Collaborative Research: Studies of Binaural Processing

9309263 Johnson DH在探测和定位声源以及在嘈杂背景下理解语音方面，双耳（双耳）比单耳（单耳）要好得多。在哺乳动物的大脑中，在脑干中，有一种叫做上橄榄复核的结构，它是听觉通路中直接参与双耳听觉的神经处理的第一个地方。这个复合体包含成群的神经细胞，称为细胞核。其中两个是外侧上橄榄核（LSO）和梯形体的内侧核。两者都是神经网络LSO网络的一部分，该网络专门参与中高频率声音的双耳处理，即1.5kHz以上的声音。这项工作是一个合作的感觉神经生理学家和信号处理理论家使用跨学科的方法。LSO网络中神经元对近似正常“自由场”双耳条件的受控声刺激的反应被记录下来，计算模型描述了这些反应如何发展成双耳信号的神经表征。信号阵列处理技术也将用于确定LSO网络对双耳感知的后续贡献。这项工作将对听觉神经科学以外的感官处理、网络计算建模以及辅助或增强听力的设备产生影响。＊＊＊

9309263 Johnson DH Hearing with two ears (binaural) is much better than with just one (monaural) for detecting and locating sound sources, and understanding speech in a noisy background. Within the mammalian brain, in the brainstem, there is a structure called the superior olivary complex that is the first place in the auditory pathway directly involved in the neural processing that underlies binaural hearing. This complex contains nerve cells formed into groups called nuclei. Two of these are the lateral superior olive nucleus (LSO), and the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body. Both are part of a neural network, the LSO network, that is specifically involved in binaural processing of mid- to high-frequency sounds, those above 1.5kHz. This work is a collaboration between a sensory neurophysiologist and a signal-processing theorist using an interdisciplinary approach. Responses of neurons in the LSO network are recorded for controlled acoustic stimuli which approximate normal "free-field" binaural conditions, and computational models describe how these responses devleop the neural representation of binaural signals. Signal array processing techniques also will be used to determine the consequent contributions of the LSO network to binaural perception. This work will have impact beyond auditory neuroscience to sensory processing in general, to computational modelling of networks, and to devices for aiding or enhancing hearing capabilities. ***