scholarly journals Auditory perceptual learning depends on temporal regularity and certainty

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tysen Drew Dauer ◽  
Molly J. Henry ◽  
Bjorn Herrmann
Keyword(s):  
Perceptual Learning ◽  
Auditory Perception ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Online Experiments ◽  
Temporal Regularity ◽  
Temporal Features ◽  
Trial Onset ◽  
Multiple Trials

Detecting and learning structure in sounds is fundamental to human auditory perception. Evidence for such auditory perceptual learning comes from previous studies where listeners were better at detecting repetitions of a short noise snippet embedded in longer, ongoing noise when the same snippet recurred across trials compared to when the snippet was novel in each trial. However, previous work has mainly used (a) temporally regular presentations of the repeating noise snippet and (b) highly predictable inter-trial onset timings for the snippet sequences. As a result, it is unclear how these temporal features affect perceptual learning. In five online experiments, participants judged whether or not a repeating noise snippet was present, unaware that the snippet could be unique to that trial or used in multiple trials. In two experiments, temporal regularity was manipulated by jittering the timing of noise-snippet repetitions within a trial. In two subsequent experiments, temporal onset certainty was manipulated by varying the onset time of the entire snippet sequence across trials. We found that both temporal jittering and onset uncertainty reduced auditory perceptual learning. In addition, we observed that these reductions in perceptual learning were ameliorated when the same snippet occurred in both temporally manipulated and unmanipulated trials. Our study demonstrates the importance of temporal regularity and onset certainty for auditory perceptual learning.

Changes in Sensory Evoked Responses Coincide with Rapid Improvement in Speech Identification Performance

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 392-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claude Alain ◽  
Sandra Campeanu ◽  
Kelly Tremblay
Keyword(s):  
Perceptual Learning ◽  
Auditory Evoked Potentials ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Broadband Noise ◽  
Evoked Responses ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
Noise Stimulus ◽  
Sensory Evoked ◽  
Speech Identification

Perceptual learning is sometimes characterized by rapid improvements in performance within the first hour of training (fast perceptual learning), which may be accompanied by changes in sensory and/or response pathways. Here, we report rapid physiological changes in the human auditory system that coincide with learning during a 1-hour test session in which participants learned to identify two consonant vowel syllables that differed in voice onset time. Within each block of trials, listeners were also presented with a broadband noise control stimulus to determine whether changes in auditory evoked potentials were specific to the trained speech cue. The ability to identify the speech sounds improved from the first to the fourth block of trials and remained relatively constant thereafter. This behavioral improvement coincided with a decrease in N1 and P2 amplitude, and these learning-related changes differed from those observed for the noise stimulus. These training-induced changes in sensory evoked responses were followed by an increased negative peak (between 275 and 330 msec) over fronto-central sites and by an increase in sustained activity over the parietal regions. Although the former was also observed for the noise stimulus, the latter was specific to the speech sounds. The results are consistent with a top–down nonspecific attention effect on neural activity during learning as well as a more learning-specific modulation, which is coincident with behavioral improvements in speech identification.

The inhibition of cat lateral superior olive unit excitatory responses to binaural tone bursts. I. The transient chopper response

1988 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 164-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Tsuchitani
Keyword(s):  
Process Model ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Discharge Rate ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Stimulus Level ◽  
Interaural Level Difference ◽  
Time Of Arrival ◽  
Temporal Features ◽  
General Time

1. The temporal properties of lateral superior olivary (LSO) unit discharges to binaural tone bursts were studied to determine the general time course and statistical properties of these discharges and to provide a basis for extending a point process model of LSO unit monaural discharges to describe their binaural discharges. Single-unit activity was recorded extracellularly from the LSO of the anesthetized cat. The initial transient and the gross temporal features of LSO unit discharges to binaural simultaneous tone bursts are examined in this paper. 2. The poststimulus time (PST) histograms generated by LSO unit discharges to monaural and binaural tone bursts illustrated that the ipsilaterally elicited tone-burst discharges were most strongly inhibited during the initial segment of the binaural response and that the degree of inhibition decreased (i.e., discharge rate increased) as the poststimulus onset time increased. Hence, the contralateral inhibitory effect “adapts” in a manner similar to the ipsilaterally elicited discharges. 3. When the interaural level difference was decreased, the degree of discharge inhibition increased: the period of maximal inhibition spread to shorter and longer poststimulus onset times as the contralateral latency decreased and as the contralateral response magnitude increased. The latency of the inhibitory effect could decrease sufficiently to result in the suppression of the first spike of the ipsilateral discharge. Also, when the binaural stimulus was of sufficient intensity, an increase in spike output, the OFF discharge, was often observed during the last 1-10 ms of the response. 4. It was concluded that the initial and general time course of the binaural response could serve as cues of binaural stimulus level, interaural level differences, and interaural time-of-arrival differences of high-frequency stimuli. The binaural response could be discriminated from a monaural response of similar discharge rate as the former either occurred with shorter latency or, when the first spike was suppressed, with much longer and/or more variable latency than the latter. The gross temporal differences between the monaural and binaural responses could be accounted for in terms of differences in certain gross temporal features (e.g., latency and adaptation) of the ipsilateral and contralateral responses. 5. The effect of stimulating the contralateral ear was not limited to the inhibition of discharges. The timing of a discharge to an ipsilateral stimulus could be perturbed (lengthened) by a contralateral stimulus at levels below that which suppressed the discharge.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

A Comparison of Temporal Measures of Speech Using Spectrograms and Digital Oscillograms

1986 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce L. Smith ◽  
James Hillenbrand ◽  
Dennis Ingrisano
Keyword(s):  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Temporal Differences ◽  
Closure Duration ◽  
Temporal Features ◽  
Temporal Measures

To determine whether any systematic differences occur as a result of using spectrograms versus digital oscillograms to make durational measurements, a number of temporal features (e.g., voice onset time, vowel duration, and consonant closure duration) for 3 speakers were independently measured by 2 different investigators. Both experimenters measured the same intervals with conventional spectrograms and with digital oscillograms, separated by at least a 2-week interval. Oscillograms tended to reveal slightly longer vowel durations and more voicing during consonant closure, while spectrograms evidenced slightly longer consonant closure durations. In general, variations between the two types of instrumentation were no more than 8 to 10 ms and are, therefore, of primary consequence only for studies in which quite small temporal differences are critical.

Categorical Perception of Speech Sounds via the Tactile Mode

1985 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 594-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Jane Collins ◽  
Richard R. Hurtig
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Perception ◽  
Tactile Stimulation ◽  
Categorical Perception ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Tactile Perception ◽  
Speech Signals ◽  
Speech Sounds

The usefulness of tactile devices as aids to lipreading has been established. However, maximum usefulness in reducing the ambiguity of lipreading cues and/or use of tactile devices as a substitute for audition may be dependent on phonemic recognition via tactile signals alone. In the present study, a categorical perception paradigm was used to evaluate tactile perception of speech sounds in comparison to auditory perception. The results show that speech signals delivered by tactile stimulation can be categorically perceived on a voice-onset time (VOT) continuum. The boundary for the voiced-voiceless distinction falls at longer VOTs for tactile than for auditory perception. It is concluded that the procedure is useful for determining characteristics of tactile perception and for prosthesis evaluation.

Perceptual Learning of Vocoded Speech With and Without Contralateral Hearing: Implications for Cochlear Implant Rehabilitation

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Martin Chavant ◽  
Alexis Hervais-Adelman ◽  
Olivier Macherey
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Perceptual Learning ◽  
Speech Signal ◽  
Training Phase ◽  
Monosyllabic Words ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
Contralateral Ear ◽  
Number Of Individuals ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Vocoded Speech

Purpose An increasing number of individuals with residual or even normal contralateral hearing are being considered for cochlear implantation. It remains unknown whether the presence of contralateral hearing is beneficial or detrimental to their perceptual learning of cochlear implant (CI)–processed speech. The aim of this experiment was to provide a first insight into this question using acoustic simulations of CI processing. Method Sixty normal-hearing listeners took part in an auditory perceptual learning experiment. Each subject was randomly assigned to one of three groups of 20 referred to as NORMAL, LOWPASS, and NOTHING. The experiment consisted of two test phases separated by a training phase. In the test phases, all subjects were tested on recognition of monosyllabic words passed through a six-channel “PSHC” vocoder presented to a single ear. In the training phase, which consisted of listening to a 25-min audio book, all subjects were also presented with the same vocoded speech in one ear but the signal they received in their other ear differed across groups. The NORMAL group was presented with the unprocessed speech signal, the LOWPASS group with a low-pass filtered version of the speech signal, and the NOTHING group with no sound at all. Results The improvement in speech scores following training was significantly smaller for the NORMAL than for the LOWPASS and NOTHING groups. Conclusions This study suggests that the presentation of normal speech in the contralateral ear reduces or slows down perceptual learning of vocoded speech but that an unintelligible low-pass filtered contralateral signal does not have this effect. Potential implications for the rehabilitation of CI patients with partial or full contralateral hearing are discussed.

Auditory Perception of Rhyming in Kindergarten Children

1973 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 482-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
June D. Knafle
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Auditory Perception ◽  
Kindergarten Children ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Consonant Sounds

One hundred and eighty-nine kindergarten children were given a CVCC rhyming test which included four slightly different types of auditory differentiation. They obtained a greater number of correct scores on categories that provided maximum contrasts of final consonant sounds than they did on categories that provided less than maximum contrasts of final consonant sounds. For both sexes, significant differences were found between the categories; although the sex differences were not significant, girls made more correct rhyming responses than boys on the most difficult category.

Temporal Characteristics of Speech in Simultaneous Communication

1995 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 1014-1024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Whitehead ◽  
Nicholas Schiavetti ◽  
Brenda H. Whitehead ◽  
Dale Evan Metz
Keyword(s):  
Pause Duration ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Vowel Perception ◽  
Temporal Characteristics ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Temporal Features ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Word Duration ◽  
Rate Of Speech ◽  
Speech Condition

The purpose of this investigation was twofold: (a) to determine if there are changes in specific temporal characteristics of speech that occur during simultaneous communication, and (b) to determine if known temporal rules of spoken English are disrupted during simultaneous communication. Ten speakers uttered sentences consisting of a carrier phrase and experimental CVC words under conditions of: (a) speech, (b) speech combined with signed English, and (c) speech combined with signed English for every word except the CVC word that was fingerspelled. The temporal features investigated included: (a) sentence duration, (b) experimental CVC word duration, (c) vowel duration in experimental CVC words, (d) pause duration before and after experimental CVC words, and (e) consonantal effects on vowel duration. Results indicated that for all durational measures, the speech/sign/fingerspelling condition was longest, followed by the speech/sign condition, with the speech condition being shortest. It was also found that for all three speaking conditions, vowels were longer in duration when preceding voiced consonants than vowels preceding their voiceless cognates, and that a low vowel was longer in duration than a high vowel. These findings indicate that speakers consistently reduced their rate of speech when using simultaneous communication, but did not violate these specific temporal rules of English important for consonant and vowel perception.

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