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Salloom WB, Bharadwaj H, Strickland EA. The effects of broadband elicitor duration on a psychoacoustic measure of cochlear gain reduction. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 153:2482. [PMID: 37092950 PMCID: PMC10257528 DOI: 10.1121/10.0017925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Physiological and psychoacoustic studies of the medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR) in humans have often relied on long duration elicitors (>100 ms). This is largely due to previous research using otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) that found multiple MOCR time constants, including time constants in the 100s of milliseconds, when elicited by broadband noise. However, the effect of the duration of a broadband noise elicitor on similar psychoacoustic tasks is currently unknown. The current study measured the effects of ipsilateral broadband noise elicitor duration on psychoacoustic gain reduction estimated from a forward-masking paradigm. Analysis showed that both masker type and elicitor duration were significant main effects, but no interaction was found. Gain reduction time constants were ∼46 ms for the masker present condition and ∼78 ms for the masker absent condition (ranging from ∼29 to 172 ms), both similar to the fast time constants reported in the OAE literature (70-100 ms). Maximum gain reduction was seen for elicitor durations of ∼200 ms. This is longer than the 50-ms duration which was found to produce maximum gain reduction with a tonal on-frequency elicitor. Future studies of gain reduction may use 150-200 ms broadband elicitors to maximally or near-maximally stimulate the MOCR.
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Affiliation(s)
- William B Salloom
- Department of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
| | - Hari Bharadwaj
- Department of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Strickland
- Department of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
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DeRoy Milvae K, Strickland EA. Behavioral Measures of Cochlear Gain Reduction Depend on Precursor Frequency, Bandwidth, and Level. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:716689. [PMID: 34671236 PMCID: PMC8520990 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.716689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensory systems adjust to the environment to maintain sensitivity to change. In the auditory system, the medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR) is a known physiological mechanism capable of such adjustment. The MOCR provides efferent feedback between the brainstem and cochlea, reducing cochlear gain in response to sound. The perceptual effects of the MOCR are not well understood, such as how gain reduction depends on elicitor characteristics in human listeners. Physiological and behavioral data suggest that ipsilateral MOCR tuning is only slightly broader than it is for afferent fibers, and that the fibers feed back to the frequency region of the cochlea that stimulated them. However, some otoacoustic emission (OAE) data suggest that noise is a more effective elicitor than would be consistent with sharp tuning, and that a broad region of the cochlea may be involved in elicitation. If the elicitor is processed in a cochlear channel centered at the signal frequency, the growth of gain reduction with elicitor level would be expected to depend on the frequency content of the elicitor. In the current study, the effects of the frequency content and level of a preceding sound (called a precursor) on signal threshold was examined. The results show that signal threshold increased with increasing precursor level at a shallower slope for a tonal precursor at the signal frequency than for a tonal precursor nearly an octave below the signal frequency. A broadband noise was only slightly more effective than a tone at the signal frequency, with a relatively shallow slope similar to that of the tonal precursor at the signal frequency. Overall, these results suggest that the excitation at the signal cochlear place, regardless of elicitor frequency, determines the magnitude of ipsilateral cochlear gain reduction, and that it increases with elicitor level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina DeRoy Milvae
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
| | - Elizabeth A Strickland
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
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Salloom WB, Strickland EA. The effect of broadband elicitor laterality on psychoacoustic gain reduction across signal frequency. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021; 150:2817. [PMID: 34717476 PMCID: PMC8520488 DOI: 10.1121/10.0006662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
There are psychoacoustic methods thought to measure gain reduction, which may be from the medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR), a bilateral feedback loop that adjusts cochlear gain. Although studies have used ipsilateral and contralateral elicitors and have examined strength at different signal frequencies, these factors have not been examined within a single study. Therefore, basic questions about gain reduction, such as the relative strength of ipsilateral vs contralateral elicitation and the relative strength across signal frequency, are not known. In the current study, gain reduction from ipsilateral, contralateral, and bilateral elicitors was measured at 1-, 2-, and 4-kHz signal frequencies using forward masking paradigms at a range of elicitor levels in a repeated measures design. Ipsilateral and bilateral strengths were similar and significantly larger than contralateral strength across signal frequencies. Growth of gain reduction with precursor level tended to differ with signal frequency, although not significantly. Data from previous studies are considered in light of the results of this study. Behavioral results are also considered relative to anatomical and physiological data on the MOCR. These results indicate that, in humans, cochlear gain reduction is broad across frequencies and is robust for ipsilateral and bilateral elicitation but small for contralateral elicitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- William B Salloom
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, 715 Clinic Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Strickland
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, 715 Clinic Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
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Jennings SG. The role of the medial olivocochlear reflex in psychophysical masking and intensity resolution in humans: a review. J Neurophysiol 2021; 125:2279-2308. [PMID: 33909513 PMCID: PMC8285664 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00672.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Revised: 03/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
This review addresses the putative role of the medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex in psychophysical masking and intensity resolution in humans. A framework for interpreting psychophysical results in terms of the expected influence of the MOC reflex is introduced. This framework is used to review the effects of a precursor or contralateral acoustic stimulation on 1) simultaneous masking of brief tones, 2) behavioral estimates of cochlear gain and frequency resolution in forward masking, 3) the buildup and decay of forward masking, and 4) measures of intensity resolution. Support, or lack thereof, for a role of the MOC reflex in psychophysical perception is discussed in terms of studies on estimates of MOC strength from otoacoustic emissions and the effects of resection of the olivocochlear bundle in patients with vestibular neurectomy. Novel, innovative approaches are needed to resolve the dissatisfying conclusion that current results are unable to definitively confirm or refute the role of the MOC reflex in masking and intensity resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Skyler G Jennings
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
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DeRoy Milvae K, Alexander JM, Strickland EA. The relationship between ipsilateral cochlear gain reduction and speech-in-noise recognition at positive and negative signal-to-noise ratios. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021; 149:3449. [PMID: 34241110 PMCID: PMC8411890 DOI: 10.1121/10.0003964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Active mechanisms that regulate cochlear gain are hypothesized to influence speech-in-noise perception. However, evidence of a relationship between the amount of cochlear gain reduction and speech-in-noise recognition is mixed. Findings may conflict across studies because different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) were used to evaluate speech-in-noise recognition. Also, there is evidence that ipsilateral elicitation of cochlear gain reduction may be stronger than contralateral elicitation, yet, most studies have investigated the contralateral descending pathway. The hypothesis that the relationship between ipsilateral cochlear gain reduction and speech-in-noise recognition depends on the SNR was tested. A forward masking technique was used to quantify the ipsilateral cochlear gain reduction in 24 young adult listeners with normal hearing. Speech-in-noise recognition was measured with the PRESTO-R sentence test using speech-shaped noise presented at -3, 0, and +3 dB SNR. Interestingly, greater cochlear gain reduction was associated with lower speech-in-noise recognition, and the strength of this correlation increased as the SNR became more adverse. These findings support the hypothesis that the SNR influences the relationship between ipsilateral cochlear gain reduction and speech-in-noise recognition. Future studies investigating the relationship between cochlear gain reduction and speech-in-noise recognition should consider the SNR and both descending pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina DeRoy Milvae
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
| | - Joshua M Alexander
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Strickland
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
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Exploring the Role of Medial Olivocochlear Efferents on the Detection of Amplitude Modulation for Tones Presented in Noise. J Assoc Res Otolaryngol 2019; 20:395-413. [PMID: 31140010 PMCID: PMC6646499 DOI: 10.1007/s10162-019-00722-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2018] [Accepted: 04/15/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The medial olivocochlear reflex has been hypothesized to improve the detection and discrimination of dynamic signals in noisy backgrounds. This hypothesis was tested here by comparing behavioral outcomes with otoacoustic emissions. The effects of a precursor on amplitude-modulation (AM) detection were measured for a 1- and 6-kHz carrier at levels of 40, 60, and 80 dB SPL in a two-octave-wide noise masker with a level designed to produce poor, but above-chance, performance. Three types of precursor were used: a two-octave noise band, an inharmonic complex tone, and a pure tone. Precursors had the same overall level as the simultaneous noise masker that immediately followed the precursor. The noise precursor produced a large improvement in AM detection for both carrier frequencies and at all three levels. The complex tone produced a similarly large improvement in AM detection at the highest level but had a smaller effect for the two lower carrier levels. The tonal precursor did not significantly affect AM detection in noise. Comparisons of behavioral thresholds and medial olivocochlear efferent effects on stimulus frequency otoacoustic emissions measured with similar stimuli did not support the hypothesis that efferent-based reduction of cochlear responses contributes to the precursor effects on AM detection.
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Long-standing problems in speech perception dissolve within an information-theoretic perspective. Atten Percept Psychophys 2019; 81:861-883. [PMID: 30937673 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-019-01702-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
An information theoretic framework is proposed to have the potential to dissolve (rather than attempt to solve) multiple long-standing problems concerning speech perception. By this view, speech perception can be reframed as a series of processes through which sensitivity to information-that which changes and/or is unpredictable-becomes increasingly sophisticated and shaped by experience. Problems concerning appropriate objects of perception (gestures vs. sounds), rate normalization, variance consequent to articulation, and talker normalization are reframed, or even dissolved, within this information-theoretic framework. Application of discriminative models founded on information theory provides a productive approach to answer questions concerning perception of speech, and perception most broadly.
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Hegland EL, Strickland EA. The effects of preceding sound and stimulus duration on measures of suppression in younger and older adults. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2018; 144:3548. [PMID: 30599663 PMCID: PMC6308016 DOI: 10.1121/1.5083824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2017] [Revised: 11/04/2018] [Accepted: 11/26/2018] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Despite clinically normal audiometric thresholds, some older adults may experience difficulty in tasks such as understanding speech in a noisy environment. One potential reason may be reduced cochlear nonlinearity. A sensitive measure of cochlear nonlinearity is two-tone suppression, which is a reduction in the auditory system's response to one tone in the presence of a second tone. Previous research has been mixed on whether suppression decreases with age in humans. Studies of efferent cochlear gain reduction also suggest that stimulus duration should be considered in measuring suppression. In the present study, suppression was first measured psychoacoustically using stimuli that were too short to result in gain reduction. The potential effect of efferent cochlear gain reduction was then measured by using longer stimuli and presenting tonal or noise precursors before the shorter stimuli. Younger adults (ages 19-22 yr) and older adults (ages 57+ yr) with clinically normal hearing were tested. Suppression estimates decreased with longer stimuli or preceding sound which included the signal frequency, but did not decrease with preceding sound at the suppressor frequency. On average, the older group had lower suppression than the younger group, but this difference was not statistically significant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica L Hegland
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Strickland
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
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Strickland EA, Salloom WB, Hegland EL. Evidence for Gain Reduction by a Precursor in an On-Frequency Forward Masking Paradigm. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 104:809-812. [PMID: 31736681 PMCID: PMC6858064 DOI: 10.3813/aaa.919229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
A forward masking technique was used to measure cochlear gain reduction which might be consistent with the medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR). A 4-kHz signal was set at 20 dB SL, and an on-frequency forward masker adjusted to just mask the signal. Adding a pink noise precursor before the signal and masker increased the level of the masker needed to mask the signal, in contrast to what would be expected from theories such as additivity of masking. The magnitude and pattern of this increase was similar to the increase in signal threshold seen with an off-frequency masker following a precursor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A. Strickland
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue Univ, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States
| | - William B. Salloom
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue Univ, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States
| | - Erica L. Hegland
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue Univ, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States
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DeRoy Milvae K, Strickland EA. Psychoacoustic measurements of ipsilateral cochlear gain reduction as a function of signal frequency. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2018; 143:3114. [PMID: 29857720 PMCID: PMC5967972 DOI: 10.1121/1.5038254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2017] [Revised: 03/09/2018] [Accepted: 04/30/2018] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Forward masking experiments at 4 kHz have demonstrated that preceding sound can elicit changes in masking patterns consistent with a change in cochlear gain. However, the acoustic environment is filled with complex sounds, often dominated by lower frequencies, and ipsilateral cochlear gain reduction at frequencies below 4 kHz is largely unstudied in the forward masking literature. In this experiment, the magnitude of ipsilateral cochlear gain reduction was explored at 1, 2, and 4 kHz using forward masking techniques in an effort to evaluate a range of frequencies in listeners with normal hearing. Gain reduction estimates were not significantly different at 2 and 4 kHz using two forward masking measurements. Although the frequency was a significant factor in the analysis, post hoc testing supported the interpretation that gain reduction estimates measured without a masker were not significantly different at 1, 2, and 4 kHz. A second experiment provided evidence that forward masking in this paradigm at 1 kHz cannot be explained by excitation alone. This study provides evidence of ipsilateral cochlear gain reduction in humans at frequencies below the 4 kHz region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina DeRoy Milvae
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Strickland
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
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Necciari T, Laback B, Savel S, Ystad S, Balazs P, Meunier S, Kronland-Martinet R. Auditory Time-Frequency Masking for Spectrally and Temporally Maximally-Compact Stimuli. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0166937. [PMID: 27875575 PMCID: PMC5119819 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2016] [Accepted: 11/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Many audio applications perform perception-based time-frequency (TF) analysis by decomposing sounds into a set of functions with good TF localization (i.e. with a small essential support in the TF domain) using TF transforms and applying psychoacoustic models of auditory masking to the transform coefficients. To accurately predict masking interactions between coefficients, the TF properties of the model should match those of the transform. This involves having masking data for stimuli with good TF localization. However, little is known about TF masking for mathematically well-localized signals. Most existing masking studies used stimuli that are broad in time and/or frequency and few studies involved TF conditions. Consequently, the present study had two goals. The first was to collect TF masking data for well-localized stimuli in humans. Masker and target were 10-ms Gaussian-shaped sinusoids with a bandwidth of approximately one critical band. The overall pattern of results is qualitatively similar to existing data for long maskers. To facilitate implementation in audio processing algorithms, a dataset provides the measured TF masking function. The second goal was to assess the potential effect of auditory efferents on TF masking using a modeling approach. The temporal window model of masking was used to predict present and existing data in two configurations: (1) with standard model parameters (i.e. without efferents), (2) with cochlear gain reduction to simulate the activation of efferents. The ability of the model to predict the present data was quite good with the standard configuration but highly degraded with gain reduction. Conversely, the ability of the model to predict existing data for long maskers was better with than without gain reduction. Overall, the model predictions suggest that TF masking can be affected by efferent (or other) effects that reduce cochlear gain. Such effects were avoided in the experiment of this study by using maximally-compact stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thibaud Necciari
- Acoustics Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Bernhard Laback
- Acoustics Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sophie Savel
- Laboratoire de Mécanique et d’Acoustique, CNRS UPR 7051, Equipe Sons, Aix-Marseille Université, Centrale Marseille, Marseille, France
| | - Sølvi Ystad
- Laboratoire de Mécanique et d’Acoustique, CNRS UPR 7051, Equipe Sons, Aix-Marseille Université, Centrale Marseille, Marseille, France
| | - Peter Balazs
- Acoustics Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sabine Meunier
- Laboratoire de Mécanique et d’Acoustique, CNRS UPR 7051, Equipe Sons, Aix-Marseille Université, Centrale Marseille, Marseille, France
| | - Richard Kronland-Martinet
- Laboratoire de Mécanique et d’Acoustique, CNRS UPR 7051, Equipe Sons, Aix-Marseille Université, Centrale Marseille, Marseille, France
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Tabuchi H, Laback B, Necciari T, Majdak P. The role of compression in the simultaneous masker phase effect. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2016; 140:2680. [PMID: 27794305 PMCID: PMC5714264 DOI: 10.1121/1.4964328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Peripheral compression is believed to play a major role in the masker phase effect (MPE). While compression is almost instantaneous, activation of the efferent system reduces compression in a temporally evolving manner. To study the role of efferent-controlled compression in the MPE, in experiment 1, simultaneous masking of a 30-ms 4-kHz tone by 40-ms Schroeder-phase harmonic complexes was measured with on- and off-frequency precursors as a function of masker phase curvature for two masker levels (60 and 90 dB sound pressure level). The MPE was quantified by the threshold range [min/max difference (MMD)] across the phase curvatures. For the 60-dB condition, the presence of on-frequency precursor decreased the MMD from 10 to 5 dB. Experiment 2 studied the role of the precursor on the auditory filter's bandwidth. The on-frequency precursor was found to increase the bandwidth, an effect incorporated in the subsequent modeling. A model of the auditory periphery including cochlear filtering and basilar membrane compression generally underestimated the MMDs. A model based on two-step compression, including compression of inner hair cells, accounted for the MMDs across precursor and level conditions. Overall, the observed precursor effects and the model predictions suggest an important role of compression in the simultaneous MPE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hisaaki Tabuchi
- Austrian Academy of Sciences, Acoustics Research Institute, Wohllebengasse 12-14, 1040 Vienna, Austria
| | - Bernhard Laback
- Austrian Academy of Sciences, Acoustics Research Institute, Wohllebengasse 12-14, 1040 Vienna, Austria
| | - Thibaud Necciari
- Austrian Academy of Sciences, Acoustics Research Institute, Wohllebengasse 12-14, 1040 Vienna, Austria
| | - Piotr Majdak
- Austrian Academy of Sciences, Acoustics Research Institute, Wohllebengasse 12-14, 1040 Vienna, Austria
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Bidelman GM, Jennings SG, Strickland EA. PsyAcoustX: A flexible MATLAB(®) package for psychoacoustics research. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1498. [PMID: 26528199 PMCID: PMC4601020 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2015] [Accepted: 09/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The demands of modern psychophysical studies require precise stimulus delivery and flexible platforms for experimental control. Here, we describe PsyAcoustX, a new, freely available suite of software tools written in the MATLAB(®) environment to conduct psychoacoustics research on a standard PC. PsyAcoustX provides a flexible platform to generate and present auditory stimuli in real time and record users' behavioral responses. Data are automatically logged by stimulus condition and aggregated in an exported spreadsheet for offline analysis. Detection thresholds can be measured adaptively under basic and complex auditory masking tasks and other paradigms (e.g., amplitude modulation detection) within minutes. The flexibility of the module offers experimenters access to nearly every conceivable combination of stimulus parameters (e.g., probe-masker relations). Example behavioral applications are highlighted including the measurement of audiometric thresholds, basic simultaneous and non-simultaneous (i.e., forward and backward) masking paradigms, gap detection, and amplitude modulation detection. Examples of these measurements are provided including the psychoacoustic phenomena of temporal overshoot, psychophysical tuning curves, and temporal modulation transfer functions. Importantly, the core design of PsyAcoustX is easily modifiable, allowing users the ability to adapt its basic structure and create additional modules for measuring discrimination/detection thresholds for other auditory attributes (e.g., pitch, intensity, etc.) or binaural paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavin M. Bidelman
- Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis, MemphisTN, USA
- School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Memphis, MemphisTN, USA
| | - Skyler G. Jennings
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Utah, Salt Lake CityUT, USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Strickland
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West LafayetteIN, USA
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Wojtczak M, Beim JA, Oxenham AJ. Exploring the role of feedback-based auditory reflexes in forward masking by schroeder-phase complexes. J Assoc Res Otolaryngol 2014; 16:81-99. [PMID: 25338224 DOI: 10.1007/s10162-014-0495-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2014] [Accepted: 10/02/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Several studies have postulated that psychoacoustic measures of auditory perception are influenced by efferent-induced changes in cochlear responses, but these postulations have generally remained untested. This study measured the effect of stimulus phase curvature and temporal envelope modulation on the medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR) and on the middle-ear muscle reflex (MEMR). The role of the MOCR was tested by measuring changes in the ear-canal pressure at 6 kHz in the presence and absence of a band-limited harmonic complex tone with various phase curvatures, centered either at (on-frequency) or well below (off-frequency) the 6-kHz probe frequency. The influence of possible MEMR effects was examined by measuring phase-gradient functions for the elicitor effects and by measuring changes in the ear-canal pressure with a continuous suppressor of the 6-kHz probe. Both on- and off-frequency complex tone elicitors produced significant changes in ear canal sound pressure. However, the pattern of results was not consistent with the earlier hypotheses postulating that efferent effects produce the psychoacoustic dependence of forward-masked thresholds on masker phase curvature. The results also reveal unexpectedly long time constants associated with some efferent effects, the source of which remains unknown.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Wojtczak
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, N218 Elliott Hall, 75 East River Rd., Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA,
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