Document Detail


On the number of auditory filter outputs needed to understand speech: further evidence for auditory channel independence.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19539016     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The number of auditory filter outputs required to identify phonemes was estimated in two experiments. Stimuli were divided into 30 contiguous equivalent rectangular bandwidths (ERB(N)) spanning 80-7563Hz. Normal-hearing listeners were presented with limited numbers of bands having frequency locations determined randomly from trial to trial to provide a general view, i.e., irrespective of specific band location, of the number of 1-ERB(N)-wide speech bands needed to identify phonemes. The first experiment demonstrated that 20 such bands are required to accurately identify vowels, and 16 are required to identify consonants. In the second experiment, speech-shaped noise or time-reversed speech was introduced to the non-speech bands at various signal-to-noise ratios. Considerably elevated noise levels were necessary to substantially affect phoneme recognition, confirming a high degree of channel independence in the auditory system. The independence observed between auditory filter outputs supports current views of speech recognition in noise in which listeners extract and combine pieces of information randomly distributed both in time and frequency. These findings also suggest that the ability to partition incoming sounds into a large number of narrow bands, an ability often lost in cases of hearing impairment or cochlear implantation, is critical for speech recognition in noise.
Authors:
Frédéric Apoux; Eric W Healy
Related Documents :
20072806 - Nonlinear cross-frequency interactions in primary auditory cortex spectrotemporal recep...
16018496 - The behavioral response of mice to gaps in noise depends on its spectral components and...
9505286 - A method for evaluating temporal, spectral and combined temporal-spectral resolution of...
1437486 - The linkage between stimulus frequency and covert peak areas as it relates to monaural ...
8979936 - Conditioned inhibition produced by extinction of a conditioned stimulus
3972506 - Effect of stimulus orientation on the latency and amplitude of the vep.
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural     Date:  2009-06-16
Journal Detail:
Title:  Hearing research     Volume:  255     ISSN:  1878-5891     ISO Abbreviation:  Hear. Res.     Publication Date:  2009 Sep 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2009-08-03     Completed Date:  2009-11-04     Revised Date:  2010-12-17    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7900445     Medline TA:  Hear Res     Country:  Netherlands    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  99-108     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Speech and Hearing Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. fred.apoux@gmail.com
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Auditory Pathways / physiology*
Humans
Noise
Phonetics
Psychoacoustics
Speech Discrimination Tests
Speech Perception / physiology*
Young Adult
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
DC008594/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS; DC009892/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS; R01 DC008594-01A1/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS; R03 DC009892-01/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS; R03 DC009892-03/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  Bisphenol A downregulates CYP19 transcription in JEG-3 cells.
Next Document:  Spontaneous otoacoustic emissions in lizards: A comparison of the skink-like lizard families Cordyli...