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Robert P, Zatorre R, Gupta A, Sein J, Anton JL, Belin P, Thoret E, Morillon B. Auditory hemispheric asymmetry for actions and objects. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae292. [PMID: 39051660 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae292] [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: 01/29/2024] [Revised: 06/08/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024] Open
Abstract
What is the function of auditory hemispheric asymmetry? We propose that the identification of sound sources relies on the asymmetric processing of two complementary and perceptually relevant acoustic invariants: actions and objects. In a large dataset of environmental sounds, we observed that temporal and spectral modulations display only weak covariation. We then synthesized auditory stimuli by simulating various actions (frictions) occurring on different objects (solid surfaces). Behaviorally, discrimination of actions relies on temporal modulations, while discrimination of objects relies on spectral modulations. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data showed that actions and objects are decoded in the left and right hemispheres, respectively, in bilateral superior temporal and left inferior frontal regions. This asymmetry reflects a generic differential processing-through differential neural sensitivity to temporal and spectral modulations present in environmental sounds-that supports the efficient categorization of actions and objects. These results support an ecologically valid framework of the functional role of auditory brain asymmetry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Robert
- Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes (INS), Inserm/UMR1106, Aix Marseille University, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, Marseille 13005, France
| | - Robert Zatorre
- Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, McGill University, 3801 Rue University, Montréal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
- Centre for Research in Brain, Language, and Music (CRBLM), McGill University, Faculty of Medicine 3640 de la Montagne, Montreal QC H3G 2A8, Canada
| | - Akanksha Gupta
- Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes (INS), Inserm/UMR1106, Aix Marseille University, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, Marseille 13005, France
| | - Julien Sein
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone (INT), CNRS/UMR7289, Aix Marseille University, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, Marseille 13005, France
| | - Jean-Luc Anton
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone (INT), CNRS/UMR7289, Aix Marseille University, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, Marseille 13005, France
| | - Pascal Belin
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone (INT), CNRS/UMR7289, Aix Marseille University, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, Marseille 13005, France
| | - Etienne Thoret
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone (INT), CNRS/UMR7289, Aix Marseille University, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, Marseille 13005, France
- PRISM Laboratory, CNRS/UMR7061, Aix Marseille University, 31 Chemin Joseph Aiguier, Marseille, 13402 Cedex 20, France
- Laboratoire d'Informatique et Systèmes (LIS), CNRS/UMR7020, Aix Marseille University, 52 Av Escadrille Normandie Niemen, Marseille, 13397 Cedex 20, France
- Institute of Language, Communication, and the Brain (ILCB), Aix Marseille University, 5 avenue Pasteur, Aix-en-Provence, 13604 Cedex 1, France
| | - Benjamin Morillon
- Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes (INS), Inserm/UMR1106, Aix Marseille University, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, Marseille 13005, France
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Miller-Viacava N, Lazard D, Delmas T, Krause B, Apoux F, Lorenzi C. Sensorineural hearing loss alters auditory discrimination of natural soundscapes. Int J Audiol 2023:1-10. [PMID: 37909429 DOI: 10.1080/14992027.2023.2272559] [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: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The ability to discriminate natural soundscapes recorded in a temperate terrestrial biome was measured in 15 hearing-impaired (HI) listeners with bilateral, mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss and 15 normal-hearing (NH) controls. DESIGN Soundscape discrimination was measured using a three-interval oddity paradigm and the method of constant stimuli. On each trial, sequences of 2-second recordings varying the habitat, season and period of the day were presented diotically at a nominal SPL of 60 or 80 dB. RESULTS Discrimination scores were above chance level for both groups, but they were poorer for HI than NH listeners. On average, the scores of HI listeners were relatively well accounted for by those of NH listeners tested with stimuli spectrally-shaped to match the frequency-dependent reduction in audibility of individual HI listeners. However, the scores of HI listeners were not significantly correlated with pure-tone audiometric thresholds and age. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that the ability to discriminate natural soundscapes associated with changes in habitat, season and period of the day is disrupted but it is not abolished. The deficits of the HI listeners are partly accounted for by reduced audibility. Supra-threshold auditory deficits and individual listening strategies may also explain differences between NH and HI listeners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Miller-Viacava
- Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs, UMR CNRS 8248, Département d'Etudes Cognitives, École normale supérieure, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL University), Paris, France
| | - Diane Lazard
- Institut de l'Audition, INSERM Unit, Paris, France
- Institut Arthur Vernes, ENT Department, Paris, France
| | - Tanguy Delmas
- Institut de l'Audition, INSERM Unit, Paris, France
- Audition Lefeuvre, ECLEAR, Athis-Mons, France
| | - Bernie Krause
- Wild Sanctuary, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California, USA
| | - Frédéric Apoux
- Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs, UMR CNRS 8248, Département d'Etudes Cognitives, École normale supérieure, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL University), Paris, France
| | - Christian Lorenzi
- Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs, UMR CNRS 8248, Département d'Etudes Cognitives, École normale supérieure, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL University), Paris, France
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Apoux F, Miller-Viacava N, Ferrière R, Dai H, Krause B, Sueur J, Lorenzi C. Auditory discrimination of natural soundscapes. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 153:2706. [PMID: 37133815 DOI: 10.1121/10.0017972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
A previous modelling study reported that spectro-temporal cues perceptually relevant to humans provide enough information to accurately classify "natural soundscapes" recorded in four distinct temperate habitats of a biosphere reserve [Thoret, Varnet, Boubenec, Ferriere, Le Tourneau, Krause, and Lorenzi (2020). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 147, 3260]. The goal of the present study was to assess this prediction for humans using 2 s samples taken from the same soundscape recordings. Thirty-one listeners were asked to discriminate these recordings based on differences in habitat, season, or period of the day using an oddity task. Listeners' performance was well above chance, demonstrating effective processing of these differences and suggesting a general high sensitivity for natural soundscape discrimination. This performance did not improve with training up to 10 h. Additional results obtained for habitat discrimination indicate that temporal cues play only a minor role; instead, listeners appear to base their decisions primarily on gross spectral cues related to biological sound sources and habitat acoustics. Convolutional neural networks were trained to perform a similar task using spectro-temporal cues extracted by an auditory model as input. The results are consistent with the idea that humans exclude the available temporal information when discriminating short samples of habitats, implying a form of a sub-optimality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frédéric Apoux
- Laboratoire des Systèmes Perceptifs, UMR CNRS 8248, Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole normale supérieure, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), Paris, 75005, France
| | - Nicole Miller-Viacava
- Laboratoire des Systèmes Perceptifs, UMR CNRS 8248, Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole normale supérieure, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), Paris, 75005, France
| | - Régis Ferrière
- International Research Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Global Environmental Studies (iGLOBES), CNRS, ENS-PSL University, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA
| | - Huanping Dai
- Speech Language and Hearing Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0071, USA
| | - Bernie Krause
- Wild Sanctuary, 1102 Princeton Drive, Sonoma, California 95476, USA
| | - Jérôme Sueur
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Christian Lorenzi
- Laboratoire des Systèmes Perceptifs, UMR CNRS 8248, Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole normale supérieure, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), Paris, 75005, France
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Lorenzi C, Apoux F, Grinfeder E, Krause B, Miller-Viacava N, Sueur J. Human Auditory Ecology: Extending Hearing Research to the Perception of Natural Soundscapes by Humans in Rapidly Changing Environments. Trends Hear 2023; 27:23312165231212032. [PMID: 37981813 PMCID: PMC10658775 DOI: 10.1177/23312165231212032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Research in hearing sciences has provided extensive knowledge about how the human auditory system processes speech and assists communication. In contrast, little is known about how this system processes "natural soundscapes," that is the complex arrangements of biological and geophysical sounds shaped by sound propagation through non-anthropogenic habitats [Grinfeder et al. (2022). Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 10: 894232]. This is surprising given that, for many species, the capacity to process natural soundscapes determines survival and reproduction through the ability to represent and monitor the immediate environment. Here we propose a framework to encourage research programmes in the field of "human auditory ecology," focusing on the study of human auditory perception of ecological processes at work in natural habitats. Based on large acoustic databases with high ecological validity, these programmes should investigate the extent to which this presumably ancestral monitoring function of the human auditory system is adapted to specific information conveyed by natural soundscapes, whether it operate throughout the life span or whether it emerges through individual learning or cultural transmission. Beyond fundamental knowledge of human hearing, these programmes should yield a better understanding of how normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners monitor rural and city green and blue spaces and benefit from them, and whether rehabilitation devices (hearing aids and cochlear implants) restore natural soundscape perception and emotional responses back to normal. Importantly, they should also reveal whether and how humans hear the rapid changes in the environment brought about by human activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Lorenzi
- Laboratoire des Systèmes Perceptifs, UMR CNRS 8248, Département d’Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), Paris, France
| | - Frédéric Apoux
- Laboratoire des Systèmes Perceptifs, UMR CNRS 8248, Département d’Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), Paris, France
| | - Elie Grinfeder
- Laboratoire des Systèmes Perceptifs, UMR CNRS 8248, Département d’Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), Paris, France
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, France
| | | | - Nicole Miller-Viacava
- Laboratoire des Systèmes Perceptifs, UMR CNRS 8248, Département d’Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), Paris, France
| | - Jérôme Sueur
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, France
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Gockel HE, Carlyon RP. On mistuning detection and beat perception for harmonic complex tones at low and very high frequencies. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 152:226. [PMID: 35931513 DOI: 10.1121/10.0012351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This study assessed the detection of mistuning of a single harmonic in complex tones (CTs) containing either low-frequency harmonics or very high-frequency harmonics, for which phase locking to the temporal fine structure is weak or absent. CTs had F0s of either 280 or 1400 Hz and contained harmonics 6-10, the 8th of which could be mistuned. Harmonics were presented either diotically or dichotically (odd and even harmonics to different ears). In the diotic condition, mistuning-detection thresholds were very low for both F0s and consistent with detection of temporal interactions (beats) produced by peripheral interactions of components. In the dichotic condition, for which the components in each ear were more widely spaced and beats were not reported, the mistuned component was perceptually segregated from the complex for the low F0, but subjects reported no "popping out" for the high F0 and performance was close to chance. This is consistent with the idea that phase locking is required for perceptual segregation to occur. For diotic presentation, the perceived beat rate corresponded to the amount of mistuning (in Hz). It is argued that the beat percept cannot be explained solely by interactions between the mistuned component and its two closest harmonic neighbours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hedwig E Gockel
- Cambridge Hearing Group, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom
| | - Robert P Carlyon
- Cambridge Hearing Group, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom
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Grinfeder E, Lorenzi C, Haupert S, Sueur J. What Do We Mean by “Soundscape”? A Functional Description. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.894232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The concept of soundscape was originally coined to study the relationship between humans and their sonic environment. Since then, several definitions of soundscapes have been proposed based on musical, acoustical and ecological perspectives. However, the causal mechanisms that underlie soundscapes have often been overlooked. As a consequence, the term “soundscape” is frequently used in an ambiguous way, alternatively pointing to objective realities or subjective percepts. Through an interdisciplinary review, we identified the main biotic and abiotic factors that condition non-anthropogenic terrestrial soundscapes. A source-filter approach was used to describe sound sources, sound propagation phenomena and receiver’s characteristics. Interdisciplinary information was cross-referenced in order to define relationships between factors, sound sources and filters. Those relationships and the associated references were organized into a functional block diagram. This representation was used to question the different uses and meanings of the soundscape concept found in the literature. Three separate categories were then suggested: distal soundscape, proximal soundscape and perceptual soundscape. Finally, practical examples of these different categories were described, in relation to the diagram. This new systemic approach to soundscapes should help ecoacousticians, bioacousticians, psychoacousticians and environmental managers to better understand soundscapes and protect natural areas in a more significant way.
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Attia S, King A, Varnet L, Ponsot E, Lorenzi C. Double-pass consistency for amplitude- and frequency-modulation detection in normal-hearing listeners. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021; 150:3631. [PMID: 34852611 DOI: 10.1121/10.0006811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM) provide crucial auditory information. If FM is encoded as AM, it should be possible to give a unified account of AM and FM perception both in terms of response consistency and performance. These two aspects of behavior were estimated for normal-hearing participants using a constant-stimuli, forced-choice detection task repeated twice with the same stimuli (double pass). Sinusoidal AM or FM with rates of 2 or 20 Hz were applied to a 500-Hz pure-tone carrier and presented at detection threshold. All stimuli were masked by a modulation noise. Percent agreement of responses across passes and percent-correct detection for the two passes were used to estimate consistency and performance, respectively. These data were simulated using a model implementing peripheral processes, a central modulation filterbank, an additive internal noise, and a template-matching device. Different levels of internal noise were required to reproduce AM and FM data, but a single level could account for the 2- and 20-Hz AM data. As for FM, two levels of internal noise were needed to account for detection at slow and fast rates. Finally, the level of internal noise yielding best predictions increased with the level of the modulation-noise masker. Overall, these results suggest that different sources of internal variability are involved for AM and FM detection at low audio frequencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Attia
- Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs (CNRS 8248), Département d'études cognitives, Ecole normale supérieure, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, 29 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Andrew King
- Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs (CNRS 8248), Département d'études cognitives, Ecole normale supérieure, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, 29 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Léo Varnet
- Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs (CNRS 8248), Département d'études cognitives, Ecole normale supérieure, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, 29 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Emmanuel Ponsot
- Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs (CNRS 8248), Département d'études cognitives, Ecole normale supérieure, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, 29 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Christian Lorenzi
- Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs (CNRS 8248), Département d'études cognitives, Ecole normale supérieure, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, 29 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France
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