scholarly journals Interactions between listening effort and masker type on the energetic and informational masking of speech stimuli

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Brungart ◽  
Nandini Iyer ◽  
Eric R. Thompson ◽  
Brian D. Simpson ◽  
Sandra Gordon-Salant ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Informational Masking ◽  
Listening Effort ◽  
Speech Stimuli

Interactions between listening effort and masker type on the energetic and informational masking of speech stimuli

2013 ◽  
Vol 133 (5) ◽  
pp. 3435-3435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Brungart ◽  
Nandini Iyer ◽  
Eric Thompson ◽  
Brian D. Simpson ◽  
Sandra Gordon-Salant ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Informational Masking ◽  
Listening Effort ◽  
Speech Stimuli

Informational Masking Effects of Speech Versus Nonspeech Noise on Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials

2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (10) ◽  
pp. 4014-4029
Author(s):  
Kathy R. Vander Werff ◽  
Christopher E. Niemczak ◽  
Kenneth Morse
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Auditory Evoked Potentials ◽  
Spectral Characteristics ◽  
Auditory Evoked Potential ◽  
Informational Masking ◽  
Neural Encoding ◽  
Speech Stimuli ◽  
Typical Morphology ◽  
Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials ◽  
Speech Information

Purpose Background noise has been categorized as energetic masking due to spectrotemporal overlap of the target and masker on the auditory periphery or informational masking due to cognitive-level interference from relevant content such as speech. The effects of masking on cortical and sensory auditory processing can be objectively studied with the cortical auditory evoked potential (CAEP). However, whether effects on neural response morphology are due to energetic spectrotemporal differences or informational content is not fully understood. The current multi-experiment series was designed to assess the effects of speech versus nonspeech maskers on the neural encoding of speech information in the central auditory system, specifically in terms of the effects of speech babble noise maskers varying by talker number. Method CAEPs were recorded from normal-hearing young adults in response to speech syllables in the presence of energetic maskers (white or speech-shaped noise) and varying amounts of informational maskers (speech babble maskers). The primary manipulation of informational masking was the number of talkers in speech babble, and results on CAEPs were compared to those of nonspeech maskers with different temporal and spectral characteristics. Results Even when nonspeech noise maskers were spectrally shaped and temporally modulated to speech babble maskers, notable changes in the typical morphology of the CAEP in response to speech stimuli were identified in the presence of primarily energetic maskers and speech babble maskers with varying numbers of talkers. Conclusions While differences in CAEP outcomes did not reach significance by number of talkers, neural components were significantly affected by speech babble maskers compared to nonspeech maskers. These results suggest an informational masking influence on neural encoding of speech information at the sensory cortical level of auditory processing, even without active participation on the part of the listener.

Listening Effort in Native and Nonnative English-Speaking Children Using Low Linguistic Single- and Dual-Task Paradigms

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 1979-1989
Author(s):  
Ilze Oosthuizen ◽  
Erin M. Picou ◽  
Lidia Pottas ◽  
Hermanus Carel Myburgh ◽  
De Wet Swanepoel
Keyword(s):  
Dual Task ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Listening Effort ◽  
Language Background ◽  
Speech Stimuli ◽  
Monitoring Task ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Dual Task Paradigm ◽  
Recognition And Response

Purpose It is not clear if behavioral indices of listening effort are sensitive to changes in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for young children (7–12 years old) from multilingual backgrounds. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of SNR on listening effort in multilingual school-aged children (native English, nonnative English) as measured with a single- and a dual-task paradigm with low-linguistic speech stimuli (digits). The study also aimed to explore age effects on digit triplet recognition and response times (RTs). Method Sixty children with normal hearing participated, 30 per language group. Participants completed single and dual tasks in three SNRs (quiet, −10 dB, and −15 dB). Speech stimuli for both tasks were digit triplets. Verbal RTs were the listening effort measure during the single-task paradigm. A visual monitoring task was the secondary task during the dual-task paradigm. Results Significant effects of SNR on RTs were evident during both single- and dual-task paradigms. As expected, language background did not affect the pattern of RTs. The data also demonstrate a maturation effect for triplet recognition during both tasks and for RTs during the dual-task only. Conclusions Both single- and dual-task paradigms were sensitive to changes in SNR for school-aged children between 7 and 12 years of age. Language background (English as native language vs. English as nonnative language) had no significant effect on triplet recognition or RTs, demonstrating practical utility of low-linguistic stimuli for testing children from multilingual backgrounds.

Energetic/informational masking and listening effort, as measured by electroencephalography and pupillometry

2021 ◽  
Vol 150 (4) ◽  
pp. A144-A144
Author(s):  
Sarah Villard ◽  
Ayesha Alam ◽  
Tyler K. Perrachione ◽  
Gerald Kidd
Keyword(s):  
Informational Masking ◽  
Listening Effort

scholarly journals An Auditory-Perceptual and Pupillometric Study of Vocal Strain and Listening Effort in Adductor Spasmodic Dysphonia

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (17) ◽  
pp. 5907
Author(s):  
Mojgan Farahani ◽  
Vijay Parsa ◽  
Björn Herrmann ◽  
Mason Kadem ◽  
Ingrid Johnsrude ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Spasmodic Dysphonia ◽  
Perceptual Task ◽  
Listening Effort ◽  
Speech Stimuli ◽  
Perceptual Judgments ◽  
Adductor Spasmodic Dysphonia ◽  
Vocal Strain ◽  
Objectively Measured ◽  
Analogue Scales

This study evaluated ratings of vocal strain and perceived listening effort by normal hearing participants while listening to speech samples produced by talkers with adductor spasmodic dysphonia (AdSD). In addition, objective listening effort was measured through concurrent pupillometry to determine whether listening to disordered voices changed arousal as a result of emotional state or cognitive load. Recordings of the second sentence of the “Rainbow Passage” produced by talkers with varying degrees of AdSD served as speech stimuli. Twenty naïve young adult listeners perceptually evaluated these stimuli on the dimensions of vocal strain and listening effort using two separate visual analogue scales. While making the auditory-perceptual judgments, listeners’ pupil characteristics were objectively measured in synchrony with the presentation of each voice stimulus. Data analyses revealed moderate-to-high inter- and intra-rater reliability. A significant positive correlation was found between the ratings of vocal strain and listening effort. In addition, listeners displayed greater peak pupil dilation (PPD) when listening to more strained and effortful voice samples. Findings from this study suggest that when combined with an auditory-perceptual task, non-volitional physiologic changes in pupil response may serve as an indicator of listening and cognitive effort or arousal.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Measures of Blood Flow Patterns in the Human Auditory Cortex in Response to Sound

1998 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 538-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean C. Huckins ◽  
Christopher W. Turner ◽  
Karen A. Doherty ◽  
Michael M. Fonte ◽  
Nikolaus M. Szeverenyi
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Blood Flow ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Speech Stimuli ◽  
Complex Stimuli ◽  
Scanning Session ◽  
Auditory Research

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) holds exciting potential as a research and clinical tool for exploring the human auditory system. This noninvasive technique allows the measurement of discrete changes in cerebral cortical blood flow in response to sensory stimuli, allowing determination of precise neuroanatomical locations of the underlying brain parenchymal activity. Application of fMRI in auditory research, however, has been limited. One problem is that fMRI utilizing echo-planar imaging technology (EPI) generates intense noise that could potentially affect the results of auditory experiments. Also, issues relating to the reliability of fMRI for listeners with normal hearing need to be resolved before this technique can be used to study listeners with hearing loss. This preliminary study examines the feasibility of using fMRI in auditory research by performing a simple set of experiments to test the reliability of scanning parameters that use a high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio unlike that presently reported in the literature. We used consonant-vowel (CV) speech stimuli to investigate whether or not we could observe reproducible and consistent changes in cortical blood flow in listeners during a single scanning session, across more than one scanning session, and in more than one listener. In addition, we wanted to determine if there were differences between CV speech and nonspeech complex stimuli across listeners. Our study shows reproducibility within and across listeners for CV speech stimuli. Results were reproducible for CV speech stimuli within fMRI scanning sessions for 5 out of 9 listeners and were reproducible for 6 out of 8 listeners across fMRI scanning sessions. Results of nonspeech complex stimuli across listeners showed activity in 4 out of 9 individuals tested.

The Development of Informational Masking

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rochelle S. Newman ◽  
Gerald D. Kidd ◽  
Faraz Ahsan ◽  
Giovanna Morini
Keyword(s):  
Informational Masking

New possibility for measuring the cortical auditory evoked potentials: the HEARLab

2014 ◽  
Vol 155 (38) ◽  
pp. 1524-1529
Author(s):  
Ádám Bach ◽  
Ferenc Tóth ◽  
Vera Matievics ◽  
József Géza Kiss ◽  
József Jóri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Evoked Potentials ◽  
Auditory System ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Pure Tone ◽  
Auditory Evoked Potentials ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Speech Stimuli ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials

Introduction: Cortical auditory evoked potentials can provide objective information about the highest level of the auditory system. Aim: The purpose of the authors was to introduce a new tool, the “HEARLab” which can be routinely used in clinical practice for the measurement of the cortical auditory evoked potentials. In addition, they wanted to establish standards of the analyzed parameters in subjects with normal hearing. Method: 25 adults with normal hearing were tested with speech stimuli, and frequency specific examinations were performed utilizing pure tone stimuli. Results: The findings regarding the latency and amplitude analyses of the evoked potentials confirm previously published results of this novel method. Conclusions: The HEARLAb can be a great help when performance of the conventional audiological examinations is complicated. The examination can be performed in uncooperative subjects even in the presence of hearing aids. The test is frequency specific and does not require anesthesia. Orv. Hetil., 2014, 155(38), 1524–1529.

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