Complex sound analysis in normal and impaired ears

描述(申请人提供)：大多数日常听力环境由多种声音组成，其中许多声音随着时间的推移而波动。大脑将这种声学复合体筛选成其构成的声源的方式被称为听觉知觉组织。这个项目的根本兴趣在于理解时间处理在知觉组织中的作用，以及老化和受损的听觉系统如何损害这一能力。这个项目的重点是描绘在衰老过程早期出现的特定类型的时间加工缺陷，并将这些缺陷与与高龄和耳蜗性听力损失相关的缺陷区分开来。研究了时间处理的三个方面：(1)刺激起始集和时间精细结构；(2)时间包络编码；(3)调制掩蔽器中时间包络处理与谱积分之间的关系。该项目利用心理物理学和电生理学方法，并结合了言语和非言语措施。这些实验测试了不同年龄段的成年人，包括听力正常和听力损失的参与者。数据将使用描述性统计、相关性检验和方差分析进行分析。该项目与公共卫生的相关性在于，它将使人们更清楚地了解声音的时间特征是如何处理的，以及由于年龄和听力丧失而导致的听觉系统变化可能如何影响这些能力。这项研究项目与公共健康相关，因为它促进了我们对良好听力如何依赖于处理声音时间特征的能力的理解。该项目直接应用于听力健康，因为它旨在揭示年龄和听力损失导致的听觉系统变化如何影响处理重要时间特征的能力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Most everyday listening environments consist of a multitude of sounds, many of which are fluctuating in level over time. The way in which the brain sifts apart this acoustic complex into its constituent sound sources is referred to as auditory perceptual organization. The root interest of this project is in understanding the role of temporal processing in perceptual organization, and how aging and impaired auditory systems can compromise this ability. The focus of this project is on delineating the specific types of temporal processing deficits that emerge early in the aging process, and on differentiating these from deficits associated with advanced age and cochlear hearing loss. Three areas of temporal processing are investigated: (1) stimulus onsets and temporal fine structure; (2) temporal envelope coding; and (3) the relationship between temporal envelope processing and spectral integration in modulated maskers. The project utilizes both psychophysical and electrophysiological methodologies, and incorporates both speech and non-speech measures. The experiments test adults across a wide age range and include participants with normal hearing as well as hearing loss. Data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics, tests of correlation, and analyses of variance. The relevance of the project to public health is that it will lead to a clearer understanding of how the temporal features of sound are processed, and how changes in the auditory system due to age and hearing loss might affect these abilities. This research project is relevant to public health because it advances our understanding of how good hearing depends on the ability to process temporal features of sound. The project has direct application to hearing health because it is designed is to uncover how changes in the auditory system due to age and hearing loss affect the ability to process important temporal features.