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Kamerer AM. A Time-Saving Alternative to "Peak-Picking" Algorithms: A Gaussian Mixture Model Feature Extraction Technique for the Neurodiagnostic Auditory Brainstem Response. Ear Hear 2024; 45:1115-1124. [PMID: 38419164 PMCID: PMC11325956 DOI: 10.1097/aud.0000000000001498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The accurate and efficient analysis of neurodiagnostic auditory brainstem responses (ABR) plays a critical role in assessing auditory pathway function in human and animal research and in clinical diagnosis. Traditional analysis of the neurodiagnostic ABR analysis involves visual inspection of the waveform and manually marking peaks and troughs. Visual inspection is a tedious and time-consuming task, especially in research where there may be hundreds or thousands of waveforms to analyze. "Peak-picking" algorithms have made this task faster; however, they are prone to the same errors as visual inspection. A Gaussian mixture model-based feature extraction technique (GMM-FET) is a descriptive model of ABR morphology and an alternative to peak-picking algorithms. The GMM-FET is capable of modeling multiple waves and accounting for wave interactions, compared with other template-matching approaches that fit single waves. DESIGN The present study is a secondary analysis applying the GMM-FET to 321 ABRs from adult humans from 2 datasets using different stimuli and recording parameters. Goodness-of-fit of the GMM-FET to waves I and V and surrounding waves, that is, the summating potential and waves IV and VI, was assessed, and latency and amplitude estimations by the GMM-FET were compared with estimations from visual inspection. RESULTS The GMM-FET had a similar success rate to visual inspection in extracting peak latency and amplitude, and there was low RMS error and high intraclass correlation between the model and response waveform. Mean peak latency differences between the GMM-FET and visual inspection were small, suggesting the two methods chose the same peak in the majority of waveforms. The GMM-FET estimated wave I amplitudes within 0.12 µV of visual inspection, but estimated larger wave V amplitudes than visual inspection. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest the GMM-FET is an appropriate method for extracting peak latencies and amplitudes for neurodiagnostic analysis of ABR waves I and V.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aryn M. Kamerer
- Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
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2
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Capshaw G, Diebold CA, Sterbing SJ, Lauer AM, Moss CF. Echolocating bats show species-specific variation in susceptibility to acoustic forward masking. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2024; 156:511-523. [PMID: 39013168 PMCID: PMC11254387 DOI: 10.1121/10.0026624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 06/06/2024] [Accepted: 06/21/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024]
Abstract
Echolocating bats rely on precise auditory temporal processing to detect echoes generated by calls that may be emitted at rates reaching 150-200 Hz. High call rates can introduce forward masking perceptual effects that interfere with echo detection; however, bats may have evolved specializations to prevent repetition suppression of auditory responses and facilitate detection of sounds separated by brief intervals. Recovery of the auditory brainstem response (ABR) was assessed in two species that differ in the temporal characteristics of their echolocation behaviors: Eptesicus fuscus, which uses high call rates to capture prey, and Carollia perspicillata, which uses lower call rates to avoid obstacles and forage for fruit. We observed significant species differences in the effects of forward masking on ABR wave 1, in which E. fuscus maintained comparable ABR wave 1 amplitudes when stimulated at intervals of <3 ms, whereas post-stimulus recovery in C. perspicillata required 12 ms. When the intensity of the second stimulus was reduced by 20-30 dB relative to the first, however, C. perspicillata showed greater recovery of wave 1 amplitudes. The results demonstrate that species differences in temporal resolution are established at early levels of the auditory pathway and that these differences reflect auditory processing requirements of species-specific echolocation behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace Capshaw
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
| | - Clarice A Diebold
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
| | - Susanne J Sterbing
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
| | - Amanda M Lauer
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Cynthia F Moss
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
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3
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Kuokkanen PT, Kraemer I, Koeppl C, Carr CE, Kempter R. Single neuron contributions to the auditory brainstem EEG. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.29.596509. [PMID: 38853863 PMCID: PMC11160769 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.29.596509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
The auditory brainstem response (ABR) is an acoustically evoked EEG potential that is an important diagnostic tool for hearing loss, especially in newborns. The ABR originates from the response sequence of auditory brainstem nuclei, and a click-evoked ABR typically shows three positive peaks ('waves') within the first six milliseconds. However, an assignment of the waves of the ABR to specific sources is difficult, and a quantification of contributions to the ABR waves is not available. Here, we exploit the large size and physical separation of the barn owl first-order cochlear nucleus magnocellularis (NM) to estimate single-cell contributions to the ABR. We simultaneously recorded NM neurons' spikes and the EEG, and found that ≳ 5, 000 spontaneous single-cell spikes are necessary to isolate a significant spike-triggered average response at the EEG electrode. An average single-neuron contribution to the ABR was predicted by convolving the spike-triggered average with the cell's peri-stimulus time histogram. Amplitudes of predicted contributions of single NM cells typically reached 32.9 ± 1.1 nV (mean ± SE, range: 2.5 - 162.7 nV), or 0.07 ± 0.02% (median ± SE range: 0.01 - 4.0%) of the ABR amplitude. The time of the predicted peak coincided best with the peak of the ABR wave II, and this coincidence was independent of the click sound level. Our results suggest that wave II of the ABR is shaped by a small fraction of NM units.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula T Kuokkanen
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ira Kraemer
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD 20742
| | - Christine Koeppl
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Research Center for Neurosensory Sciences and Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all" Carl von Ossietzky University, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Catherine E Carr
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD 20742
| | - Richard Kempter
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
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4
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Temboury-Gutierrez M, Encina-Llamas G, Dau T. Predicting early auditory evoked potentials using a computational model of auditory-nerve processing. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2024; 155:1799-1812. [PMID: 38445986 DOI: 10.1121/10.0025136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
Non-invasive electrophysiological measures, such as auditory evoked potentials (AEPs), play a crucial role in diagnosing auditory pathology. However, the relationship between AEP morphology and cochlear degeneration remains complex and not well understood. Dau [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 113, 936-950 (2003)] proposed a computational framework for modeling AEPs that utilized a nonlinear auditory-nerve (AN) model followed by a linear unitary response function. While the model captured some important features of the measured AEPs, it also exhibited several discrepancies in response patterns compared to the actual measurements. In this study, an enhanced AEP modeling framework is presented, incorporating an improved AN model, and the conclusions from the original study were reevaluated. Simulation results with transient and sustained stimuli demonstrated accurate auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and frequency-following responses (FFRs) as a function of stimulation level, although wave-V latencies remained too short, similar to the original study. When compared to physiological responses in animals, the revised model framework showed a more accurate balance between the contributions of auditory-nerve fibers (ANFs) at on- and off-frequency regions to the predicted FFRs. These findings emphasize the importance of cochlear processing in brainstem potentials. This framework may provide a valuable tool for assessing human AN models and simulating AEPs for various subtypes of peripheral pathologies, offering opportunities for research and clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Temboury-Gutierrez
- Hearing Systems Section, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, DK-2800, Denmark
| | - Gerard Encina-Llamas
- Copenhagen Hearing and Balance Center, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) and Audiology Clinic, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, DK-2100, Denmark
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), Vic, 08500, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Torsten Dau
- Hearing Systems Section, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, DK-2800, Denmark
- Copenhagen Hearing and Balance Center, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) and Audiology Clinic, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, DK-2100, Denmark
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Alamri Y, Jennings SG. Computational modeling of the human compound action potential. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 153:2376. [PMID: 37092943 PMCID: PMC10119875 DOI: 10.1121/10.0017863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
The auditory nerve (AN) compound action potential (CAP) is an important tool for assessing auditory disorders and monitoring the health of the auditory periphery during surgical procedures. The CAP has been mathematically conceptualized as the convolution of a unit response (UR) waveform with the firing rate of a population of AN fibers. Here, an approach for predicting experimentally recorded CAPs in humans is proposed, which involves the use of human-based computational models to simulate AN activity. CAPs elicited by clicks, chirps, and amplitude-modulated carriers were simulated and compared with empirically recorded CAPs from human subjects. In addition, narrowband CAPs derived from noise-masked clicks and tone bursts were simulated. Many morphological, temporal, and spectral aspects of human CAPs were captured by the simulations for all stimuli tested. These findings support the use of model simulations of the human CAP to refine existing human-based models of the auditory periphery, aid in the design and analysis of auditory experiments, and predict the effects of hearing loss, synaptopathy, and other auditory disorders on the human CAP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yousef Alamri
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Utah, 390 South, 1530 East, BEHS 1201, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA
| | - Skyler G Jennings
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The University of Utah, 390 South, 1530 East, BEHS 1201, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA
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6
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Lee GS, Chang CW. Comparisons of auditory brainstem response elicited by compound click-sawtooths sound and synthetic consonant-vowel /da/ 1. Physiol Behav 2022; 255:113922. [PMID: 35905807 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The auditory brainstem response to complex sounds (cABR) could be evoked using speech sounds such as the 40-ms synthetic consonant-vowel syllable /da/ (CV-da) that was commonly used in basic and clinical research. cABR consists of responses to formant energy as well as the energy of fundamental frequency. The co-existence of the two energy makes cABR a mixed response. We introduced a new stimulus of click-sawtooths (CSW) with similar time-lock patterns but without formant or harmonic energy. Ten young healthy volunteers were recruited and the cABRs of CV-da and CSW of their 20 ears were acquired. The response latencies, amplitudes, and frequency-domain analytic results were compared pairwisely between stimuli. The response amplitudes were significantly greater for CSW and the latencies were significantly shorter for CSW. The latency-intensity functions were also greater for CSW. For CSW, adjustments of energy component can be made without causing biased changes to the other. CSW may be used in future basic research and clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guo-She Lee
- Department of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Yangming Campus, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan and Department of Otolaryngology, Taipei City Hospital, Renai Branch, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Chen-Wei Chang
- Department of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan
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7
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Osses Vecchi A, Varnet L, Carney LH, Dau T, Bruce IC, Verhulst S, Majdak P. A comparative study of eight human auditory models of monaural processing. ACTA ACUSTICA. EUROPEAN ACOUSTICS ASSOCIATION 2022; 6:17. [PMID: 36325461 PMCID: PMC9625898 DOI: 10.1051/aacus/2022008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
A number of auditory models have been developed using diverging approaches, either physiological or perceptual, but they share comparable stages of signal processing, as they are inspired by the same constitutive parts of the auditory system. We compare eight monaural models that are openly accessible in the Auditory Modelling Toolbox. We discuss the considerations required to make the model outputs comparable to each other, as well as the results for the following model processing stages or their equivalents: Outer and middle ear, cochlear filter bank, inner hair cell, auditory nerve synapse, cochlear nucleus, and inferior colliculus. The discussion includes a list of recommendations for future applications of auditory models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Osses Vecchi
- Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs, Département d’études cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, PSL University, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
- Corresponding author:
| | - Léo Varnet
- Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs, Département d’études cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, PSL University, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Laurel H. Carney
- Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Neuroscience, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Torsten Dau
- Hearing Systems Section, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Ian C. Bruce
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Sarah Verhulst
- Hearing Technology group, WAVES, Department of Information Technology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Piotr Majdak
- Acoustics Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, 1040 Vienna, Austria
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8
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Märcher-Rørsted J, Encina-Llamas G, Dau T, Liberman MC, Wu PZ, Hjortkjær J. Age-related reduction in frequency-following responses as a potential marker of cochlear neural degeneration. Hear Res 2021; 414:108411. [PMID: 34929535 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2021.108411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Healthy aging may be associated with neural degeneration in the cochlea even before clinical hearing loss emerges. Reduction in frequency-following responses (FFRs) to tonal carriers in older clinically normal-hearing listeners has previously been reported, and has been argued to reflect an age-dependent decline in temporal processing in the central auditory system. Alternatively, age-dependent loss of auditory nerve fibers (ANFs) may have little effect on audiometric sensitivity and yet compromise the precision of neural phase-locking relying on joint activity across populations of fibers. This peripheral loss may, in turn, contribute to reduced neural synchrony in the brainstem as reflected in the FFR. Here, we combined human electrophysiology and auditory nerve (AN) modeling to investigate whether age-related changes in the FFR would be consistent with peripheral neural degeneration. FFRs elicited by pure tones and frequency sweeps at carrier frequencies between 200 and 1200 Hz were obtained in older (ages 48-76) and younger (ages 20-30) listeners, both groups having clinically normal audiometric thresholds up to 6 kHz. The same stimuli were presented to a computational model of the AN in which age-related loss of hair cells or ANFs was modelled using human histopathological data. In the older human listeners, the measured FFRs to both sweeps and pure tones were found to be reduced across the carrier frequencies examined. These FFR reductions were consistent with model simulations of age-related ANF loss. In model simulations, the phase-locked response produced by the population of remaining fibers decreased proportionally with increasing loss of the ANFs. Basal-turn loss of inner hair cells also reduced synchronous activity at lower frequencies, albeit to a lesser degree. Model simulations of age-related threshold elevation further indicated that outer hair cell dysfunction had no negative effect on phase-locked AN responses. These results are consistent with a peripheral source of the FFR reductions observed in older normal-hearing listeners, and indicate that FFRs at lower carrier frequencies may potentially be a sensitive marker of peripheral neural degeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonatan Märcher-Rørsted
- Hearing Systems Section, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsteds Plads, Building 352, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Gerard Encina-Llamas
- Hearing Systems Section, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsteds Plads, Building 352, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Torsten Dau
- Hearing Systems Section, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsteds Plads, Building 352, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - M Charles Liberman
- Eaton-Peabody Laboratories and Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, MA 02114 USA
| | - Pei-Zhe Wu
- Eaton-Peabody Laboratories and Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, MA 02114 USA
| | - Jens Hjortkjær
- Hearing Systems Section, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsteds Plads, Building 352, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark; Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Kettegård Allé 30, DK-2650 Hvidovre, Denmark.
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9
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Computational modeling of the human auditory periphery: Auditory-nerve responses, evoked potentials and hearing loss. Hear Res 2018; 360:55-75. [DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2017.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2017] [Revised: 12/17/2017] [Accepted: 12/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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10
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Dawson C, Tervaniemi M, Aalto D. Behavioral and subcortical signatures of musical expertise in Mandarin Chinese speakers. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0190793. [PMID: 29300756 PMCID: PMC5754139 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Both musical training and native language have been shown to have experience-based plastic effects on auditory processing. However, the combined effects within individuals are unclear. Recent research suggests that musical training and tone language speaking are not clearly additive in their effects on processing of auditory features and that there may be a disconnect between perceptual and neural signatures of auditory feature processing. The literature has only recently begun to investigate the effects of musical expertise on basic auditory processing for different linguistic groups. This work provides a profile of primary auditory feature discrimination for Mandarin speaking musicians and nonmusicians. The musicians showed enhanced perceptual discrimination for both frequency and duration as well as enhanced duration discrimination in a multifeature discrimination task, compared to nonmusicians. However, there were no differences between the groups in duration processing of nonspeech sounds at a subcortical level or in subcortical frequency representation of a nonnative tone contour, for fo or for the first or second formant region. The results indicate that musical expertise provides a cognitive, but not subcortical, advantage in a population of Mandarin speakers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin Dawson
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- * E-mail:
| | - Mari Tervaniemi
- CICERO Learning Network, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Daniel Aalto
- Communication Sciences and Disorders, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
- Institute for Reconstructive Sciences in Medicine, Misericordia Community Hospital, Edmonton, Canada
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11
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Neely ST, Rasetshwane DM. Modeling signal propagation in the human cochlea. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2017; 142:2155. [PMID: 29092611 PMCID: PMC6578578 DOI: 10.1121/1.5007719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2017] [Revised: 09/28/2017] [Accepted: 09/29/2017] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The level-dependent component of the latency of human auditory brainstem responses (ABR) to tonebursts decreases by about 38% for every 20-dB increase in stimulus level over a wide range of both frequency and level [Neely, Norton, Gorga, and Jesteadt (1998). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 31, 87-97]. This level-dependence has now been simulated in an active, nonlinear, transmission-line model of cochlear mechanics combined with an adaptation stage. The micromechanics in this model are similar to previous models except that a dual role is proposed for the tectorial membrane (TM): (1) passive sharpening the tuning of sensory-cell inputs (relative to basilar-membrane vibrations) and (2) providing an optimal phase shift (relative to basilar-membrane vibrations) of outer-hair-cell feedback forces, so that amplification is restricted to a limited range of frequencies. The adaptation stage, which represents synaptic adaptation of neural signals, contributes to the latency level-dependence more at low frequencies than at high frequencies. Compression in this model spans the range of audible sound levels with a compression ratio of about 2:1. With further development, the proposed model of cochlear micromechanics could be useful both (1) as a front-end to functional models of the auditory system and (2) as a foundation for understanding the physiological basis of cochlear amplification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen T Neely
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, 555 North 30th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68131, USA
| | - Daniel M Rasetshwane
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, 555 North 30th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68131, USA
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12
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Saremi A, Beutelmann R, Dietz M, Ashida G, Kretzberg J, Verhulst S. A comparative study of seven human cochlear filter models. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2016; 140:1618. [PMID: 27914400 DOI: 10.1121/1.4960486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Auditory models have been developed for decades to simulate characteristics of the human auditory system, but it is often unknown how well auditory models compare to each other or perform in tasks they were not primarily designed for. This study systematically analyzes predictions of seven publicly-available cochlear filter models in response to a fixed set of stimuli to assess their capabilities of reproducing key aspects of human cochlear mechanics. The following features were assessed at frequencies of 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8 kHz: cochlear excitation patterns, nonlinear response growth, frequency selectivity, group delays, signal-in-noise processing, and amplitude modulation representation. For each task, the simulations were compared to available physiological data recorded in guinea pigs and gerbils as well as to human psychoacoustics data. The presented results provide application-oriented users with comprehensive information on the advantages, limitations and computation costs of these seven mainstream cochlear filter models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amin Saremi
- Computational Neuroscience and Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all," Department of Neuroscience, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Rainer Beutelmann
- Animal Physiology and Behavior and Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all," Department of Neuroscience, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Mathias Dietz
- Medizinische Physik and Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all," Department of Medical Physics and Acoustics, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Go Ashida
- Computational Neuroscience and Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all," Department of Neuroscience, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Jutta Kretzberg
- Computational Neuroscience and Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all," Department of Neuroscience, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Sarah Verhulst
- Medizinische Physik and Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all," Department of Medical Physics and Acoustics, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
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13
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Dawson C, Aalto D, Šimko J, Putkinen V, Tervaniemi M, Vainio M. Quantity language speakers show enhanced subcortical processing. Biol Psychol 2016; 118:169-175. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2016.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2015] [Revised: 06/03/2016] [Accepted: 06/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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14
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Won JH, Tremblay K, Clinard CG, Wright RA, Sagi E, Svirsky M. The neural encoding of formant frequencies contributing to vowel identification in normal-hearing listeners. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2016; 139:1-11. [PMID: 26826999 PMCID: PMC4706540 DOI: 10.1121/1.4931909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2015] [Revised: 09/04/2015] [Accepted: 09/14/2015] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Even though speech signals trigger coding in the cochlea to convey speech information to the central auditory structures, little is known about the neural mechanisms involved in such processes. The purpose of this study was to understand the encoding of formant cues and how it relates to vowel recognition in listeners. Neural representations of formants may differ across listeners; however, it was hypothesized that neural patterns could still predict vowel recognition. To test the hypothesis, the frequency-following response (FFR) and vowel recognition were obtained from 38 normal-hearing listeners using four different vowels, allowing direct comparisons between behavioral and neural data in the same individuals. FFR was employed because it provides an objective and physiological measure of neural activity that can reflect formant encoding. A mathematical model was used to describe vowel confusion patterns based on the neural responses to vowel formant cues. The major findings were (1) there were large variations in the accuracy of vowel formant encoding across listeners as indexed by the FFR, (2) these variations were systematically related to vowel recognition performance, and (3) the mathematical model of vowel identification was successful in predicting good vs poor vowel identification performers based exclusively on physiological data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jong Ho Won
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98105, USA
| | - Kelly Tremblay
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98105, USA
| | - Christopher G Clinard
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807, USA
| | - Richard A Wright
- Department of Linguistics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Elad Sagi
- Department of Otolaryngology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, USA
| | - Mario Svirsky
- Department of Otolaryngology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, USA
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15
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Lewis JD, Kopun J, Neely ST, Schmid KK, Gorga MP. Tone-burst auditory brainstem response wave V latencies in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired ears. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2015; 138:3210-3219. [PMID: 26627795 PMCID: PMC4662677 DOI: 10.1121/1.4935516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2015] [Revised: 10/20/2015] [Accepted: 10/28/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The metric used to equate stimulus level [sound pressure level (SPL) or sensation level (SL)] between ears with normal hearing (NH) and ears with hearing loss (HL) in comparisons of auditory function can influence interpretation of results. When stimulus level is equated in dB SL, higher SPLs are presented to ears with HL due to their reduced sensitivity. As a result, it may be difficult to determine if differences between ears with NH and ears with HL are due to cochlear pathology or level-dependent changes in cochlear mechanics. To the extent that level-dependent changes in cochlear mechanics contribute to auditory brainstem response latencies, comparisons between normal and pathologic ears may depend on the stimulus levels at which comparisons are made. To test this hypothesis, wave V latencies were measured in 16 NH ears and 15 ears with mild-to-moderate HL. When stimulus levels were equated in SL, latencies were shorter in HL ears. However, latencies were similar for NH and HL ears when stimulus levels were equated in SPL. These observations demonstrate that the effect of stimulus level on wave V latency is large relative to the effect of HL, at least in cases of mild-to-moderate HL.
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Affiliation(s)
- James D Lewis
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, 555 North 30th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68131, USA
| | - Judy Kopun
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, 555 North 30th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68131, USA
| | - Stephen T Neely
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, 555 North 30th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68131, USA
| | - Kendra K Schmid
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, 555 North 30th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68131, USA
| | - Michael P Gorga
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, 555 North 30th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68131, USA
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16
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Verhulst S, Bharadwaj HM, Mehraei G, Shera CA, Shinn-Cunningham BG. Functional modeling of the human auditory brainstem response to broadband stimulation. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2015; 138:1637-59. [PMID: 26428802 PMCID: PMC4592442 DOI: 10.1121/1.4928305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2015] [Revised: 07/21/2015] [Accepted: 07/28/2015] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Population responses such as the auditory brainstem response (ABR) are commonly used for hearing screening, but the relationship between single-unit physiology and scalp-recorded population responses are not well understood. Computational models that integrate physiologically realistic models of single-unit auditory-nerve (AN), cochlear nucleus (CN) and inferior colliculus (IC) cells with models of broadband peripheral excitation can be used to simulate ABRs and thereby link detailed knowledge of animal physiology to human applications. Existing functional ABR models fail to capture the empirically observed 1.2-2 ms ABR wave-V latency-vs-intensity decrease that is thought to arise from level-dependent changes in cochlear excitation and firing synchrony across different tonotopic sections. This paper proposes an approach where level-dependent cochlear excitation patterns, which reflect human cochlear filter tuning parameters, drive AN fibers to yield realistic level-dependent properties of the ABR wave-V. The number of free model parameters is minimal, producing a model in which various sources of hearing-impairment can easily be simulated on an individualized and frequency-dependent basis. The model fits latency-vs-intensity functions observed in human ABRs and otoacoustic emissions while maintaining rate-level and threshold characteristics of single-unit AN fibers. The simulations help to reveal which tonotopic regions dominate ABR waveform peaks at different stimulus intensities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Verhulst
- Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all" and Medizinische Physik, Department of Medical Physics and Acoustics, Oldenburg University, Carl-von-Ossietzky Strasse 9-11, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Hari M Bharadwaj
- Center of Computational Neuroscience and Neural Technology, Boston University, 677 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
| | - Golbarg Mehraei
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, 44 Cummington Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
| | - Christopher A Shera
- Eaton-Peabody Laboratory, 243 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA
| | - Barbara G Shinn-Cunningham
- Center of Computational Neuroscience and Neural Technology, Boston University, 677 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
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17
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Verhulst S, Shera CA. Relating the Variability of Tone-Burst Otoacoustic Emission and Auditory Brainstem Response Latencies to the Underlying Cochlear Mechanics. AIP CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 2015; 1703. [PMID: 27175040 DOI: 10.1063/1.4939401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Forward and reverse cochlear latency and its relation to the frequency tuning of the auditory filters can be assessed using tone bursts (TBs). Otoacoustic emissions (TBOAEs) estimate the cochlear roundtrip time, while auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) to the same stimuli aim at measuring the auditory filter buildup time. Latency ratios are generally close to two and controversy exists about the relationship of this ratio to cochlear mechanics. We explored why the two methods provide different estimates of filter buildup time, and ratios with large inter-subject variability, using a time-domain model for OAEs and ABRs. We compared latencies for twenty models, in which all parameters but the cochlear irregularities responsible for reflection-source OAEs were identical, and found that TBOAE latencies were much more variable than ABR latencies. Multiple reflection-sources generated within the evoking stimulus bandwidth were found to shape the TBOAE envelope and complicate the interpretation of TBOAE latency and TBOAE/ABR ratios in terms of auditory filter tuning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Verhulst
- Cluster of Excellence Hearing4All and Medizinische Physik, Department of Medical Physics and Acoustics, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Christopher A Shera
- Eaton-Peabody Laboratories, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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18
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Bharadwaj HM, Verhulst S, Shaheen L, Liberman MC, Shinn-Cunningham BG. Cochlear neuropathy and the coding of supra-threshold sound. Front Syst Neurosci 2014; 8:26. [PMID: 24600357 PMCID: PMC3930880 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2014.00026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 185] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2013] [Accepted: 02/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Many listeners with hearing thresholds within the clinically normal range nonetheless complain of difficulty hearing in everyday settings and understanding speech in noise. Converging evidence from human and animal studies points to one potential source of such difficulties: differences in the fidelity with which supra-threshold sound is encoded in the early portions of the auditory pathway. Measures of auditory subcortical steady-state responses (SSSRs) in humans and animals support the idea that the temporal precision of the early auditory representation can be poor even when hearing thresholds are normal. In humans with normal hearing thresholds (NHTs), paradigms that require listeners to make use of the detailed spectro-temporal structure of supra-threshold sound, such as selective attention and discrimination of frequency modulation (FM), reveal individual differences that correlate with subcortical temporal coding precision. Animal studies show that noise exposure and aging can cause a loss of a large percentage of auditory nerve fibers (ANFs) without any significant change in measured audiograms. Here, we argue that cochlear neuropathy may reduce encoding precision of supra-threshold sound, and that this manifests both behaviorally and in SSSRs in humans. Furthermore, recent studies suggest that noise-induced neuropathy may be selective for higher-threshold, lower-spontaneous-rate nerve fibers. Based on our hypothesis, we suggest some approaches that may yield particularly sensitive, objective measures of supra-threshold coding deficits that arise due to neuropathy. Finally, we comment on the potential clinical significance of these ideas and identify areas for future investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hari M Bharadwaj
- Center for Computational Neuroscience and Neural Technology, Boston University Boston, MA, USA ; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sarah Verhulst
- Center for Computational Neuroscience and Neural Technology, Boston University Boston, MA, USA ; Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA, USA
| | - Luke Shaheen
- Eaton-Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Boston, MA, USA ; Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology Program Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - M Charles Liberman
- Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA, USA ; Eaton-Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Boston, MA, USA ; Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology Program Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Barbara G Shinn-Cunningham
- Center for Computational Neuroscience and Neural Technology, Boston University Boston, MA, USA ; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University Boston, MA, USA
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19
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Rapid acquisition of auditory subcortical steady state responses using multichannel recordings. Clin Neurophysiol 2014; 125:1878-88. [PMID: 24525091 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2014.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2013] [Revised: 12/30/2013] [Accepted: 01/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Auditory subcortical steady state responses (SSSRs), also known as frequency following responses (FFRs), provide a non-invasive measure of phase-locked neural responses to acoustic and cochlear-induced periodicities. SSSRs have been used both clinically and in basic neurophysiological investigation of auditory function. SSSR data acquisition typically involves thousands of presentations of each stimulus type, sometimes in two polarities, with acquisition times often exceeding an hour per subject. Here, we present a novel approach to reduce the data acquisition times significantly. METHODS Because the sources of the SSSR are deep compared to the primary noise sources, namely background spontaneous cortical activity, the SSSR varies more smoothly over the scalp than the noise. We exploit this property and extract SSSRs efficiently, using multichannel recordings and an eigendecomposition of the complex cross-channel spectral density matrix. RESULTS Our proposed method yields SNR improvement exceeding a factor of 3 compared to traditional single-channel methods. CONCLUSIONS It is possible to reduce data acquisition times for SSSRs significantly with our approach. SIGNIFICANCE The proposed method allows SSSRs to be recorded for several stimulus conditions within a single session and also makes it possible to acquire both SSSRs and cortical EEG responses without increasing the session length.
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20
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Rasetshwane DM, Argenyi M, Neely ST, Kopun JG, Gorga MP. Latency of tone-burst-evoked auditory brain stem responses and otoacoustic emissions: level, frequency, and rise-time effects. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2013; 133:2803-2817. [PMID: 23654387 PMCID: PMC3663861 DOI: 10.1121/1.4798666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2012] [Revised: 03/05/2013] [Accepted: 03/11/2013] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Simultaneous measurement of auditory brain stem response (ABR) and otoacoustic emission (OAE) delays may provide insights into effects of level, frequency, and stimulus rise-time on cochlear delay. Tone-burst-evoked ABRs and OAEs (TBOAEs) were measured simultaneously in normal-hearing human subjects. Stimuli included a wide range of frequencies (0.5-8 kHz), levels (20-90 dB SPL), and tone-burst rise times. ABR latencies have orderly dependence on these three parameters, similar to previously reported data by Gorga et al. [J. Speech Hear. Res. 31, 87-97 (1988)]. Level dependence of ABR and TBOAE latencies was similar across a wide range of stimulus conditions. At mid-frequencies, frequency dependence of ABR and TBOAE latencies were similar. The dependence of ABR latency on both rise time and level was significant; however, the interaction was not significant, suggesting independent effects. Comparison between ABR and TBOAE latencies reveals that the ratio of TBOAE latency to ABR forward latency (the level-dependent component of ABR total latency) is close to one below 1.5 kHz, but greater than two above 1.5 kHz. Despite the fact that the current experiment was designed to test compatibility with models of reverse-wave propagation, existing models do not completely explain the current data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel M Rasetshwane
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, 555 North 30th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68131, USA.
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21
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Choi I, Rajaram S, Varghese LA, Shinn-Cunningham BG. Quantifying attentional modulation of auditory-evoked cortical responses from single-trial electroencephalography. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:115. [PMID: 23576968 PMCID: PMC3616343 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2013] [Accepted: 03/15/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Selective auditory attention is essential for human listeners to be able to communicate in multi-source environments. Selective attention is known to modulate the neural representation of the auditory scene, boosting the representation of a target sound relative to the background, but the strength of this modulation, and the mechanisms contributing to it, are not well understood. Here, listeners performed a behavioral experiment demanding sustained, focused spatial auditory attention while we measured cortical responses using electroencephalography (EEG). We presented three concurrent melodic streams; listeners were asked to attend and analyze the melodic contour of one of the streams, randomly selected from trial to trial. In a control task, listeners heard the same sound mixtures, but performed the contour judgment task on a series of visual arrows, ignoring all auditory streams. We found that the cortical responses could be fit as weighted sum of event-related potentials evoked by the stimulus onsets in the competing streams. The weighting to a given stream was roughly 10 dB higher when it was attended compared to when another auditory stream was attended; during the visual task, the auditory gains were intermediate. We then used a template-matching classification scheme to classify single-trial EEG results. We found that in all subjects, we could determine which stream the subject was attending significantly better than by chance. By directly quantifying the effect of selective attention on auditory cortical responses, these results reveal that focused auditory attention both suppresses the response to an unattended stream and enhances the response to an attended stream. The single-trial classification results add to the growing body of literature suggesting that auditory attentional modulation is sufficiently robust that it could be used as a control mechanism in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).
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Affiliation(s)
- Inyong Choi
- Center for Computational Neuroscience and Neural Technology, Boston University Boston, MA, USA
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