Auditory nerve encoding of speech with varied acoustics

描述(由申请人提供)：本项目的主要目标是 理解语音的正常听觉处理，信息可以 用于理解和提供听力和言语障碍的康复 理解。听神经(AN)对语音的反应 动物模型栗鼠展示了关于语音的信息是如何 由哺乳动物的听觉系统编码。像这样的外周听觉系统 大多数哺乳动物和栗鼠展示音素感知的能力 和分类使它成为一个很好的动物模型。独特的时间模式 将为变量中的每个音素标识AN中的编码的 声学。有元音的协同发音和没有正常发音的 窃窃私语都会改变辅音的声学。这些时间 模式将展示听觉系统在准确的 人类对一个音素跨声学特征的感知以及信息是什么 对于听力受损的人来说理解语言是必要的。单个人的反应 将对正常语音和耳语语音的纤维进行记录和分析 以演示特定音素的反应模式。具体的问题是 被问到每个目标：1)AN的特征是什么时间模式 对不同声学特征的每个音素/d/和/t/的响应？这 将通过使用四个音节/da/、/ta/、/dae/和 /tae/，来自以耳语和正常语音产生的两个扬声器。An和 对每个辅音的八个令牌的响应将使用全局 平均周围刺激时间(PST)直方图和局部平均PST直方图。 2)这些时间模式是/d/和/t/所属类别所特有的吗 浊辅音和清辅音？/b/和/p/的四个内标识将用作 用来比较发声内和发声之间辅音反应的刺激 类别。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The broad aims of this project are to understand normal auditory processing of speech sounds, information that can be used to understand and provide rehabilitation for deficits in hearing and speech comprehension. Responses to speech sounds by the auditory nerve (AN) of an animal model, the chinchilla, demonstrate how information about speech sounds is encoded by the mammalian auditory system. A peripheral auditory system like most mammals and the ability of the chinchilla to demonstrate phoneme perception and categorization make it an excellent animal model. Unique temporal patterns of encoding in the AN will be identified for each phoneme across variable acoustics. Co-articulation with a vowel and the absence of normal voicing in whispered speech both alter the acoustics of a consonant. These temporal patterns will demonstrate the role that the auditory system plays in accurate human perception of one phoneme across acoustic profiles and what information is necessary for hearing-impaired people to understand speech. Responses of single AN fibers to normally-voiced and whispered speech will be recorded and analyzed to demonstrate phoneme-specific patterns of response. The specific questions to be asked for each aim: 1) What temporal patterns are characteristic of the AN response to each phoneme /d/ and /t/ across different acoustic profiles? This will be addressed by using as the stimuli four syllables /da/, /ta/, /dae/, and /tae/, from two speakers produced in both whispered and normal voicing. The AN responses to the eight tokens of each consonant will be compared using a global average peri-stimulus time (PST) histograms and local average PST histograms. 2) Are these temporal patterns unique to /d/ and /t/ or unique to the categories of voiced and unvoiced consonants? Four tokens of /b/ and /p/ will be used as stimuli to compare the AN response to consonants within and between voicing categories.