HST.723J | Spring 2005 | Graduate

Neural Coding and Perception of Sound

Lecture Notes

FV

Legend:

BD = Bertrand Delgutte
AJO = Andrew J. Oxenham
JJG = John J. Guinan, Jr.
DKE = Donald Keith Eddington
MCB = M. Christian Brown
JRM = Jennifer R. Melcher
CM = Christophe Micheyl

SeS # TOPICS LECTURER
Lec 1

Hearing and the Auditory System: An Overview (PDF)

Stages of processing in the auditory system and their function. Detection, localization and recognition of sounds. Subjective and objective variables and experiments. Auditory demonstrations.

BD/AJO
Theme 1: Masking and Frequency Selectivity
Lec 2

How the Ear Works (Functional Cochlear Mechanics) (PDF - 1.4 MB)

Cochlear tuning. Hair cell transduction. Nonlinearities. The cochlear amplifier. Otoacoustic emissions.

JJG
Lec 3

Stimulus Coding in the Auditory Nerve (PDF)

The AN as an information conduit. Frequency tuning. Nonlinearities. Relation of AN activity to cochlear processing. Neural variability as a limit on psychophysical performance. Compound action potential.

BD
Lec 4

Masking and Frequency Selectivity (PDF)

Psychophysical techniques. Signal detection theory. Power spectrum model of masking. Techniques for measuring auditory filters. Psychophysical effects of cochlear nonlinearities.

AJO
Lec 5 Masking and Nonlinearity JJG/Staff
Lec 6 Masking and Nonlinearity (cont.) JJG/Staff
Lec 7

Cochlear Implants

Electrodes and processors. Basic auditory capabilities of implantees. Effect of electrode configuration. Processor design. Bilateral implants.

DKE
Lec 8

Intensity Perception and Cochlear Hearing Loss (PDF)

Loudness. Stevens’ law. Intensity discrimination. Weber’s law and its near miss. Relation of loudness to intensity. Consequences of reduced frequency selectivity and loss of cochlear amplifier in cochlear hearing impairment.

AJO
Theme 2: Cellular Mechanisms in the Cochlear Nucleus
Lec 9

Channels, Synapses and Neurotransmitters (PDF)

Excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission. Neurotransmitters and receptors. Second messengers.

JJG
Lec 10

Cellular Mechanisms in the Cochlear Nucleus

Parallel processing pathways in the cochlear nucleus. Correlation of cell types with response types. Neural specializations for temporal processing.

MCB
Lec 11 Cellular Mechanisms in the Cochlear Nucleus (cont.) MCB
Lec 12 Cellular Mechanisms in the Cochlear Nucleus (cont.) MCB/Staff
Theme 3: Binaural Interactions
Lec 13

Binaural Hearing (PDF)

Localization and lateralization. Cues for sound localization. Sensitivity to binaural cues. The Jeffress model. The precedence effect. Binaural detection.

AJO
Lec 14

Binaural Interactions in the Auditory Brainstem (PDF)

Neural circuitry and cellular specializations for binaural processing. Two basic forms of binaural interactions. Transformations of binaural information in the auditory pathway.

BD
Lec 15 Binaural Interactions BD/Staff
Lec 16 Binaural Interactions (cont.) BD/Staff
Theme 4: Pitch and Temporal Coding
Lec 17

Pitch of Pure and Complex Tones (PDF)

Pitch of pure and complex tones. Virtual pitch. Place and temporal models of pitch. Role of pitch in auditory scene analysis.

AJO
Lec 18

Neural Processing of Pitch (PDF)

Rate and temporal codes. Temporal envelope and fine structure. Interspike interval representation of pitch. Tuning to modulation frequency and its possible role in pitch coding. Transformations of temporal information along the auditory pathway.

BD
Lec 19 Pitch and Temporal Coding AJO/Staff
Lec 20 Pitch and Temporal Coding (cont.) AJO/Staff
Theme 5: Neural Maps and Plasticity
Lec 21

Auditory Cortex: Cortical organization

Cortical areas and layers. Thalamo-cortical and cortico-cortical projections. Tonotopy. Columnar organization. Parallel and hierarchical processing. Functions of the cortex.

MCB
Lec 22

The Human Auditory System

Imaging modalities: fMRI, MEG, AEP. Tonotopy in human auditory cortex. What and where pathways. Tinnitus-related abnormalities in brain activation.

JRM
Lec 23 Neural Maps and Plasticity JRM/Staff
Lec 24 Neural Maps and Plasticity (cont.) JRM/Staff
Theme 6: Auditory Scene Analysis and Object Formation
Lec 25

Auditory Scene Analysis (ASA) and Object Formation (PDF - 1.0MB) (Courtesy of Dr. Christophe Micheyl. Used with permission.)

Bottom-up (“primitive”) and top-down (“schema based”) mechanisms. Simultaneous processes in ASA: Harmonicity, Onset/offset asynchrony, Co-modulation. Sequential processes: Auditory streaming.

CM
Lec 26 Scene Analysis AJO/JRM
  Final Exam Staff