Prosodic prominence effects in the processing of spectral cues

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Jeremy Steffman
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Cues

Effect of Consonant-Vowel Ratio Modification on Amplitude Envelope Cues for Consonant Recognition

1991 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 415-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Freyman ◽  
G. Patrick Nerbonne ◽  
Heather A. Cote
Keyword(s):  
White Noise ◽  
Intensity Ratio ◽  
Recognition Performance ◽  
Amplitude Envelope ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Noise Masking ◽  
Spectral Cues ◽  
Consonant Recognition ◽  
Nonlinear Amplification ◽  
Speech Envelope

This investigation examined the degree to which modification of the consonant-vowel (C-V) intensity ratio affected consonant recognition under conditions in which listeners were forced to rely more heavily on waveform envelope cues than on spectral cues. The stimuli were 22 vowel-consonant-vowel utterances, which had been mixed at six different signal-to-noise ratios with white noise that had been modulated by the speech waveform envelope. The resulting waveforms preserved the gross speech envelope shape, but spectral cues were limited by the white-noise masking. In a second stimulus set, the consonant portion of each utterance was amplified by 10 dB. Sixteen subjects with normal hearing listened to the unmodified stimuli, and 16 listened to the amplified-consonant stimuli. Recognition performance was reduced in the amplified-consonant condition for some consonants, presumably because waveform envelope cues had been distorted. However, for other consonants, especially the voiced stops, consonant amplification improved recognition. Patterns of errors were altered for several consonant groups, including some that showed only small changes in recognition scores. The results indicate that when spectral cues are compromised, nonlinear amplification can alter waveform envelope cues for consonant recognition.

Speech Perception in Adult Subjects With Familial Dyslexia

1992 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 192-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele L. Steffens ◽  
Rebecca E. Eilers ◽  
Karen Gross-Glenn ◽  
Bonnie Jallad
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Speech Perception ◽  
Synthetic Speech ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
State Dynamic ◽  
Spectral Cues ◽  
Temporal Cues ◽  
Familial Dyslexia ◽  
Overall Performance

Speech perception was investigated in a carefully selected group of adult subjects with familial dyslexia. Perception of three synthetic speech continua was studied: /a/-//, in which steady-state spectral cues distinguished the vowel stimuli; /ba/-/da/, in which rapidly changing spectral cues were varied; and /sta/-/sa/, in which a temporal cue, silence duration, was systematically varied. These three continua, which differed with respect to the nature of the acoustic cues discriminating between pairs, were used to assess subjects’ abilities to use steady state, dynamic, and temporal cues. Dyslexic and normal readers participated in one identification and two discrimination tasks for each continuum. Results suggest that dyslexic readers required greater silence duration than normal readers to shift their perception from /sa/ to /sta/. In addition, although the dyslexic subjects were able to label and discriminate the synthetic speech continua, they did not necessarily use the acoustic cues in the same manner as normal readers, and their overall performance was generally less accurate.

Left-Right and Front-Back Spatial Hearing with Multiple Directional Microphone Configurations in Modern Hearing Aids

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (09) ◽  
pp. 791-803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyne Carette ◽  
Tim Van den Bogaert ◽  
Mark Laureyns ◽  
Jan Wouters
Keyword(s):  
Sound Localization ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Performance Measure ◽  
Frequency Dependent ◽  
Binaural Cues ◽  
Directional Microphone ◽  
Spectral Cues ◽  
Localization Performance ◽  
Asymmetric Configuration

Background: Several studies have demonstrated negative effects of directional microphone configurations on left-right and front-back (FB) sound localization. New processing schemes, such as frequency-dependent directionality and front focus with wireless ear-to-ear communication in recent, commercial hearing aids may preserve the binaural cues necessary for left-right localization and may introduce useful spectral cues necessary for FB disambiguation. Purpose: In this study, two hearing aids with different processing schemes, which were both designed to preserve the ability to localize sounds in the horizontal plane (left-right and FB), were compared. Research Design: We compared horizontal (left-right and FB) sound localization performance of hearing aid users fitted with two types of behind-the-ear (BTE) devices. The first type of BTE device had four different programs that provided (1) no directionality, (2–3) symmetric frequency-dependent directionality, and (4) an asymmetric configuration. The second pair of BTE devices was evaluated in its omnidirectional setting. This setting automatically activates a soft forward-oriented directional scheme that mimics the pinna effect. Also, wireless communication between the hearing aids was present in this configuration (5). A broadband stimulus was used as a target signal. The directional hearing abilities of the listeners were also evaluated without hearing aids as a reference. Study Sample: A total of 12 listeners with moderate to severe hearing loss participated in this study. All were experienced hearing-aid users. As a reference, 11 listeners with normal hearing participated. Data Collection and Analysis: The participants were positioned in a 13-speaker array (left-right, –90°/+90°) or 7-speaker array (FB, 0–180°) and were asked to report the number of the loudspeaker located the closest to where the sound was perceived. The root mean square error was calculated for the left-right experiment, and the percentage of FB errors was used as a FB performance measure. Results were analyzed with repeated-measures analysis of variance. Results: For the left-right localization task, no significant differences could be proven between the unaided condition and both partial directional schemes and the omnidirectional scheme. The soft forward-oriented system and the asymmetric system did show a detrimental effect compared with the unaided condition. On average, localization was worst when users used the asymmetric condition. Analysis of the results of the FB experiment showed good performance, similar to unaided, with both the partial directional systems and the asymmetric configuration. Significantly worse performance was found with the omnidirectional and the omnidirectional soft forward-oriented BTE systems compared with the other hearing-aid systems. Conclusions: Bilaterally fitted partial directional systems preserve (part of) the binaural cues necessary for left-right localization and introduce, preserve, or enhance useful spectral cues that allow FB disambiguation. Omnidirectional systems, although good for left-right localization, do not provide the user with enough spectral information for an optimal FB localization performance.

scholarly journals Effect of current focusing on the sensitivity of inferior colliculus neurons to amplitude-modulated stimulation

2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 1104-1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shefin S. George ◽  
Mohit N. Shivdasani ◽  
James B. Fallon
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Colliculus ◽  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Modulation Depth ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Detection Thresholds ◽  
P Values ◽  
Pulse Trains ◽  
Spectral Cues ◽  
Current Focusing ◽  
Channel Interactions

In multichannel cochlear implants (CIs), current is delivered to specific electrodes along the cochlea in the form of amplitude-modulated pulse trains, to convey temporal and spectral cues. Our previous studies have shown that focused multipolar (FMP) and tripolar (TP) stimulation produce more restricted neural activation and reduced channel interactions in the inferior colliculus (IC) compared with traditional monopolar (MP) stimulation, suggesting that focusing of stimulation could produce better transmission of spectral information. The present study explored the capability of IC neurons to detect modulated CI stimulation with FMP and TP stimulation compared with MP stimulation. The study examined multiunit responses of IC neurons in acutely deafened guinea pigs by systematically varying the stimulation configuration, modulation depth, and stimulation level. Stimuli were sinusoidal amplitude-modulated pulse trains (carrier rate of 120 pulses/s). Modulation sensitivity was quantified by measuring modulation detection thresholds (MDTs), defined as the lowest modulation depth required to differentiate the response of a modulated stimulus from an unmodulated one. Whereas MP stimulation showed significantly lower MDTs than FMP and TP stimulation ( P values <0.05) at stimulation ≤2 dB above threshold, all stimulation configurations were found to have similar modulation sensitivities at 4 dB above threshold. There was no difference found in modulation sensitivity between FMP and TP stimulation. The present study demonstrates that current focusing techniques such as FMP and TP can adequately convey amplitude modulation and are comparable to MP stimulation, especially at higher stimulation levels, although there may be some trade-off between spectral and temporal fidelity with current focusing stimulation.

Spectral cues utilized in the localization of sound in the median sagittal plane

1977 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 1264-1269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Butler ◽  
Krystyna Belendiuk
Keyword(s):  
Sagittal Plane ◽  
Spectral Cues

HUMAN LOCALISATION OF BAND-PASS FILTERED NOISE

1999 ◽  
Vol 09 (05) ◽  
pp. 441-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDRÉ VAN SCHAIK ◽  
CRAIG JIN ◽  
SIMON CARLILE
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Location ◽  
Interaural Level Difference ◽  
Spectral Contrast ◽  
Sound Localisation ◽  
Spectral Cues ◽  
Band Pass ◽  
Acoustical Cues ◽  
Interaural Time Delay ◽  
Filtered Noise ◽  
Relationship Of

In this work we study the influence and relationship of five different acoustical cues to the human sound localisation process. These cues are: interaural time delay, interaural level difference, interaural spectrum, monaural spectrum, and band-edge spectral contrast. Of particular interest was the synthesis and integration of the different cues to produce a coherent and robust percept of spatial location. The relative weighting and role of the different cues was investigated using band-pass filtered white noise with a frequency range (in kHz) of: 0.3–5, 0.3–7, 0.3–10, 0.3–14, 3–8, 4–9, and 7-14. These stimuli provided varying amounts of spectral information and physiologically detectable temporal information, thus probing the localisation process under varying sound conditions. Three subjects with normal hearing in both ears have performed five trials of 76 test positions for each of these stimuli in an anechoic room. All subjects showed systematic mislocalisation on most of these stimuli. The location to which they are mislocalised varies among subjects but in a systematic manner related to the five different acoustical cues. These cues have been correlated with the subject's localisation responses on an individual basis with the results suggesting that the internal weighting of the spectral cues may vary with the sound condition.

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