Tuning in the Spatial Dimension: Evidence from a Masked Speech Identification Task

Overview

Journal J Acoust Soc Am

Publisher American Institute of Physics

Specialty Otorhinolaryngology

Date 2008 Aug 7

PMID 18681603

Citations 63

Authors

Nicole Marrone

Christine R Mason

Gerald Kidd

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Spatial release from masking was studied in a three-talker soundfield listening experiment. The target talker was presented at 0 degrees azimuth and the maskers were either colocated or symmetrically positioned around the target, with a different masker talker on each side. The symmetric placement greatly reduced any "better ear" listening advantage. When the maskers were separated from the target by +/-15 degrees , the average spatial release from masking was 8 dB. Wider separations increased the release to more than 12 dB. This large effect was eliminated when binaural cues and perceived spatial separation were degraded by covering one ear with an earplug and earmuff. Increasing reverberation in the room increased the target-to-masker ratio (TM) for the separated, but not colocated, conditions reducing the release from masking, although a significant advantage of spatial separation remained. Time reversing the masker speech improved performance in both the colocated and spatially separated cases but lowered TM the most for the colocated condition, also resulting in a reduction in the spatial release from masking. Overall, the spatial tuning observed appears to depend on the presence of interaural differences that improve the perceptual segregation of sources and facilitate the focus of attention at a point in space.

Citing Articles

Comparison of Psychometric Functions Measured Using Remote Testing and Laboratory Testing.

Srinivasan N, Patro C, Kansangra R, Trotman A Audiol Res. 2024; 14(3):469-478.

PMID: 38804463 PMC: 11130947. DOI: 10.3390/audiolres14030039.

Spatial Release From Masking With Bilateral Bone Conduction Stimulation at Mastoid for Normal Hearing Subjects.

Wang J, Xie S, Stenfelt S, Zhou H, Wang X, Sang J Trends Hear. 2024; 28:23312165241234202.

PMID: 38549451 PMC: 10981249. DOI: 10.1177/23312165241234202.

Individual differences in speech-on-speech masking are correlated with cognitive and visual task performance.

Byrne A, Conroy C, Kidd G J Acoust Soc Am. 2023; 154(4):2137-2153.

PMID: 37800988 PMC: 10631817. DOI: 10.1121/10.0021301.

Development and validation of a Spanish-language spatial release from masking task in a Mexican population.

Lelo de Larrea-Mancera E, Solis-Vivanco R, Sanchez-Jimenez Y, Coco L, Gallun F, Seitz A J Acoust Soc Am. 2023; 153(1):316.

PMID: 36732214 PMC: 10162838. DOI: 10.1121/10.0016850.

Defining functional spatial boundaries using a spatial release from masking task.

Ozmeral E, Higgins N JASA Express Lett. 2022; 2(12):124402.

PMID: 36586966 PMC: 9720634. DOI: 10.1121/10.0015356.

References

Wright B, Dai H . Detection of sinusoidal amplitude modulation at unexpected rates. J Acoust Soc Am. 1998; 104(5):2991-6. DOI: 10.1121/1.423881. View

Patterson R, Nimmo-Smith I, Weber D, Milroy R . The deterioration of hearing with age: frequency selectivity, the critical ratio, the audiogram, and speech threshold. J Acoust Soc Am. 1982; 72(6):1788-803. DOI: 10.1121/1.388652. View

Carlile S, Hyams S, Delaney S . Systematic distortions of auditory space perception following prolonged exposure to broadband noise. J Acoust Soc Am. 2001; 110(1):416-24. DOI: 10.1121/1.1375843. View

Neff D, Dethlefs T . Individual differences in simultaneous masking with random-frequency, multicomponent maskers. J Acoust Soc Am. 1995; 98(1):125-34. DOI: 10.1121/1.413748. View

Middlebrooks J, Pettigrew J . Functional classes of neurons in primary auditory cortex of the cat distinguished by sensitivity to sound location. J Neurosci. 1981; 1(1):107-20. PMC: 6564160. View

Greenberg G, Larkin W . Frequency-response characteristic of auditory observers detecting signals of a single frequency in noise: the probe-signal method. J Acoust Soc Am. 1968; 44(6):1513-23. DOI: 10.1121/1.1911290. View

Sterbing S, Hartung K, Hoffmann K . Spatial tuning to virtual sounds in the inferior colliculus of the guinea pig. J Neurophysiol. 2003; 90(4):2648-59. DOI: 10.1152/jn.00348.2003. View

Rhebergen K, Versfeld N, Dreschler W . Release from informational masking by time reversal of native and non-native interfering speech. J Acoust Soc Am. 2005; 118(3 Pt 1):1274-7. DOI: 10.1121/1.2000751. View

Goldberg J, Brown P . Response of binaural neurons of dog superior olivary complex to dichotic tonal stimuli: some physiological mechanisms of sound localization. J Neurophysiol. 1969; 32(4):613-36. DOI: 10.1152/jn.1969.32.4.613. View

10.

Li L, Daneman M, Qi J, Schneider B . Does the information content of an irrelevant source differentially affect spoken word recognition in younger and older adults?. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 2004; 30(6):1077-91. DOI: 10.1037/0096-1523.30.6.1077. View

11.

Noble W, Perrett S . Hearing speech against spatially separate competing speech versus competing noise. Percept Psychophys. 2003; 64(8):1325-36. DOI: 10.3758/bf03194775. View

12.

Oxenham A . Influence of spatial and temporal coding on auditory gap detection. J Acoust Soc Am. 2000; 107(4):2215-23. DOI: 10.1121/1.428502. View

13.

Teder-Salejarvi W, Hillyard S . The gradient of spatial auditory attention in free field: an event-related potential study. Percept Psychophys. 1998; 60(7):1228-42. DOI: 10.3758/bf03206172. View

14.

Arbogast T, Mason C, Kidd Jr G . The effect of spatial separation on informational and energetic masking of speech. J Acoust Soc Am. 2002; 112(5 Pt 1):2086-98. DOI: 10.1121/1.1510141. View

15.

Shaw E . Transformation of sound pressure level from the free field to the eardrum in the horizontal plane. J Acoust Soc Am. 1974; 56(6):1848-61. DOI: 10.1121/1.1903522. View

16.

Drennan W, Gatehouse S, Lever C . Perceptual segregation of competing speech sounds: the role of spatial location. J Acoust Soc Am. 2003; 114(4 Pt 1):2178-89. DOI: 10.1121/1.1609994. View

17.

TSUCHITANI C . The inhibition of cat lateral superior olive unit excitatory responses to binaural tone bursts. I. The transient chopper response. J Neurophysiol. 1988; 59(1):164-83. DOI: 10.1152/jn.1988.59.1.164. View

18.

LEVITT H . Transformed up-down methods in psychoacoustics. J Acoust Soc Am. 1971; 49(2):Suppl 2:467+. View

19.

King A, Bajo V, Bizley J, Campbell R, Nodal F, Schulz A . Physiological and behavioral studies of spatial coding in the auditory cortex. Hear Res. 2007; 229(1-2):106-15. PMC: 7116512. DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2007.01.001. View

20.

Kidd Jr G, Arbogast T, Mason C, Gallun F . The advantage of knowing where to listen. J Acoust Soc Am. 2006; 118(6):3804-15. DOI: 10.1121/1.2109187. View