| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mark.bee{at}uni-oldenburg.de.
Auditory stream segregation refers to the perceptual grouping of sounds to form coherent representations of objects in the acoustic scene, and is a fundamental aspect of hearing and speech perception. The perceptual segregation of simple interleaved tone sequences has been studied in humans and European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) using sequences of two alternating tones differing in frequency (ABA-ABA-ABA-...). The segregation of A and B tones into separate auditory streams is believed to be promoted by pre-attentive auditory processes that increase the separation of excitation patterns along a tonotopic gradient. We tested the hypothesis that frequency selectivity and forward masking operate as two pre-attentive processes in sequential stream segregation by recording neural responses in the auditory forebrain of awake starlings to repeated ABA- sequences in which we varied the frequency separation (
F) between the A and B tones and the tone repetition time (TRT). The A tones were presented at the neurons' characteristic frequency (CF), and B tones differed from the CF over a 1-octave range. Larger Fs and shorter TRTs promote the perceptual segregation of alternating tone sequences in humans and also resulted in larger differences in neural responses to alternating CF (A) and non-CF (B) tones. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that pre-attentive auditory processes, such as frequency selectivity and forward masking, contribute to the perceptual segregation of sequential acoustic events having different frequencies into separate auditory streams, but also suggest that additional processes may be required to account for all known perceptual effects related to sequential auditory stream segregation.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  L. Asher and M. Bateson Use and husbandry of captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in scientific research: a review of current practice Lab Anim, April 1, 2008; 42(2): 111 - 126. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. Gutschalk, A. J. Oxenham, C. Micheyl, E. C. Wilson, and J. R. Melcher Human Cortical Activity during Streaming without Spectral Cues Suggests a General Neural Substrate for Auditory Stream Segregation J. Neurosci., November 28, 2007; 27(48): 13074 - 13081. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 E. C. Wilson, J. R. Melcher, C. Micheyl, A. Gutschalk, and A. J. Oxenham Cortical fMRI Activation to Sequences of Tones Alternating in Frequency: Relationship to Perceived Rate and Streaming J Neurophysiol, March 1, 2007; 97(3): 2230 - 2238. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. S. Snyder and C. Alain Sequential Auditory Scene Analysis Is Preserved in Normal Aging Adults Cereb Cortex, March 1, 2007; 17(3): 501 - 512. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. S. Snyder, C. Alain, and T. W. Picton Effects of Attention on Neuroelectric Correlates of Auditory Stream Segregation J. Cogn. Neurosci., January 1, 2006; 18(1): 1 - 13. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Gutschalk, C. Micheyl, J. R. Melcher, A. Rupp, M. Scherg, and A. J. Oxenham Neuromagnetic Correlates of Streaming in Human Auditory Cortex J. Neurosci., June 1, 2005; 25(22): 5382 - 5388. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH |
| Visit Other APS Journals Online |
