Temporal Effects in Forward Masking, Suppression, and Simultaneous Masking

前向掩蔽、抑制和同时掩蔽中的时间效应

• 批准号: 7578961
• 负责人: ELIZABETH A STRICKLAND
• 金额: $ 36.09万
• 依托单位: PURDUE UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-03-01 至 2013-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7578961
• 关键词: Acoustic Nerve; Acoustic Stimulation; Animals; Auditory; Auditory system; Cochlea; Cochlear Hearing Loss; Cochlear Implants; Data; Detection; Feedback; Frequencies; Hearing; Hearing Aids; Human; Left; Light; Masks; Measures; Modeling; Noise; Output; Perception; Peripheral; Physiological; Process; Property; Psychophysiology; Research; Role; Signal Transduction; Speech; Speech Perception; System; Techniques; Testing; Work; awake; base; case control; computerized data processing; design; hearing impairment; improved; interest; novel; research study; response; sound

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Humans are able to hear across a wide range of sound levels, both in quiet and in the presence of background noise. The auditory system may achieve this wide dynamic range by turning down its response when there is ongoing sound. Though there is physiological evidence for a feedback loop to the cochlea which adjusts gain in a frequency-specific manner. Temporal effects have been measured in simultaneous masking which would be consistent with a decrease in gain with sound stimulation. It is not clear whether these temporal effects are due to the processing of the feedback system. The proposed research examines this important question in light of more recent evidence about the peripheral auditory system. The experiments are designed so that two measures of gain in the cochlea, input-output functions and frequency selectivity, may be estimated with and without preceding acoustic stimulation designed to activate the efferent system. Listeners with normal hearing and listeners with mild cochlear hearing loss will be tested in the experiments. The hearing-impaired listeners provide an interesting control case in which the gain in some frequency channels has been permanently decreased. The data will be analyzed within a well-established physiologically-based model of the peripheral auditory system, to determine whether temporal effects are consistent with a decrease in gain within the auditory channel which is stimulated. This research is important to our understanding of basic auditory processing in normal hearing, and the effects of cochlear hearing impairment. Listeners with normal hearing may have a type of automatic gain control that works independently in each of the thousands of auditory channels in the cochlea. This gain control could help in the perception of speech in background noise, by improving the signal-to-noise ratio within a channel, and by turning down channels containing only noise. The loss of this mechanism could help explain why listeners with cochlear hearing impairment have particular problems in background noise. This research could suggest novel processing strategies that might be used in hearing aids and cochlear implants to improve perception in background noise.The proposed research examines the hypothesis that listeners with normal hearing may have a type of automatic gain control that works independently in each of the thousands of auditory channels in the cochlea. This gain control could help in the perception of speech in background noise, by improving the signal-to-noise ratio within a channel, and by turning down channels containing only noise. The loss of this mechanism could help explain why listeners with cochlear hearing impairment have particular problems in background noise. This research could suggest novel processing strategies that might be used in hearing aids and cochlear implants to improve perception in background noise.

描述（由申请人提供）：在安静的和背景噪音的情况下，人类都能在广泛的声音级别上听到。听觉系统可以通过在持续的声音时拒绝其响应来实现这一广泛的动态范围。尽管有生理证据表明对耳蜗的反馈循环以特定于频率的方式调整增益。在同时掩盖中测量了时间效应，这与声音刺激的增益减少是一致的。目前尚不清楚这些时间影响是否是由于反馈系统的处理。拟议的研究根据有关外围听觉系统的最新证据研究了这个重要问题。设计了实验，以便可以在有没有先进的声学刺激的情况下估计耳蜗，输入输出函数和频率选择性的两种量度，以激活传出系统。在实验中将测试具有正常听力的听众，听众有轻度的耳蜗听力损失。听力受损的听众提供了一个有趣的控制案例，其中某些频道中的增益已永久减少。数据将在基于生理的外围听觉系统模型中进行分析，以确定时间效应是否与受刺激的听觉通道内增益的减少一致。这项研究对于我们对正常听力中的基本听觉处理以及耳蜗听力障碍的影响很重要。听力正常的听众可能具有一种自动增益控制，该控制在耳蜗中成千上万的听觉渠道中独立起作用。这种增益控制可以通过改善通道内的信噪比以及仅键入仅包含噪声的通道来帮助对语音的感知。这种机制的丧失可以帮助解释为什么耳蜗听力障碍的听众在背景噪声中有特殊问题。这项研究可以提出新的处理策略，这些策略可能用于助听器和人工耳蜗以改善背景噪声中的感知。拟议的研究研究了以下假设：正常听力的听众可能具有一种自动增益控制，可以独立于连接中的每个听觉通道中的每一个独立起作用。这种增益控制可以通过改善通道内的信噪比以及仅键入仅包含噪声的通道来帮助对语音的感知。这种机制的丧失可以帮助解释为什么耳蜗听力障碍的听众在背景噪声中有特殊问题。这项研究可以提出新的处理策略，这些加工策略可能用于助听器和人工耳蜗，以改善背景噪声的看法。