4,412 research outputs found
Cochlear injury and adaptive plasticity of the auditory cortex
Growing evidence suggests that cochlear stressors as noise exposure and aging can induce homeostatic/maladaptive changes in the central auditory system from the brainstem to the cortex. Studies centered on such changes have revealed several mechanisms that operate in the context of sensory disruption after insult (noise trauma, drug-, or age-related injury). The oxidative stress is central to current theories of induced sensory-neural hearing loss and aging, and interventions to attenuate the hearing loss are based on antioxidant agent. The present review addresses the recent literature on the alterations in hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons due to noise-induced oxidative stress in the cochlea, as well on the impact of cochlear damage on the auditory cortex neurons. The emerging image emphasizes that noise-induced deafferentation and upward spread of cochlear damage is associated with the altered dendritic architecture of auditory pyramidal neurons. The cortical modifications may be reversed by treatment with antioxidants counteracting the cochlear redox imbalance. These findings open new therapeutic approaches to treat the functional consequences of the cortical reorganization following cochlear damage
Generative sound art as poeitic poetry for an information society
This paper considers computer music in relation to broader society and asks what algorithmic composition can learn from the metaphysical shift which is happening in the so-called information societies. This is explored by taking the mapping problem inherent in the use of extra- musical models in generative composition and presenting a simple generative schema which prioritises sound, ex- ploiting the generative potential of digital audio. It is sug- gested that the exploration of such models has more than aesthetic relevance and that the interdisciplinary nature of digital sound art represents a microcosm of an emerging reality, thereby constituting a poietic playground for com- ing to terms with the implications and challenges of the information age
Biomechanics of hearing in katydids
Animals have evolved a vast diversity of mechanisms to detect sounds. Auditory
organs are used to detect intraspecific communicative signals and environmental
sounds relevant to survival. To hear, terrestrial animals must convert the acoustic
energy contained in the airborne sound pressure waves into neural signals. In
mammals, spectral quality is assessed by the decomposition of incoming sound waves
into elementary frequency components using a sophisticated cochlear system. Some
neotropical insects like katydids (bushcrickets) have evolved biophysical mechanisms
for auditory processing that are remarkably equivalent to those of mammals. Located
on their front legs, katydid ears are small, yet are capable of performing several of the
tasks usually associated with mammalian hearing. These tasks include air-to-liquid
impedance conversion, signal amplification, and frequency analysis. Impedance
conversion is achieved by a lever system, a mechanism functionally analogous to the
mammalian middle ear ossicles, yet morphologically distinct. In katydids, the exact
mechanisms supporting frequency analysis seem diverse, yet are seen to result in
dispersive wave propagation phenomenologically similar to that of cochlear systems.
Phylogenetically unrelated, katydids and tetrapods have evolved remarkably different
structural solutions to common biophysical problems. Here, we discuss the biophysics
of hearing in katydids and the variations observed across different species
The psychophysics of absolute threshold and signal duration: A probabilistic approach
The absolute threshold for a tone depends on its duration; longer tones have lower thresholds. This effect has traditionally been explained in terms of ?temporal integration? involving the summation of energy or perceptual information over time. An alternative probabilistic explanation of the process is formulated in terms of simple equations that predict not only the time=duration dependence but also the shape of the psychometric function at absolute threshold. It also predicts a tight relationship between these two functions. Measurements made using listeners with either normal or impaired hearing show that the probabilistic equations adequately fit observed threshold-duration functions and psychometric functions. The mathematical formulation implies that absolute threshold can be construed as a two-valued function: (a) gain and (b) sensory threshold, and both parameters can be estimated from threshold-duration data. Sensorineural hearing impairment is sometimes associated with a smaller threshold=duration effect and sometimes with steeper psychometric functions. The equations explain why these two effects are expected to be linked. The probabilistic approach has the potential to discriminate between hearing deficits involving gain reduction and those resulting from a raised sensory threshold
Adaptation of Binaural Processing in the Adult Brainstem Induced by Ambient Noise
Interaural differences in stimulus intensity and timing are major cues for sound localization. In mammals, these cues are first processed in the lateral and medial superior olive by interaction of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs from ipsi- and contralateral cochlear nucleus neurons. To preserve sound localization acuity following changes in the acoustic environment, the processing of these binaural cues needs neuronal adaptation. Recent studies have shown that binaural sensitivity adapts to stimulation history within milliseconds, but the actual extent of binaural adaptation is unknown. In the current study, we investigated long-term effects on binaural sensitivity using extracellular in vivo recordings from single neurons in the dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus that inherit their binaural properties directly from the lateral and medial superior olives. In contrast to most previous studies, we used a noninvasive approach to influence this processing. Adult gerbils were exposed for 2 weeks to moderate noise with no stable binaural cue. We found monaural response properties to be unaffected by this measure. However, neuronal sensitivity to binaural cues was reversibly altered for a few days. Computational models of sensitivity to interaural time and level differences suggest that upregulation of inhibition in the superior olivary complex can explain the electrophysiological data
An analog electronic cochlea
An analog electronic cochlea has been built in CMOS VLSI technology using micropower techniques. The key point of the model and circuit is that a cascade of simple, nearly linear, second-order filter stages with controllable Q parameters suffices to capture the physics of the fluid-dynamic traveling-wave system in the cochlea, including the effects of adaptation and active gain involving the outer hair cells. Measurements on the test chip suggest that the circuit matches both the theory and observations from real cochleas
An Analog Electronic Cochlea
An engineered system that hears, such as a speech recognizer, can be designed by modeling the cochlea, or inner ear, and higher levels of the auditory nervous system. To be useful in such a system, a model of the cochlea should incorporate a variety of known effects,
such as an asymmetric low-pass/bandpass response at each output channel, a short ringing time, and active adaptation to a wide range of input signal levels. An analog electronic cochlea has been built in CMOS
VLSI technology using micropower techniques to achieve this goal of usefulness via realism. The key point of the model and circuit is that a cascade of simple, nearly linear, second-order filter stages with controllable
Q parameters suffices to capture the physics of the fluid-dynamic traveling-wave system in the cochlea, including the effects of adaptation and active gain involving the outer hair cells. Measurements
on the test chip suggest that the circuit matches both the theory and observations from real cochleas
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