scholarly journals Functional brain networks underlying perceptual switching: auditory streaming and verbal transformations

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1591) ◽  
pp. 977-987 ◽  
Author(s):  
Makio Kashino ◽  
Hirohito M. Kondo
Keyword(s):  
Perceptual Organization ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Auditory Scene Analysis ◽  
Scene Analysis ◽  
Switching Frequency ◽  
Auditory Streaming ◽  
Auditory Scene ◽  
Functional Brain Networks ◽  
Fmri Analysis ◽  
Perceptual Changes

Recent studies have shown that auditory scene analysis involves distributed neural sites below, in, and beyond the auditory cortex (AC). However, it remains unclear what role each site plays and how they interact in the formation and selection of auditory percepts. We addressed this issue through perceptual multistability phenomena, namely, spontaneous perceptual switching in auditory streaming (AS) for a sequence of repeated triplet tones, and perceptual changes for a repeated word, known as verbal transformations (VTs). An event-related fMRI analysis revealed brain activity timelocked to perceptual switching in the cerebellum for AS, in frontal areas for VT, and the AC and thalamus for both. The results suggest that motor-based prediction, produced by neural networks outside the auditory system, plays essential roles in the segmentation of acoustic sequences both in AS and VT. The frequency of perceptual switching was determined by a balance between the activation of two sites, which are proposed to be involved in exploring novel perceptual organization and stabilizing current perceptual organization. The effect of the gene polymorphism of catechol- O -methyltransferase (COMT) on individual variations in switching frequency suggests that the balance of exploration and stabilization is modulated by catecholamines such as dopamine and noradrenalin. These mechanisms would support the noteworthy flexibility of auditory scene analysis.

scholarly journals Neural mechanisms of rhythmic masking release in monkey primary auditory cortex: implications for models of auditory scene analysis

2012 ◽  
Vol 107 (9) ◽  
pp. 2366-2382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonatan I. Fishman ◽  
Christophe Micheyl ◽  
Mitchell Steinschneider
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Perceptual Organization ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Auditory Scene Analysis ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Stream Segregation ◽  
Scene Analysis ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Masking Release ◽  
Auditory Scene

The ability to detect and track relevant acoustic signals embedded in a background of other sounds is crucial for hearing in complex acoustic environments. This ability is exemplified by a perceptual phenomenon known as “rhythmic masking release” (RMR). To demonstrate RMR, a sequence of tones forming a target rhythm is intermingled with physically identical “Distracter” sounds that perceptually mask the rhythm. The rhythm can be “released from masking” by adding “Flanker” tones in adjacent frequency channels that are synchronous with the Distracters. RMR represents a special case of auditory stream segregation, whereby the target rhythm is perceptually segregated from the background of Distracters when they are accompanied by the synchronous Flankers. The neural basis of RMR is unknown. Previous studies suggest the involvement of primary auditory cortex (A1) in the perceptual organization of sound patterns. Here, we recorded neural responses to RMR sequences in A1 of awake monkeys in order to identify neural correlates and potential mechanisms of RMR. We also tested whether two current models of stream segregation, when applied to these responses, could account for the perceptual organization of RMR sequences. Results suggest a key role for suppression of Distracter-evoked responses by the simultaneous Flankers in the perceptual restoration of the target rhythm in RMR. Furthermore, predictions of stream segregation models paralleled the psychoacoustics of RMR in humans. These findings reinforce the view that preattentive or “primitive” aspects of auditory scene analysis may be explained by relatively basic neural mechanisms at the cortical level.

scholarly journals Animal models for auditory streaming

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1714) ◽  
pp. 20160112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoya Itatani ◽  
Georg M. Klump
Keyword(s):  
Animal Models ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Auditory Scene Analysis ◽  
Scene Analysis ◽  
Auditory Streaming ◽  
Neuronal Mechanisms ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Auditory Scene ◽  
Response Measures ◽  
Processing Mechanisms

Sounds in the natural environment need to be assigned to acoustic sources to evaluate complex auditory scenes. Separating sources will affect the analysis of auditory features of sounds. As the benefits of assigning sounds to specific sources accrue to all species communicating acoustically, the ability for auditory scene analysis is widespread among different animals. Animal studies allow for a deeper insight into the neuronal mechanisms underlying auditory scene analysis. Here, we will review the paradigms applied in the study of auditory scene analysis and streaming of sequential sounds in animal models. We will compare the psychophysical results from the animal studies to the evidence obtained in human psychophysics of auditory streaming, i.e. in a task commonly used for measuring the capability for auditory scene analysis. Furthermore, the neuronal correlates of auditory streaming will be reviewed in different animal models and the observations of the neurons’ response measures will be related to perception. The across-species comparison will reveal whether similar demands in the analysis of acoustic scenes have resulted in similar perceptual and neuronal processing mechanisms in the wide range of species being capable of auditory scene analysis. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Auditory and visual scene analysis’.

Auditory Scene Analysis: The Perceptual Organization of Sound

1991 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Stephen Smoliar ◽  
Albert S. Bregman
Keyword(s):  
Perceptual Organization ◽  
Auditory Scene Analysis ◽  
Scene Analysis ◽  
Auditory Scene

scholarly journals Auditory Streaming Complexity and Renaissance Mass Cycles

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 202-222
Author(s):  
Finn Upham ◽  
Julie Cumming
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Auditory Scene Analysis ◽  
Scene Analysis ◽  
Mass Movements ◽  
Auditory Streaming ◽  
Auditory Scene ◽  
Musical Knowledge ◽  
Complexity Estimate ◽  
Sound Objects ◽  
The Church

How did Renaissance listeners experience the polyphonic mass ordinary cycle in the soundscape of the church? We hypothesize that the textural differences in complexity between mass movements allowed listeners to track the progress of the service, regardless of intelligibility of the text or sophisticated musical knowledge.  Building on the principles of auditory scene analysis, this article introduces the Auditory Streaming Complexity Estimate, a measure to evaluate the blending or separation of each part in polyphony, resulting in a moment-by-moment tally of how many independent streams or sound objects might be heard. When applied to symbolic scores for a corpus of 216 polyphonic mass ordinary cycles composed between c. 1450 and 1600, we show that the Streaming Complexity Estimate captures information distinct from the number of parts in the score or the distribution of voices active through the piece. While composers did not all follow the same relative complexity strategy for mass ordinary movements, there is a robust hierarchy emergent from the corpus as a whole: a shallow V shape with the Credo as the least complex and the Agnus Dei as the most. The streaming complexity of masses also significantly increased over the years represented in this corpus.

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