Auditory Temporally Selective Attention

描述（由申请人提供）：选择性注意在人们被呈现太多信息的各种条件下的感知中起着重要作用。空间选择性注意允许观察者优先处理许多同时呈现的图像或声音中的一些。然而，时间选择性注意在允许人们优先处理特定时间呈现的信息方面的作用知之甚少。本研究的目的是描述时间段选择性听觉注意的参数，探索时间选择性注意的神经机制，并确定时间选择性注意是否在有效的言语感知中起作用。在一系列的五个实验中，听众将被引导到个人的象征性线索，节奏和自然的讲话注意到特定的时间。听觉时间选择性注意将通过比较由在注意和不注意时间呈现的物理上相同的非目标声音引起的事件相关电位（ERPS）来索引。正如空间选择性注意的研究有助于理解人们如何处理大量同时呈现的视觉信息一样，这些研究也有助于理解人们如何处理大量快速呈现的听觉信息。连续语音（快速变化的声学信息的一个示例）可能需要时间选择性注意以进行有效处理。 拟议中的研究将提供证据的差异处理的声音在出席和无人值守的时间，以及如何听众选择信息的优先处理。因此，它将有助于具有实际意义的信息的设计和实施的培训计划，为个人在感知上具有挑战性的环境中，获得新的技能，并与快速处理赤字。 由于时间注意力可能对言语感知特别重要，因此这些结果对改善语言障碍儿童，年龄相关听力损失的成年人以及通过人工耳蜗植入调整感知的个人的沟通技能具有重要意义。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Selective attention plays an important role in perception under a wide variety of conditions in which people are presented with too much information. Spatially selective attention allows observers to preferentially process a few of many simultaneously presented images or sounds. However, less is known about the role of temporally selective attention in allowing people to preferentially process information presented at specific times. The goals of this project are to describe the parameters of selective auditory attention directed to time periods, to explore the neural mechanisms involved in temporally selective attention, and to determine if temporally selective attention plays a role in efficient speech perception. In a series of five experiments, listeners will be directed to attend to specific times by individual symbolic cues, rhythms, and natural speech. Auditory temporally selective attention will be indexed by comparing event-related potentials (ERPS) elicited by physically identical non-target sounds presented at attended and unattended times. Just as studies of spatially selective attention have contributed to an understand of how people process large amounts of visual information presented simultaneously, the proposed studies can contribute to an understanding of how people process large amounts of rapidly presented auditory information. Continuous speech, one example of rapidly changing acoustic information, may require temporally selective attention for efficient processing. The proposed research will provide evidence about differential processing of sounds presented at attended and unattended times as well as how listeners select information for preferential processing. Therefore, it will contribute information of practical significance to the design and implementation of training programs for individuals in perceptually challenging environments, acquiring new skills, and with rapid processing deficits. Since temporal attention may be particularly important for speech perception, the results have important implications for improving communication skills in language-impaired children, adults with aging-related hearing lose, and individuals adjusting to perception through cochlear implants.