Nonlinear wave interactions in the cochlea and their application to sound processing

耳蜗中的非线性波相互作用及其在声音处理中的应用

• 批准号: 10577844
• 负责人: Alessandro Altoe
• 金额: $ 20.63万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-03-01 至 2025-02-28
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10577844
• 关键词: Acoustics; Affect; Anatomy; Auditory; Auditory Perception; Basilar Membrane; Behavioral; Cavia; Characteristics; Chinchilla (genus); Cochlea; Complex; Computer Models; Coupled; Coupling; Data; Dependence; Dimensions; Ear; Felis catus; Frequencies; Gerbils; Goals; Health; Hearing; Human; Impairment; Laboratory Animals; Liquid substance; Location; Maps; Mathematics; Measures; Mechanics; Modeling; Mus; Noise; Non-linear Models; Outer Hair Cells; Pattern; Performance; Peripheral; Physiological; Play; Procedures; Process; Property; Role; Self-Help Devices; Sensorineural Hearing Loss; Shapes; Signal Transduction; Stimulus; Structure; Technology; Testing; data modeling; design; detector; direct application; hearing impairment; human model; improved; mathematical analysis; novel; otoacoustic emission; response; role model; sound; three-dimensional modeling; waveguide

Project Abstract/Summary The mammalian cochlea achieves its outstanding performance characteristics by including a physiologically vul- nerable active process that strategically amplifies waves as they propagate through the cochlear spiral. As a result of this spatially coordinated and nonlinear wave amplification, the cochlear response at one characteristic- frequency location largely depends upon the physiological status and the response in more basal regions. In response to complex sounds, waves of different frequency nonlinearly interact along the cochlea, mutually sup- pressing one with the other. In contrast to a bank of independently operating filters commonly used to depict cochlear function, the responses of distinct “cochlear filters" are strongly coupled by nonlinear wave interactions. Although nonlinear wave interactions play a major role for the cochlea response, their role for encoding complex sounds in the auditory periphery—and consequently their contribution to central auditory mechanisms—is poorly understood and largely ignored. Understanding nonlinear wave interactions is hence essential to establish how the cochlea encodes eco- logically relevant sounds and the role of the auditory periphery for sound perception. Because nonlinear wave interactions depend upon the health of the ear, understanding these interactions is fundamental also to establish how cochlear impairment affects the peripheral representation of complex sounds. Further, because even mild sensorineural hearing loss greatly degrades behavioral performance in acoustically challenging situations, it is likely that nonlinear wave interactions underlie unexplored mechanisms for the outstanding performance of the healthy ear. My project will tackle these issues by: (i) deriving from the experimental data a cochlear model that reproduces accurately nonlinear wave interactions in laboratory animals (Aim 1.a) and humans (Aim 1.b); (ii) testing the hypothesis that nonlinear wave interactions underly beneficial mechanisms to encode sounds in acoustically adverse situations (Aim 2.a), and (iii) determining how and with what limitations the effects of nonlinear wave interactions elucidated in this project are accounted for by popular computer models of the auditory periphery (Aim 2.b). The results of this project will not only challenge and improve the current understanding of cochlear function for hearing, but will also find natural application in improving models of hearing impairment, and in determining novel cochlear-inspired strategies to improve the performance of assistive hearing technology.

项目摘要/总结