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.

项目概要/摘要 噪音是日常生活的一个特征：谈话中的声音与环境重叠，从而产生噪音 复杂的听觉输入。在如此复杂的环境中导航和通信需要选择性注意 场景，但注意力在工作中声音流的神经表征和处理中的作用 记忆是有争议的。具体来说，当前的理论表明注意力增强了声音的表征 感兴趣的流，同时抑制无人注意的声音。然而，后面这些声音可能是任务的关键—— 切换并可能仍然影响任务相关的处理。本研究的目的是解决不同的角色 提出了在听觉场景分析中使用一种新颖的范式来进行无人值守的声音，其中 定义每个流的声学特征（流的独特性）以及无人值守中目标提示的存在 在选择性注意任务期间，流是变化的。该提案的中心假设是无人值守 声音流的处理程度比当前理论提出的要高，并且会争夺认知能力 选择性聆听期间的资源。该假设将在两个具体目标上进行检验：（1）表征 多种声学特征对工作记忆中与任务无关的声音表示的影响，以及（2） 评估与任务无关的声音的处理程度以及这种处理对行为的影响。 对于每个目标，都设计了一种新颖的范式，旨在隔离多个功能和面向任务的贡献 将使用既定协议记录注意力并记录脑电图和行为测量。结果 这项研究将深入了解复杂听觉环境中声音的表征，以及 特别是，这些表示如何受到自下而上（流独特性）和自上而下（任务- 定向注意力）因素。因此，所获得的知识将成为未来研究的强大资源。 自然环境中的听觉处理以及评估和辅助技术的发展 对于那些有听觉处理障碍的人。