Developing and Testing Models of the Auditory System with and without Hearing Loss

开发和测试有或没有听力损失的听觉系统模型

• 批准号: 9180691
• 负责人: Laurel H. Carney
• 金额: $ 32.66万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-12-01 至 2020-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9180691
• 关键词: Acoustic Nerve; Acoustics; Address; Auditory; Auditory system; Binaural; Brain; Code; Communication; Complex; Computer Simulation; Cues; Detection; Development; Discrimination; Ear; Environment; Frequencies; Functional disorder; Hearing; Impairment; Individual; Knowledge; Location; Masks; Measurement; Midbrain structure; Modeling; Nerve Fibers; Neurons; Noise; Oryctolagus cuniculus; Outer Hair Cells; Performance; Peripheral; Physiological; Psychophysics; Reporting; Role; Sensorineural Hearing Loss; Speech; Stimulus; Structure; Testing; Time; Work; awake; base; experimental study; external ear auricle; hearing impairment; insight; notch protein; novel; public health relevance; relating to nervous system; response; sound; tool

This proposal presents plans to develop and test a new model for the processing of acoustic cues in both psychophysical tasks and real-world hearing. Masking paradigms are typically interpreted in the context of two models: The power-spectrum model is based on energy in the responses of one or more band-pass filters that represent peripheral tuning. The envelope-power-spectrum model is based on the responses of a bank of modulation filters. These popular models, however, fail to explain robust performance in a number of psychophysical tasks, especially roving- or equalized-level, and roving- or equalized-envelope-energy tasks. The continued use of these models is largely due to a lack of viable alternatives. Here, we propose a new, alternative model for masked detection and spectral coding that provides a mechanistic explanation for a number of psychophysical results, for listeners with or without hearing loss. Building upon our recent studies of envelope-related cues in masked detection, our proposal focuses on the role of neural-fluctuation cues in the responses of auditory-nerve fibers, and ultimately on how these cues are represented by modulation-tuned neurons in the midbrain. These cues are robust in the healthy ear but, because they are strongly dependent upon peripheral nonlinearities, they are substantially degraded in most common types of hearing loss. We will make detailed measurements on the use of envelope vs. energy cues by individual listeners as a function of frequency and hearing thresholds. These results will provide individualized models that will be used to predict thresholds in specific masking and discrimination tasks. We will use computational, physiological and psychophysical tools to test a diotic model of masked detection, focusing on two classic paradigms: notched-noise and forward-masking tasks. These psychophysical tools have been used extensively to characterize tuning bandwidth, compression, and temporal processing in listeners with and without hearing loss. We will re-examine these tasks with neural fluctuation- based representations. Our preliminary results show that the contrast in fluctuations across peripheral channels establishes a representation of stimulus features at the level of the midbrain that is robust in noise across a wide range of levels, thus addressing the primary challenges of roving-parameter paradigms. These cues are particularly strong near spectral slopes, and thus warrant consideration for other stimulus features with sharp spectral slopes, such as fricative consonants and pinna cues. We therefore also propose to extend our dichotic model based on interaural differences in neural fluctuations to the spectral slopes of pinna cues, which code sound location and externalization. Our preliminary work indicates that neural-fluctuation cues associated with the diotic and dichotic stimuli occur in the modulation frequency range where the majority of midbrain neurons are tuned. Consideration of these tasks and stimuli in the framework of neural-fluctuation cues provides a novel and general understanding for coding stimulus spectra by the normal and impaired ear.

该提案提出了开发和测试一种新的模型的计划，用于处理声音线索， 心理物理任务和真实世界的听力。掩蔽范式通常在以下背景下解释： 两种模型：功率谱模型基于一个或多个带通滤波器响应中的能量 代表外围调谐。功率谱模型是基于一个银行的反应， 调制滤波器然而，这些流行的模型无法解释许多方面的稳健性能。 心理物理任务，特别是巡回-或均衡水平，和巡回-或均衡包络能量任务。 继续使用这些模式主要是因为缺乏可行的替代品。在这里，我们提出一个新的， 用于掩蔽检测和光谱编码的替代模型，其提供了对 心理物理结果的数量，对于有听力损失或没有听力损失的听众。 基于我们最近对掩蔽检测中与隐藏相关的线索的研究，我们的建议侧重于 神经波动线索在神经纤维反应中的作用，以及最终这些 线索由中脑中的调制调谐神经元表示。这些信号在健康的耳朵里是很强的 但是，由于它们强烈依赖于外围非线性， 最常见的听力损失类型我们将对信封的使用与能源进行详细测量 作为频率和听力阈值的函数的个体听众的提示。这些结果将提供 个性化的模型将用于预测特定掩蔽和辨别任务中的阈值。 我们将使用计算，生理和心理物理工具来测试戴面具的diotic模型 检测，侧重于两个经典的范例：陷波噪声和前向掩蔽任务。这些 心理物理学工具已被广泛用于表征调谐带宽、压缩和时间 听力损失和非听力损失的听众的处理。我们将用神经波动重新检查这些任务- 基于表示。我们的初步结果表明，在波动的对比，在周边 通道在中脑水平上建立了一种在噪声中稳健的刺激特征表示 在广泛的层次，从而解决流动参数范式的主要挑战。这些 线索在光谱斜率附近特别强，因此需要考虑其他刺激特征 具有尖锐的频谱斜率，例如摩擦辅音和耳廓线索。因此，我们亦建议延长 我们的双耳分听模型基于耳廓光谱斜率的神经波动的耳间差异 线索，编码声音的位置和外部化。我们的初步工作表明，神经波动 与双耳和双耳两分刺激相关联的线索发生在调制频率范围内， 中脑神经元的神经元被调谐。在神经波动的框架下考虑这些任务和刺激 线索提供了一种新的和一般的理解编码刺激频谱的正常和受损的耳朵。