Auditory temporal processing & speech understanding

听觉时间处理

• 批准号: 138472-2010
• 负责人: PichoraFuller, Margaret
• 金额: $ 2.19万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2010-01-01 至 2011-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=451837
• 关键词: Auditory; temporal; processing; speech; understanding

My research has shown that reductions in the quality of sound input to the auditory system can reduce cognitive performance on measures of working memory and spoken language comprehension. These reductions are observed even when sounds are correctly identified. The timing properties of sound include fast changes in the fine structure of sound, as well as slow changes in the sound envelope. These changes in sound provide distinct cues required for understanding spoken language. My experiments have demonstrated that some older adults have problems using both fast and slow timing cues. The first goal of the proposed research will be to examine the inter-relationships between these different types of timing cues using non-speech and speech stimuli. Older adults with relatively good hearing have been interesting to study because their problems using sound timing cues may explain why they have trouble listening in noisy situations. However, similar results have been found when younger adults with normal hearing perform in conditions that simulate the auditory temporal processing problems of older adults. Because cognitive processing is reduced when the quality of the signal is reduced, even when it is still possible for listeners to accurately recognize words, the second goal of the research plan is to examine the time course of auditory/speech processing using on-line behavioural and physiological measures such as the measurement of brain responses so that the time course of listening can be measured. The third goal of the proposed research will be to model the temporal limits on the connections between the bottom-up (ear to brain) and the top-down (brain to ear) aspects of listening, especially in realistic, challenging listening conditions. For example, the speed of processing varies with the quality of the signal and the supportiveness of the context (e.g., sentence context for a word), but at some limit comprehension fails and the nature of such limits is not known. This topic is of great interest to engineers designing communication devices (e.g., hearing aids), as well as being of interest to psychologists, linguists and others who wish to understand how humans use sensory information during communication.

我的研究表明，听觉系统的声音输入质量降低会降低工作记忆和口语理解的认知表现。即使在正确识别声音的情况下，也可以观察到这些减少。声音的计时属性包括声音精细结构的快速变化以及声音包络的缓慢变化。这些声音的变化提供了理解口语所需的不同线索。我的实验表明，一些老年人在使用快速和慢速计时提示时存在问题。建议的研究的第一个目标将是检查这些不同类型的时间线索使用非语音和语音刺激之间的相互关系。研究听力相对较好的老年人很有意思，因为他们使用声音计时线索的问题可能解释了为什么他们在嘈杂的情况下听力有困难。然而，当听力正常的年轻人在模拟老年人听觉时间处理问题的条件下表演时，也发现了类似的结果。由于当信号质量降低时，认知处理也会降低，即使听众仍然有可能准确地识别单词，研究计划的第二个目标是使用在线行为和生理措施（如测量大脑反应）来检查听觉/语音处理的时间过程，以便可以测量听力的时间过程。拟议研究的第三个目标是对听力的自下而上（耳对脑）和自上而下（脑对耳）方面之间的联系进行建模，特别是在现实的、具有挑战性的听力条件下。例如，处理的速度随着信号的质量和上下文的连续性而变化（例如，一个词的句子上下文），但在某些限制下理解失败，并且这种限制的性质是未知的。本主题对设计通信设备的工程师非常感兴趣（例如，助听器），以及对心理学家，语言学家和其他希望了解人类如何在交流中使用感官信息的人感兴趣。