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Neural Correlates of Auditory Figure-Ground Segregation Based on Temporal Coherence
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Neural Correlates of Auditory Figure-Ground Segregation Based on Temporal Coherence

Sundeep Teki, Nicolas Barascud, Samuel Picard, Christopher Payne, Timothy D. Griffiths and Maria Chait
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. 1991), Vol.26(9), pp.3669-3680
09/01/2016
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw173
PMCID: PMC5004755
PMID: 27325682
url
https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhw173View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

To make sense of natural acoustic environments, listeners must parse complex mixtures of sounds that vary in frequency, space, and time. Emerging work suggests that, in addition to the well-studied spectral cues for segregation, sensitivity to temporal coherence-the coincidence of sound elements in and across time-is also critical for the perceptual organization of acoustic scenes. Here, we examine pre-attentive, stimulus-driven neural processes underlying auditory figure-ground segregation using stimuli that capture the challenges of listening in complex scenes where segregation cannot be achieved based on spectral cues alone. Signals ("stochastic figure-ground": SFG) comprised a sequence of brief broadband chords containing random pure tone components that vary from 1 chord to another. Occasional tone repetitions across chords are perceived as "figures" popping out of a stochastic "ground." Magnetoencephalography (MEG) measurement in na < ve, distracted, human subjects revealed robust evoked responses, commencing from about 150 ms after figure onset that reflect the emergence of the "figure" from the randomly varying "ground." Neural sources underlying this bottom-up driven figure-ground segregation were localized to planum temporale, and the intraparietal sulcus, demonstrating that this area, outside the "classic" auditory system, is also involved in the early stages of auditory scene analysis.".
Life Sciences & Biomedicine Neurosciences Neurosciences & Neurology Science & Technology

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