The neural representation of sound in complex auditory environments

项目摘要/摘要 噪音是日常生活的一个特征：对话中的声音和环境重叠产生 复杂的听觉输入。在这种复杂的环境中，导航和通信需要选择性的注意 场景，但注意在工作中对声流的神经表征和处理中的作用 记忆是有争议的。具体地说，目前的理论表明，注意力增强了声音的表征 感兴趣的流，同时抑制无人值守的声音。然而，后一种声音可能是任务的关键- 切换，并且仍可能影响与任务相关的处理。这项研究的目标是解决不同的角色 建议在听觉场景分析中使用一种新的范例来进行无人值守声音的分析，其中 定义每个流的声学特征(流的清晰度)和无人值守的目标提示的存在 在选择性注意任务中，信息流是多种多样的。这项提议的中心假设是无人看管 声音流被处理的程度比当前理论提出的和为认知而竞争的程度更大 在选择性收听过程中的资源。这一假设将在两个具体目标中得到检验：(1)表征 多声学特征对工作记忆中任务无关声音表征的影响 评估与任务无关的声音的加工程度以及这种加工对行为的影响。 对于每个目标，设计了一个新的范例，以隔离多个功能和面向任务的贡献 将使用注意力，并将使用已建立的方案记录脑电和行为测量。结果 这项研究将提供对声音在复杂听觉环境中的表现的洞察，以及在 具体地说，自下而上(流的独特性)和自上而下(任务- 定向注意力)因素。因此，所获得的知识将成为今后调查 自然环境中的听觉处理及评估和辅助技术的发展 对于那些有听觉处理障碍的人。

Project Summary / Abstract Noise is a feature of everyday life: sound from conversations and the environment overlap to give rise to complex auditory input. Selective attention is required for navigation and communication in such complex scenes, but the role of attention in the neural representation and processing of sound streams in working memory is debated. Specifically, current theories suggest that attention enhances the representation of sound streams of interest while suppressing unattended sounds. However, these latter sounds may be key to task- switching and may still impact task-related processing. The goal of this study is to address the disparate roles proposed for unattended sounds in auditory scene analysis using a novel paradigm in which the number of acoustic features defining each stream (stream distinctiveness) and the presence of target-cues in unattended streams are varied during a selective attention task. The central hypothesis of this proposal is that unattended sound streams are processed to a greater degree than current theories propose and compete for cognitive resources during selective listening. This hypothesis will be tested in two specific aims: (1) to characterize the impact of multiple acoustic features on the representation of task-irrelevant sounds in working memory, and (2) to assess the degree of processing of task-irrelevant sounds and the impact of this processing on behavior. For each aim, a novel paradigm designed to isolate the contributions of multiple features and task-oriented attention will be used and EEG and behavioral measures will be recorded using established protocols. Results from this study will provide insight into the representation of sounds in complex auditory environments, and in particular, how these representations are influenced by bottom-up (stream distinctiveness) and top-down (task- oriented attention) factors. The knowledge gained will thus be a powerful resource for future investigations into auditory processing in natural environments and the development of technology for evaluation and assistance for those with auditory processing disorders.