The neural representation of sound in complex auditory environments

复杂听觉环境中声音的神经表征

• 批准号: 9395398
• 负责人: Renee M Symonds
• 金额: $ 4.4万
• 依托单位: ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, INC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-07-01 至 2019-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9395398
• 关键词: Acoustics; Active Listening; Address; Attention; Auditory; Auditory Perceptual Disorders; Behavior; Cognitive; Communication; Complex; Cues; Development; Devices; Electroencephalogram; Environment; Evaluation; Event-Related Potentials; Exposure to; Frequencies; Future; Goals; Hearing; Individual; Intuition; Investigation; Knowledge; Laboratories; Life; Literature; Medical Technology; Modeling; Noise; Participant; Process; Protocols documentation; Resources; Risk; Role; Self-Help Devices; Short-Term Memory; Source; Stimulus; Stream; Task Performances; Technology; Teenagers; Testing; Work; auditory processing; behavior measurement; control theory; design; deviant; experience; hearing impairment; improved; insight; interest; novel; relating to nervous system; response; segregation; selective attention; sound; technology development; theories; young adult

Project Summary / Abstract Noise is a feature of everyday life: sound from conversations and the environment overlap to give rise to complex auditory input. Selective attention is required for navigation and communication in such complex scenes, but the role of attention in the neural representation and processing of sound streams in working memory is debated. Specifically, current theories suggest that attention enhances the representation of sound streams of interest while suppressing unattended sounds. However, these latter sounds may be key to task- switching and may still impact task-related processing. The goal of this study is to address the disparate roles proposed for unattended sounds in auditory scene analysis using a novel paradigm in which the number of acoustic features defining each stream (stream distinctiveness) and the presence of target-cues in unattended streams are varied during a selective attention task. The central hypothesis of this proposal is that unattended sound streams are processed to a greater degree than current theories propose and compete for cognitive resources during selective listening. This hypothesis will be tested in two specific aims: (1) to characterize the impact of multiple acoustic features on the representation of task-irrelevant sounds in working memory, and (2) to assess the degree of processing of task-irrelevant sounds and the impact of this processing on behavior. For each aim, a novel paradigm designed to isolate the contributions of multiple features and task-oriented attention will be used and EEG and behavioral measures will be recorded using established protocols. Results from this study will provide insight into the representation of sounds in complex auditory environments, and in particular, how these representations are influenced by bottom-up (stream distinctiveness) and top-down (task- oriented attention) factors. The knowledge gained will thus be a powerful resource for future investigations into auditory processing in natural environments and the development of technology for evaluation and assistance for those with auditory processing disorders.

项目总结/摘要 噪音是日常生活的一个特征：来自谈话和环境的声音重叠， 复杂的听觉输入在这样复杂的环境中，导航和通信需要有选择地注意。 场景，但注意力在神经表征和处理声音流的作用， 记忆是有争议的具体来说，目前的理论认为，注意力增强了声音的表征 感兴趣的流，同时抑制无人值守的声音。然而，后面这些声音可能是任务的关键- 切换，并且仍然可能影响与任务相关的处理。这项研究的目的是解决不同的角色， 提出了无人值守的声音在听觉场景分析使用一种新的范式，其中的数量 定义每个流的声学特征（流独特性）和无人值守环境中目标线索的存在 流在选择性注意任务期间是变化的。这项提议的核心假设是， 声音流被处理到比当前理论提出的更大的程度， 在选择性收听时的资源。这一假设将在两个特定的目标进行测试：（1）表征 多个声学特征对工作记忆中任务无关声音表征的影响，以及（2） 评估任务无关声音的处理程度以及这种处理对行为的影响。 对于每一个目标，一个新的范式，旨在隔离的贡献，多个功能和任务导向 将使用注意力，并使用已建立的方案记录EEG和行为测量。结果 从这项研究将提供深入了解在复杂的听觉环境中的声音表示， 特别是，这些表征如何受到自下而上（流的独特性）和自上而下（任务- 注意力）因素。因此，所获得的知识将成为今后调查的有力资源， 自然环境中的听觉处理以及评估和援助技术的发展 对于那些有听觉处理障碍的人来说。