity; Phase; Physiologic pulse; Physiological; Play; Population; Property; Public Health; Publications; Research; Role; Scheme; Sensorineural Hearing Loss; Speech; Stimulus; Synapses; Techniques; Testing; Time; Training; Universities; Update; Work; auditory nuclei; auditory pathway; awake; base; career; computational neuroscience; design; experimental study; extracellular; improved; interest; neuromechanism; next generation; novel; predictive modeling; receptive field; relating to nervous system; response; signal processing; skills; sound; speech in noise; speech processing; symposium

Sensitivities of the mammalian auditory midbrain to complex sound features can provide the basis for encoding schemes of critical stimuli such as speech. Recent work in rabbit inferior colliculus (IC) has revealed a novel feature sensitivity to fast spectrotemporal chirps. Individual IC neurons had dramatic differences in response rate to differing chirp directions and velocities. The stimulus used in that work was the Schroeder-phase harmonic complex (SCHR), which contains a chirp within each pitch period because of the phase properties of harmonic components. Speech necessarily contains similar chirps due to phase differences between harmonic components resulting from vocal tract filtering. Given that IC neurons may be as sensitive to chirps in vowels as they are to SCHR chirps, we hypothesize that novel chirp sensitivity in the IC significantly contributes to speech coding at the level of the auditory midbrain. The goal of this proposal is to more precisely define this sensitivity in the mammalian central auditory system to fast chirps using physiological experiments, design an IC computational model that accurately reflects chirp sensitivity, and to assess whether chirp sensitivity plays a role in speech coding. We will design novel sound stimuli to interrogate IC chirp sensitivity more directly, and to disentangle chirp sensitivity from other known IC properties, such as periodicity tuning. Computational models will be proposed using a base assumption that chirp-sensitive IC neurons receive two or more inputs of differing frequencies and respond differently depending on input arrival times. We will analyze chirp cues contained in speech using novel analysis methods. Finally, we will evaluate the importance of chirp sensitivity for speech coding by comparing the ability of a chirp-sensitive and -insensitive models to predict physiological speech responses. This work, when completed, will result in a new understanding of how the subcortical auditory system encodes speech and complex sounds. This work will also represent one of the first attempts to characterize and define this novel midbrain phenomenon. The findings of this proposal will help identify new stimulus features that may be used as cues for next-generation hearing aids to assist speech comprehension in noisy environments. The proposed training plan will concentrate on improving skills such as computational neuroscience, advanced signal processing, data analysis, statistical hypothesis testing and experimental design, all skills necessary for the completion of the proposed research. Training will also address communication skills, such as verbal and written presentations, which will be demonstrated by participation in conferences and generation of journal publications. The University of Rochester represents an ideal location to complete the proposed research, providing an environment with easy access to experts in auditory neuroscience and related fields, as well as many opportunities to participate in career-building activities, workshops, and seminars to help reach professional goals.

哺乳动物听觉中脑对复杂声音特征的敏感性可以为编码提供基础 关键刺激的方案，如语音。最近在兔下丘（IC）的研究揭示了一种新的 特征灵敏度快速spectrotemporal啁啾。单个IC神经元的反应有显着差异， 速率到不同的啁啾方向和速度。在这项工作中使用的刺激是施罗德阶段 谐波复合体（SCHR），其在每个音调周期内包含啁啾，这是由于 谐波分量由于谐波之间的相位差，语音必然包含类似的啁啾 由声道滤波产生的分量。鉴于IC神经元可能对元音中的啁啾同样敏感， 正如它们对SCHR啁啾的影响一样，我们假设IC中新的啁啾灵敏度对 到听觉中脑水平的语音编码。该提案的目的是更准确地界定 这种敏感性在哺乳动物的中央听觉系统快速啁啾使用生理实验，设计 准确反映啁啾灵敏度的IC计算模型，并评估啁啾灵敏度是否 在语音编码中起作用。我们将设计新颖的声音刺激，以询问IC啁啾灵敏度更多 直接，并从其他已知的IC属性，如周期性调谐解纠缠啁啾灵敏度。 计算模型将使用啁啾敏感的IC神经元接收两个或更多个信号的基本假设来提出。 不同频率的更多输入，并根据输入到达时间做出不同的响应。我们将分析 使用新颖的分析方法在语音中包含啁啾线索。最后，我们将评估啁啾的重要性 通过比较线性调频敏感和不敏感模型的预测能力， 生理语言反应这项工作完成后，将使人们对如何 皮层下听觉系统编码语音和复杂的声音。这项工作也将代表第一个 试图描述和定义这种新的中脑现象。这项建议的结果将有助于 识别新的刺激特征，这些特征可用作下一代助听器的提示，以辅助语音 在嘈杂的环境中理解。拟议的培训计划将侧重于提高技能， 计算神经科学，高级信号处理，数据分析，统计假设检验和 实验设计，完成拟议研究所需的所有技能。培训也将 解决沟通技巧，如口头和书面陈述，这将是证明， 参加会议和出版刊物。罗切斯特大学代表了 理想的位置，以完成拟议的研究，提供了一个环境，方便专家在 听觉神经科学和相关领域，以及许多参与职业建设的机会 活动，讲习班和研讨会，以帮助实现专业目标。