Human Auditory Cortical Processing of Changes in Interaural Correlation

Overview

Journal J Neurosci

Specialty Neurology

Date 2005 Sep 16

PMID 16162933

Citations 23

Authors

Maria Chait

David Poeppel

Alain de Cheveigne

Jonathan Z Simon

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Sensitivity to the similarity of the acoustic waveforms at the two ears, and specifically to changes in similarity, is crucial to auditory scene analysis and extraction of objects from background. Here, we use the high temporal resolution of magnetoencephalography to investigate the dynamics of cortical processing of changes in interaural correlation, a measure of interaural similarity, and compare them with behavior. Stimuli are interaurally correlated or uncorrelated wideband noise, immediately followed by the same noise with intermediate degrees of interaural correlation. Behaviorally, listeners' sensitivity to changes in interaural correlation is asymmetrical. Listeners are faster and better at detecting transitions from correlated noise than transitions from uncorrelated noise. The cortical response to the change in correlation is characterized by an activation sequence starting from approximately 50 ms after change. The strength of this response parallels behavioral performance: auditory cortical mechanisms are much less sensitive to transitions from uncorrelated noise than from correlated noise. In each case, sensitivity increases with interaural correlation difference. Brain responses to transitions from uncorrelated noise lag those from correlated noise by approximately 80 ms, which may be the neural correlate of the observed behavioral response time differences. Importantly, we demonstrate differences in location and time course of neural processing: transitions from correlated noise are processed by a distinct neural population, and with greater speed, than transitions from uncorrelated noise.

Citing Articles

Wang X, Nie S, Wen Y, Zhao Z, Li J, Wang N Front Hum Neurosci. 2024; 18:1342931.

PMID: 38681742 PMC: 11045960. DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1342931.

Frequency and Time Domain Analysis of EEG Based Auditory Evoked Potentials to Detect Binaural Hearing in Noise.

Ignatious E, Azam S, Jonkman M, De Boer F J Clin Med. 2023; 12(13).

PMID: 37445522 PMC: 10342578. DOI: 10.3390/jcm12134487.

Deep neural networks effectively model neural adaptation to changing background noise and suggest nonlinear noise filtering methods in auditory cortex.

Mischler G, Keshishian M, Bickel S, Mehta A, Mesgarani N Neuroimage. 2022; 266:119819.

PMID: 36529203 PMC: 10510744. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119819.

Human cortical processing of interaural coherence.

Luke R, Innes-Brown H, Undurraga J, McAlpine D iScience. 2022; 25(5):104181.

PMID: 35494228 PMC: 9051632. DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104181.

A Speech-Level-Based Segmented Model to Decode the Dynamic Auditory Attention States in the Competing Speaker Scenes.

Wang L, Wang Y, Liu Z, Wu E, Chen F Front Neurosci. 2022; 15:760611.

PMID: 35221885 PMC: 8866945. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.760611.

References

Palmer A, Jiang D, McAlpine D . Desynchronizing responses to correlated noise: A mechanism for binaural masking level differences at the inferior colliculus. J Neurophysiol. 1999; 81(2):722-34. DOI: 10.1152/jn.1999.81.2.722. View

Akeroyd M, Summerfield A . A binaural analog of gap detection. J Acoust Soc Am. 1999; 105(5):2807-20. DOI: 10.1121/1.426897. View

Roberts T, Ferrari P, Stufflebeam S, Poeppel D . Latency of the auditory evoked neuromagnetic field components: stimulus dependence and insights toward perception. J Clin Neurophysiol. 2000; 17(2):114-29. DOI: 10.1097/00004691-200003000-00002. View

Palmer A, Jiang D, McAlpine D . Neural responses in the inferior colliculus to binaural masking level differences created by inverting the noise in one ear. J Neurophysiol. 2000; 84(2):844-52. DOI: 10.1152/jn.2000.84.2.844. View

Yvert B, Crouzeix A, Bertrand O, Seither-Preisler A, Pantev C . Multiple supratemporal sources of magnetic and electric auditory evoked middle latency components in humans. Cereb Cortex. 2001; 11(5):411-23. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/11.5.411. View

Culling J, Colburn H, Spurchise M . Interaural correlation sensitivity. J Acoust Soc Am. 2001; 110(2):1020-9. DOI: 10.1121/1.1383296. View

Boehnke S, Hall S, Marquardt T . Detection of static and dynamic changes in interaural correlation. J Acoust Soc Am. 2002; 112(4):1617-26. DOI: 10.1121/1.1504857. View

McAlpine D, Grothe B . Sound localization and delay lines--do mammals fit the model?. Trends Neurosci. 2003; 26(7):347-50. DOI: 10.1016/S0166-2236(03)00140-1. View

Budd T, Hall D, Goncalves M, Akeroyd M, Foster J, Palmer A . Binaural specialisation in human auditory cortex: an fMRI investigation of interaural correlation sensitivity. Neuroimage. 2003; 20(3):1783-94. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2003.07.026. View

10.

Soeta Y, Hotehama T, Nakagawa S, Tonoike M, Ando Y . Auditory evoked magnetic fields in relation to interaural cross-correlation of band-pass noise. Hear Res. 2004; 196(1-2):109-14. DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2004.07.002. View

11.

Chait M, Simon J, Poeppel D . Auditory M50 and M100 responses to broadband noise: functional implications. Neuroreport. 2004; 15(16):2455-8. DOI: 10.1097/00001756-200411150-00004. View

12.

Krumbholz K, Schonwiesner M, Rubsamen R, Zilles K, Fink G, von Cramon D . Hierarchical processing of sound location and motion in the human brainstem and planum temporale. Eur J Neurosci. 2005; 21(1):230-8. DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2004.03836.x. View

13.

Jones S, PITMAN J, Halliday A . Scalp potentials following sudden coherence and discoherence of binaural noise and change in the inter-aural time difference: a specific binaural evoked potential or a "mismatch" response?. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1991; 80(2):146-54. DOI: 10.1016/0168-5597(91)90152-n. View

14.

JEFFRESS L . A place theory of sound localization. J Comp Physiol Psychol. 1948; 41(1):35-9. DOI: 10.1037/h0061495. View

15.

Yin T, Chan J . Interaural time sensitivity in medial superior olive of cat. J Neurophysiol. 1990; 64(2):465-88. DOI: 10.1152/jn.1990.64.2.465. View

16.

Durlach N, Gabriel K, Colburn H, Trahiotis C . Interaural correlation discrimination: II. Relation to binaural unmasking. J Acoust Soc Am. 1986; 79(5):1548-57. DOI: 10.1121/1.393681. View

17.

Blauert J, Lindemann W . Auditory spaciousness: some further psychoacoustic analyses. J Acoust Soc Am. 1986; 80(2):533-42. DOI: 10.1121/1.394048. View

18.

Grantham D, Wightman F . Detectability of a pulsed tone in the presence of a masker with time-varying interaural correlation. J Acoust Soc Am. 1979; 65(6):1509-17. DOI: 10.1121/1.382915. View

19.

OLDFIELD R . The assessment and analysis of handedness: the Edinburgh inventory. Neuropsychologia. 1971; 9(1):97-113. DOI: 10.1016/0028-3932(71)90067-4. View

20.

Moore B, Glasberg B . Suggested formulae for calculating auditory-filter bandwidths and excitation patterns. J Acoust Soc Am. 1983; 74(3):750-3. DOI: 10.1121/1.389861. View