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Biomedical subjects

B C Moore

Publications and source records attributed to B C Moore.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Comparison of auditory filter shapes obtained with notched-noise and noise-tone maskers.

The notched-noise method has been widely used to estimate the shape of the auditory filter. Results obtained using this method may be influenced by combination bands produced by the interaction of components within the upper band of noise in the notched-noise masker. To assess the possible effect of such combination bands, results were compared for two types of masker: A notched noise, as used in previous experiments; and a masker in which the upper band of noise was replaced by a sinusoid with a frequency corresponding to the lower edge frequency of that band. This is referred to as the noise-tone masker. The signal frequency was 2 kHz, and measurements were obtained for two different spectrum levels of the noise masker, 30 and 45 dB. Auditory filter shapes derived using the two maskers were similar on their low-frequency sides, as expected. The low-frequency sides were less steep at the higher masker level. The high-frequency sides of the auditory filters derived using the noise-tone masker were sometimes slightly steeper than those obtained using the notched-noise masker, but the effect was generally small. Changes with level on the high-frequency sides were not consistent across subjects. An analysis of the notched-noise data taking into account the effects of the combination bands suggests that the maximal spectrum level of the combination bands, in the region just below the lower spectral edge of the primary noise band, is about 20 to 30 dB below the spectrum level of the primary band.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Auditory Perception↗
PubMed1995

Effects of level and frequency on the detection of decrements and increments in sinusoids.

Thresholds for the detection of decrements in level of sinusoidal signals were measured as a function of decrement duration, level (25, 40, 55, and 70 dB SPL) and frequency (250, 1000, and 4000 Hz) in eleven normally hearing subjects. Thresholds for detecting a brief increment in level were also measured. The sinusoids were presented in a background noise intended to mask spectral splatter associated with the decrement or increment. Performance tended to worsen with decreasing frequency, for all decrement durations and for increment detection. Performance also worsened with decreasing level. The results were analyzed using a model consisting of a compressive nonlinearity, a sliding temporal integrator, and a decision device. The analysis indicated that the worsening in performance with decreasing frequency and decreasing level can be attributed partly to increases in the equivalent rectangular duration (ERD) of the temporal integrator, but mainly to changes in the efficiency of the detection process following the temporal integrator; at lower frequencies and levels a larger change is required at the output of the integrator for threshold to be reached. At each frequency, the ERD was relatively invariant with level for levels more than about 20 dB above the absolute threshold.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The identification of vowel-like harmonic complexes: effects of component phase, level, and fundamental frequency.

These experiments investigate how the identification of vowel-like harmonic complexes, similar to those used by Leek et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 81, 148-154 (1987)], is affected by spectral contrast, overall level, component phase, and fundamental frequency (F0). Four normally hearing subjects were required to identify which of six vowel-like harmonic complexes was presented on each trial. The test stimuli were complex tones containing the first 35 harmonics of a 100-Hz fundamental or the first 70 harmonics of a 50-Hz fundamental. All of the harmonics with frequencies below 3000 Hz were equal in amplitude except for three pairs of successive harmonics which were located at the first, second, and third formant frequency values, and incremented in level by 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 dB relative to the other components. Three overall levels were used, 85, 65, and 45 dB SPL, and harmonics were added in either cosine or random phase. The results indicated that identification was better for cosine phase than for random phase, except for the 100-Hz fundamental at 45 dB SPL. The difference between the two phase conditions increased with increasing presentation level and with decreasing fundamental frequency. The results are explained in terms of the waveforms that would occur at the outputs of different auditory filters. It does not appear necessary to invoke nonlinear enhancement mechanisms to explain the results, although an influence of such mechanisms cannot be ruled out.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Additivity of masking in normally hearing and hearing-impaired subjects.

The effects of combining two equally effective maskers were studied in normally hearing and elderly hearing-impaired subjects. The additivity of nonsimultaneous masking was investigated by measuring thresholds for a brief 4-kHz signal in the presence of a broadband-noise forward masker, a backward masker, and a combination of both. For the normally hearing subjects, combining two equally effective nonsimultaneous maskers resulted in up to a 15-dB greater increase in threshold than the 3 dB predicted by an energy-summation model ("excess masking"). However, the hearing-impaired subjects showed little or no excess masking. The difference between the two groups is consistent with a theory linking excess masking to the compressive transfer function measured on the basilar membrane (BM). In the hearing-impaired subjects the transfer function is more linear, accounting for the lack of excess masking. The additivity of simultaneous masking was investigated by measuring thresholds for a 100-ms 4-kHz signal in the presence of either a 400-ms broadband noise masker or a 400-ms sinusoidal masker at the same frequency as the signal, and then combining two equally effective maskers, a noise and a tone. The maximum amount of excess masking (3 to 4 dB) was similar across the two groups of subjects, consistent with an explanation based on the use of different detection cues for the tonal and noise maskers. It is argued that, while peripheral compression may underlie excess masking for pairs of nonsimultaneous maskers, it is unlikely that in simultaneous masking, where the maskers are close in frequency to the signal, the two maskers are compressed individually before their effects are combined. It is further suggested that BM nonlinearity may underlie the effects of the upward spread of masking and the nonlinear growth of forward masking, as well as accounting for the additivity of simultaneous masking when the masker frequencies are well below that of the signal.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Simulation of the effects of loudness recruitment on the intelligibility of speech in noise.

This experiment simulated the threshold elevation and loudness recruitment associated with three different types of hearing loss: moderate flat (condition R2), severe flat (condition R3), and moderate-to-severe sloping (condition RX). This was done to allow an examination of the effects of these factors on the intelligibility of speech, in isolation from other factors that are normally associated with cochlear hearing loss, such as reduced frequency selectivity. The speech was presented at a fixed input level of 65 dB SPL, against a background of a noise whose spectrum was shaped to match the long-term average spectrum of the speech. The level of the background noise varied from 65 to 74 dB SPL. The simulation was performed by splitting the input signal into 13 frequency bands, and processing the envelope in each band so as to create loudness sensations in a normal ear that would resemble those produced in an impaired ear with recruitment. The bands were then recombined. All tests were performed using subjects with normal hearing. The simulation of hearing loss produced decrements in performance. The speech in condition R3 was inaudible. For conditions R2 and RX, the speech-to-noise ratios had to be up to 6 dB higher than in the control condition (R1, unprocessed stimuli) to achieve similar levels of performance. When linear amplification according to the NAL prescription was applied before the simulation, performance improved markedly for conditions R2 and RX, and did not differ significantly from that for R1. For condition R3, performance with simulated NAL amplification remained below that for condition R1; the decrement in performance was equivalent to about a 1 dB change in speech-to-noise ratio. The results of the present experiment show much smaller decrements in performance than those of an earlier experiment using a single talker as the interfering sound (Moore and Glasberg, 1993). It appears that loudness recruitment and threshold elevation have larger effects for a fluctuating background sound than for a steady background sound, and linear amplification is more effective in the latter case.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1994

Modeling the additivity of nonsimultaneous masking.

Thresholds were measured for detecting a brief 6-kHz sinusoidal signal preceded by a broadband noise masker (forward masking), followed by the masker (backward masking), or both preceded by and followed by the masker (combined masking). The masker-signal interval was systematically varied. Consistent with the literature, thresholds in the combined-masking condition were higher than would be predicted by an energy-sum of the effects of the individual forward and backward maskers. This is often referred to as 'excess' masking. The data were modeled by subjecting the amplitude of the stimuli to a power-law nonlinearity followed by a sliding temporal integrator ('window'). It was assumed that threshold corresponds to a fixed signal-to-noise ratio at the output of the window. The best fits to the data were obtained using a power less than unity (0.5 to 0.7), i.e. by a compressive nonlinearity. Generally good fits to the data were achieved, indicating that the model is able to account for the decay of forward and backward masking as well as the effects of combining pairs of maskers (excess masking). The temporal windows derived from the data are also able to predict thresholds in decrement and increment detection tasks, and to account for the longer-term effects of masker duration in forward masking.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1994

Profile analysis and comodulation detection differences using narrow bands of noise and their relation to comodulation masking release.

Experiment 1 examined the ability to compare relative level across frequency (profile analysis) for stimuli that were dynamically varying over time. The task was to detect an increment in level of a narrow band of noise (the target) in the presence or absence (reference condition) of four flanking bands (FBs). The envelopes of the FBs were either the same as that of the target (correlated condition), independent of that of the target but the same as each other (co-uncorrelated condition), or all independent (all-uncorrelated condition). The overall level of the stimuli was either fixed or randomly varied from one stimulus to the next. The results showed that subjects can make effective use of spectral-shape cues even for stimuli whose amplitudes vary markedly over time. In the correlated condition, the threshold for detecting an increment in the level of the target band was decreased (relative to the reference condition) both when the overall level was fixed and when it was varied randomly from stimulus to stimulus. In the uncorrelated conditions, the FBs did not lead to better performance when the overall level was fixed; rather they produced a small interference effect. When the overall level was randomized, the presence of uncorrelated FBs produced thresholds that decreased with increasing bandwidth and, for a bandwidth of 64 Hz, produced an improvement in performance (relative to the reference condition) that was almost as large as that produced by the correlated FBs. It seems that the more rapid fluctuations in the wider bands of noise were smoothed by the auditory system, enabling information about the long-term spectral shape to be extracted effectively. Experiment 2 used similar stimuli, but the task was to detect the target, rather than to discriminate its level. Detection thresholds in the presence of FBs were lowest in the co-uncorrelated condition, higher in the correlated condition, and highest in the all-uncorrelated condition. Thus the presence of correlated FBs improved discrimination thresholds in the profile analysis task, but impaired performance in the detection task. Reasons for the discrepancy between the effects of correlated FBs in the two tasks are discussed in the context of the cues available to the listener.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

The critical modulation frequency and its relationship to auditory filtering at low frequencies.

If the thresholds for detecting sinusoidal amplitude or frequency modulation of a sinusoidal carrier with frequency fc are expressed in terms of the respective modulation indices, m and beta, the ratio beta/m decreases as the modulation frequency increases, and approaches an asymptotic value of unity. The modulation frequency at which the ratio first becomes unity is called the critical modulation frequency (CMF). It has been suggested that the CMF is reached when the spectral sidebands in the stimulus first become detectable and that the CMF corresponds to half the value of the critical bandwidth (CB) at fc. In this paper it is demonstrated that the CMF is confounded as a measure of frequency selectivity at low frequencies, since, for modulation frequencies around the CMF, the sideband that is most detectable changes with fc. For values of fc above 250 Hz, the lower sideband is most detectable. For values of fc below 200 Hz, the upper sideband is most detectable. These findings can account for the fact that the CMF flattens off at low carrier frequencies, reaching an asymptotic value of about 40 Hz, whereas the auditory filter bandwidth continues to decrease down to very low center frequencies.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1994

Detection of mixed modulation using correlated and uncorrelated noise modulators.

This article is concerned with the mechanisms underlying the detection of amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), and mixed modulation (MM), i.e., simultaneously occurring AM and FM. In a previous study [B. C. J. Moore and A. Sek, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 92, 3119-3131 (1992)], psychometric functions were measured for the detection of AM alone and FM alone, using a 10-Hz sinusoidal modulator and a 1-kHz carrier frequency. Detectability was then measured for combined AM and FM, with modulation depths selected so that each type of modulation would be equally detectable if presented alone. The detectability of the MM was better than would be predicted if the two types of modulation were coded completely independently. This study examined the possibility that the good detectability of MM was caused by the fact that the AM and the FM were correlated, so that each was predictable from the other. The design was similar to that of our earlier study, but the 10-Hz sinusoidal modulator was replaced by a narrow-band noise modulator. In the MM conditions, the modulators for AM and FM were either strongly positively correlated or essentially uncorrelated. In experiment 1, the waveforms of the noise modulators were fixed throughout the experiment (frozen noise). In experiment 2, the waveforms of the noise modulators were chosen independently for each trial. In both experiments, for both correlated and uncorrelated modulators, the detectability of the MM was better than would be predicted if the two types of modulation were coded completely independently.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1994

Discrimination of modulation type (amplitude modulation or frequency modulation) with and without background noise.

These experiments compare the ability to detect amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM) with the ability to discriminate AM from FM, using 10-Hz sinusoidal modulation of a 1000-Hz carrier. Initially, psychometric functions were measured for the detection of AM and FM alone, using a two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) task. In experiment 1, pairs of values of AM and FM were selected that would be equally detectable, and psychometric functions were measured for the discrimination of AM from FM, again in a 2AFC task. Values of d' for discriminating AM from FM were always lower than the values of d' for detection of the AM or FM. When the detectability of the AM and FM was low (d' = 0.66), two subjects were essentially unable to discriminate AM from FM. This was true both for stimuli presented in quiet and for stimuli presented with continuous noise chosen to mask either the lower or the upper side of the excitation pattern. In experiment 2, subjects were again required to discriminate AM from FM, but the AM depth was fixed within a block of trials, while the FM depth was varied across trials. The discriminability of AM from FM did not show distinct minima at specific FM depths. Again, this was true both for stimuli presented in quiet and for stimuli presented with continuous noise chosen to mask either the lower or the upper side of the excitation pattern. This result suggests that the discrimination of AM from FM was not based on monitoring just one side of the excitation pattern of the carrier.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Auditory Perception↗
PubMed1994

Effects of carrier frequency and background noise on the detection of mixed modulation.

This article is concerned with the mechanisms underlying the detection of amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), and mixed modulation (MM), i.e., simultaneously occurring AM and FM. In a previous study [B. C. J. Moore and A. Sek, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 92, 3119-3131 (1992)], psychometric functions were measured for the detection of AM alone and FM alone, using a 10-Hz modulation rate and a 1-kHz carrier frequency. Detectability was then measured for combined AM and FM, with modulation depths selected so that each type of modulation would be equally detectable if presented alone. The detectability of the combined AM and FM was better than would be predicted if the two types of modulation were coded completely independently. Significant effects of relative modulator phase were found when detectability was relatively high, but these effects were not correctly predicted by either of two excitation-pattern models considered. The first experiment reported here was similar to the earlier experiment, but performance was compared for carrier frequencies of 1 and 6 kHz; at the latter frequency, neural synchrony to the stimulus fine structure (phase locking) does not occur. The results at both carrier frequencies were similar to those of our earlier experiment, suggesting that the presence or absence of phase-locking information plays little role in the detection of MM. The second experiment was again similar, but bands of noise were used to mask selectively either the upper or lower side of the excitation pattern of the modulated carrier. The phase effects in this case were in the direction predicted by excitation pattern models. The overall pattern of the results could be predicted reasonably well using a multichannel excitation pattern model based on the assumption that listeners use an unweighted sum of decision variables across all suprathreshold channels with a positive signal-to-noise ratio.

Auditory Perception↗
PubMed1994

Growth-of-masking functions for several types of maskers.

Growth-of-masking functions were obtained for sinusoidal signals at three frequencies (fs), 0.25, 1.0, and 4.0 kHz, using maskers that were always higher in frequency than the signal. Five different maskers were used, chosen so as to evaluate the influence of temporal fluctuations in the maskers and of combination products produced by the interaction of components within the maskers: A sinusoid (S); a narrow-band noise with a bandwidth of 16 Hz (N); a noise with a slightly wider bandwidth equal to 0.75 times the equivalent rectangular bandwidth (ERB) of the auditory filter at each fs (W); a noise with a very wide bandwidth equal to 0.4fs and with lower cut-off frequency and spectrum level matched to those of masker W (V); and a sinusoidal carrier frequency modulated by a noise, and matched in bandwidth and center frequency to masker N (F). The center frequencies of maskers S, N, W, and F were either 1.1fs or 1.2fs. Masker S generally produced the smallest amount of masking and gave growth-of-masking functions with the shallowest slopes (much less than unity). Results were similar for maskers N and F; both produced slightly more masking than masker S and growth-of-masking functions with slightly greater slopes than masker S. Maskers W and V produced more masking than the other maskers, and gave growth-of-masking functions with steeper slopes. For all maskers, the slopes of the growth-of-masking functions were lower at the greater signal-masker frequency separation. It is suggested that the results for the two maskers with the greatest bandwidth (W and V) were influenced by combination bands produced by the interaction of components within the masker. The results for the maskers with very small bandwidths (S, N, and F), suggest that the upper side of the auditory filter increases in slope with increasing level.

Auditory Perception↗
PubMed1994

A comparison of the effectiveness of across-channel cues available in comodulation masking release and profile analysis tasks.

These experiments were designed to explore the benefit to signal detection of different types of across-channel cues, both alone and in combination. Some conditions were similar to those used in profile analysis (PA), and some to those used in comodulation masking release (CMR). Others were designed specifically to eliminate, or render unreliable, a particular across-channel cue so that the benefit to performance from another cue could be assessed. Thresholds for detecting an increment in level of a sinusoid, or of the carrier of a sinusoidally amplitude modulated (SAM) sinusoid, were measured in the presence or absence of four sinusoids or SAM sinusoids (flankers), two centered above and two centered below the signal frequency. The flankers were always modulated with the same depth as the target component during nonsignal intervals. The flankers, when present, were either equal in level to the nonsignal target sinusoid, or were scrambled in level (different in level both from each other and from the target by an amount that varied randomly from one stimulus to the next). In some conditions the overall level of the stimuli was also varied randomly from one stimulus to the next. The results indicate that about 5-6 dB of benefit arises from the cue of a disparity in level across frequency (a PA-type cue), and about 1-3 dB from the cue of a disparity in envelope modulation depth across frequency (a CMR-type cue). For some subjects, slightly less benefit occurred when the flankers were presented to the opposite ear as the signal, requiring across-ear comparisons. Scrambling the level of the flankers often impaired performance, especially when the overall level of the stimuli was fixed. This appears to reflect an across-channel interference effect.

Auditory Perception↗
PubMed1993

Temporal analysis in normal and impaired hearing.

The ear contains an array of filters that separate the components of a complex signal into "channels" tuned to different center frequencies. Temporal analysis can be considered as two processes: analysis of the time pattern occurring within each channel, and comparison of the time patterns across channels. Within-channel acuity can be characterized by tasks such as gap detection, or by the ability to detect amplitude modulation as a function of modulation rate. The smallest detectable gap duration for a white noise stimulus is 2-3 ms. The results can be modeled by an array of filters, with each filter followed by a nonlinearity and a (central) sliding temporal integrator. Hearing impairment of cochlear origin can have adverse effects on temporal resolution because it often reduces the audible bandwidth of the stimuli, and because it results in a reduced sensation level of the stimuli. The sliding temporal integrator appears to be unaffected by hearing loss, although the nonlinearity preceding the integrator may be abnormal, and this can lead to reduced temporal resolution for sounds with slowly fluctuating envelopes. Hearing impairment of more central origin may also adversely affect temporal resolution, but the mechanisms responsible for this are not known. The acuity of across-channel temporal analysis depends on whether the task is one of discrimination or of identification of temporal order. The finest acuity (1-2 ms) occurs for discrimination tasks. Identification of temporal order is an order of magnitude worse. When the elements of a sequence of sounds are perceived as more than one source (more than one perceptual stream), the ability to judge the order of the elements can be very poor. Perceptual grouping processes can also have dramatic effects on the perceived temporal structure of sound. Conversely, temporal structure can have a powerful influence on perceptual grouping.

Cochlea↗
PubMed1993

Influence of frequency selectivity on comodulation masking release in normal-hearing listeners.

Experiments 1 and 2 investigated the effect of frequency selectivity on comodulation masking release (CMR) in normal-hearing subjects, examining conditions where frequency selectivity was relatively good (low masker level at both low [500-Hz] and high [2500-Hz] signal frequency, and high masker level at low signal frequency) and where frequency selectivity was somewhat degraded (high masker level and high signal frequency). The first experiment investigated CMR in conditions where a narrow modulated noise band was centered on the signal frequency, and a wider comodulated noise band was located below the band centered on the signal frequency. Signal frequencies were 500 and 2000 Hz. The masker level and the frequency separation between the on-signal and comodulated flanking band were varied. In addition to conditions where the flanking band and on-signal band were presented at the same spectrum level, conditions were included where the spectrum level of the flanking band was 10-dB higher than that of the on-signal band, in order to accentuate effects of reduced frequency selectivity. Results indicated that CMR was reduced at the 2000-Hz region when masker level was high, when the frequency separation between on-signal and flanking band was small, and when a 10-dB level disparity existed between the on-signal and flanking band. In the second experiment, CMR was investigated for narrow comodulated noise bands, presented either without any additional sound or in the presence of a random noise background. CMR increased slightly as the masker level increased, except at 2500 Hz when the noise background was present. The decrease in CMR at 2500 Hz with the high masker level and with a noise background present could be explained in terms of reduced frequency selectivity. In a third experiment, we compared performance for equal absolute bandwidth maskers at a low (500-Hz) and a high (2000-Hz) stimulus frequency. Results here suggested that detection in modulated noise may be reduced due to a reduction in the number of quasi-independent auditory filters contributing temporal envelope information. The effects found in the present study using normal-hearing listeners under conditions of degraded frequency selectivity may be useful in understanding part of the reduction of CMR that occurs in cochlear-impaired listeners having reduced frequency selectivity.

Auditory Perception↗
PubMed1993

Comodulation masking release in subjects with unilateral and bilateral hearing impairment.

Three subjects with unilateral cochlear hearing loss and three subjects with bilateral cochlear hearing loss were tested in three experiments. In the first, their auditory filter shapes were measured for center frequencies of 700 and 2000 Hz, using the notched-noise method. The auditory filters were generally broader for the impaired than for the normal ears. In experiment 2, the threshold for detecting a 2000-Hz signal centered in a band of noise was measured as a function of the noise bandwidth for a Gaussian noise, and for that same noise multiplied (modulated) by a second noise low-pass filtered at 12.5 Hz. For the Gaussian noise, thresholds increased up to a certain noise bandwidth and then flattened off. This bandwidth was usually greater for the impaired than for the normal ears, consistent with the broader auditory filters of the impaired ears. For the modulated noise, thresholds tended to decrease when the noise bandwidth was increased beyond a certain value, indicating comodulation masking release (CMR). The decrease occurred at wider bandwidths for the impaired than for the normal ears. For the unilaterally impaired subjects, the amount of decrease was smaller for the impaired than for the normal ears when tested at equal SPL, but not when tested at equal SL. In experiment 3, the threshold for detecting a 700-Hz signal centered in a 20-Hz-wide band of noise (the on-frequency band, ONB) was measured in the presence of eight flanking bands (FBs) whose envelopes were either identical with that of the ONB (correlated condition) or were uncorrelated. CMR was defined as the difference in threshold between the correlated and uncorrelated conditions. The ONB and the FBs were presented either to the same ear (monaural condition) or to opposite ears (dichotic condition). CMRs tended to be greatest at high levels of the ONB and the FBs. CMRs in the monaural condition were smaller for hearing-impaired than for normal ears. However, at high levels, CMRs in the dichotic condition were similar for normal, bilaterally impaired, and unilaterally impaired subjects. In the latter case, CMRs were similar when the ONB was presented to the normal ear and to the impaired ear of each subject.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Acoustic Impedance Tests↗