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Acoustic emissions from the ear: a summary of results from humans and animals.

As mentioned in Saunders et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 78, 299-311 (1985)] an understanding of the transduction of sound into the auditory neural code is a major goal of the hearing scientist. A variety of tools has been and is being used to achieve that goal. The recent discovery of physical acoustic emissions from the ear provides both new insight into possible transduction mechanisms and a useful new tool for research. The existence of narrow-band spontaneous acoustic emissions from the ear suggests the possibility of active cochlear processes that were not seriously considered a decade ago. Acoustic emissions, both spontaneous and evoked, also provide a simple and noninvasive means of monitoring a by-product of cochlear-mechanical activity. In the present paper, results of studies of acoustic emissions from human ears are briefly summarized and compared to results obtained with animals. Differences between human and animal emissions are noted and the implications of these differences and hypotheses to explain them are discussed.

Animals↗

Combined monaural and binaural masking release.

Stimulus conditions were examined where both across-frequency [comodulation masking release (CMR)] and across-ear [binaural masking-level difference (BMLD)] cues were available, as well as conditions where only one of these cue types was available. The main goal of the study was to determine how the two types of cues combine. The effects of comodulation were assessed either by modulating a masking noise and manipulating its bandwidth (experiment 1) or by using two comodulated narrow bands of noise separated in frequency (experiment 2). The masker was always No, and the 500-Hz pure-tone signal was either So or S pi. The effect of the frequency of modulation was examined either by changing the frequency of the modulating stimulus (experiment 1) or by changing the bandwidth of the comodulated narrow-band noise (experiment 2). Four of six subjects showed greater masking release when both BMLD and CMR cues were available than for either type of cue alone, whereas the other two subjects did not show an ability to combine the two cues for additional advantage. For the subjects who were able to combine the two types of cue, the additional advantage was greater for low frequencies of modulation. The results indicate that one component of CMR may be based upon across-frequency envelope comparisons at a stage of processing after binaural analysis.

Adolescent↗

Tonality and nonlinear resonance.

We outline a theory of tonality that predicts tonal stability, attraction, and categorization based on the principles of nonlinear resonance. Perception of tonality is the natural consequence of neural resonance, arising from central auditory nonlinearities.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Field dependence-independence and the discrimination of musical parts.

The association of the cognitive style known as field dependence-independence and 168 subjects correct detection of the number of parts in 24 musical items was investigated. Each item was arranged in one of three textures. With the effects of general mental ability, experience in music, and gender held constant, scores on the Group Embedded Figures Test explained significant variance in discrimination (7.5%). Factorial analysis showed significant main effects for cognitive-style groups, number of parts, and texture. The interaction between the effects of part and texture was also significant. In some cases an individual's cognitive style may influence perception of "what's going on" in music.

Adult↗

Toward a developmental psychology of music.

Research on music perception has revealed numerous parallels between infants and adults, but these findings have had little influence on adult research. Studies of pitch memory in infants, children, and adults are presented to illustrate potential gains from a developmental approach. Although the prevailing wisdom is that absolute pitch processing dominates in early life until it is supplanted by relative pitch processing, recent research offers no support for that view. After a week of exposure to English folk melodies, infants remember the melodies, but they do not distinguish the original versions from transposed versions. Relative pitch processing dominates later on, but it does not occur at the expense of absolute pitch processing. For example, adults can identify the pitch level of familiar musical recordings in the context of foils that are pitch shifted by one or two semitones. Children 5-9 years of age can identify the pitch level of familiar recordings when the foils are pitch shifted by two semitones but not by one semitone. By contrast, Japanese children are successful in the context of one-semitone shifts. In short, a developmental approach can provide insights of comparable importance on many issues in music cognition.

Adult↗

The influence of stimulus properties, complexity, and contingency on the stability and variability of ongoing and evoked activity in human auditory cortex.

The real-time, single-trial activity in the human auditory cortex was extracted from magnetoencephalographic signals. A predictor of single-trial activity was defined as the sum of the average response and a mean-free base level computed over a range of base times. For simple stimuli the residual (predicted-actual) activity had a stimulus-independent oscillatory (10 Hz) component. This component was larger and more durable in trained subjects, reaching saturation only in the most trained of the five subjects studied (S1). Changes in variability and associated reduction of the absolute value and duration of the oscillations were evident in experiments with stimuli loaded with information, saliency, or task contingency. Repetition reintroduces stimulus-independent oscillations very slowly. For S1, after training, the stimulus-independent oscillations were reestablished in the auditory cortices to the level seen for simple stimuli, except for the time periods and in the hemisphere associated with the combination of task demands and stimulus processing.

Adult↗

Unit recordings from a new auditory area in the frontal neostriatum of the awake starling (Sturnus vulgaris).

Auditory units were recorded from a restricted region of the frontal neostriatum of the awake starling. This area (Field GA) was located latero-dorsal from the nucleus basalis and more closely associated with the caudal regions of the thalamo-frontal tract. Most units (46%) showed on-excitation to pure tones and white noise stimuli. No well-defined sustained firing was seen, but 15% of the units showed a weak type of excitation which outlasted the stimulus (long-lasting response). Tuning curves were broad. Unit response ranges extended from 150 Hz to 7.0 kHz (at 70--80 dB SPL). Habituation to repeated stimuli was obvious and also lability of response pattern; 26% of auditory units would not be reliably classified using pure tones or white noise. It is suggested that the response properties of Field GA units are typical of sensory integration areas, although the source of input is unknown at present.

Animals↗

Auditory response properties of neurons in the claustrum and putamen of the cat.

The auditory response properties of single neurons in claustrum and putamen were studied in response to simple dichotic stimuli (viz. noise-and tone-bursts) in chloralose-anaesthetized cats. Neurons in claustrum were commonly weakly driven with long latency, were broadly tuned and were excited by stimulation of either ear (EE). Putamen neurons, in contrast, were securely driven with short latency, showed irregular tuning with a preference for low frequencies and were either EE or excited only by the contralateral ear (EO). The differences between claustrum and putamen responses can be related to differences in connections with the auditory cortical fields and with auditory thalamus. Some neurons were also tested for visual responsiveness: auditory and visual cells were intermingled in both nuclei and only a small percentage of cells were bimodal. In contrast to the visual and somatosensory input to claustrum, which are derived from primary cortical fields, the auditory input to claustrum is apparently derived from non-primary cortical regions, suggesting a fundamentally different role for processing of auditory information in claustrum.

Animals↗

Comparisons of memory for nonverbal auditory and visual sequential stimuli.

Properties of auditory and visual sensory memory were compared by examining subjects' recognition performance of randomly generated binary auditory sequential frequency patterns and binary visual sequential color patterns within a forced-choice paradigm. Experiment 1 demonstrated serial-position effects in auditory and visual modalities consisting of both primacy and recency effects. Experiment 2 found that retention of auditory and visual information was remarkably similar when assessed across a 10s interval. Experiments 3 and 4, taken together, showed that the recency effect in sensory memory is affected more by the type of response required (recognition vs. reproduction) than by the sensory modality employed. These studies suggest that auditory and visual sensory memory stores for nonverbal stimuli share similar properties with respect to serial-position effects and persistence over time.

Adult↗

Some otological differences between pigmented and albino-type guinea pigs.

Cochlear action potential thresholds across frequency (AP audiograms) and AP tuning curves were compared in albino (Dunkin-Hartley) guinea pigs and normal pigmented animals. AP audiograms were very similar; on average the albinos had AP thresholds 2-3 dB lower at 2 kHz and below compared with the pigmented guinea pig. AP tuning curves at 16 kHz were, on average, significantly less sharply tuned in the albino, but similar at 8, 4, and 2 kHz. Although we find only small differences in these measures of normal cochlear function, other evidence in the literature suggests that in auditory research the use of "albino" guinea pigs is best avoided.

Animals↗

An anatomical and physiological study of regeneration of the eighth nerve in the leopard frog.

The ability of auditory fibers in the anuran's VIIIth nerve to regenerate back into the central nervous system after their axons have been served was studied electrophysiologically and anatomically. Single unit recordings in the regenerated portion of the nerve indicate that: (1) fibers from both the amphibian and basilar papillae regenerate; (2) tuning curves of regenerated fibers, as in normal fibers, are 'V' shaped and retain their sharp frequency selectivity; (3) latency and threshold measurements of regenerated fibers are similar to values obtained in intact nerves. Filling the posterior branch of the regenerated VIIIth nerve with horseradish peroxidase indicates that fibers in this branch remain together within the nerve during regeneration and succeed in terminating in their correct target nuclei and no others.

Animals↗

Far-field cochlear microphonic responses to continuous pure tones recorded from the scalps of cats.

The cochlear microphonic response to continuous pure tones has been recorded in the 'far field' from the scalps of anesthetized cats. Previous methods for scalp recording used tone pip transients only. Our experiments show that the observed wave forms are not due to electrical or mechanoelectrical artifacts. Neural responses such as brain stem responses or the frequency-following response have been excluded as major contributors to the observed wave forms, which are virtually identical to the round window cochlear microphonic response with respect to (1) wave shape with non-sinusoidal stimuli, (2) intensity-amplitude functions, (3) response phase, and (4) amplitude changes due to superimposed band-limited white noise. The methods of ruling out significant artifacts are applicable to non-invasive recordings from humans.

Animals↗

Age-related changes in the C57BL/6J mouse cochlea. I. Physiological findings.

The development and degeneration of cochlear output was studied in C57BL/6J mice from the time of hearing onset (12 days of age) through adulthood (50 days of age) using the eighth nerve compound action potential (N1). Mice were stimulated in free-field, using short rise-time tone bursts (2-35 kHz). Sensitivity to tones and threshold tuning curve sharpness (Q10) increased markedly between 12 and 20 days of age. Response latencies changed, in a complex way, to attain minimum values by 20 days of age. The form of intensity function was essentially identical in 12- and 16-day-old mice. In 30- and 40-day-old mice signs of both hearing development and degeneration were seen. For example, while N1 threshold intensities to low-frequency tones continued to decline, those to high frequencies began to increase. The results indicate that some of the previously observed age-related changes in central auditory function in C57BL/6J mice can be accounted for in terms of cochlear evolution. The observed changed in cochlear function are discussed in relation to outer-, middle-, and inner-ear modifications. A basis for the limits of the critical period for audiogenic seizure "priming' is hypothesized.

Aging↗

A comparison of brainstem, whole-nerve AP and single-fiber tuning curves in the gerbil: normative data.

Tuning curves were obtained from brainstem responses (BSRs) and whole-nerve action potential (AP) responses of gerbils using a forward masking procedure. These are compared with single-fiber tuning curves of the gerbil. The broadness of the tips, tip-to-tail ratios and the slopes of the high frequency sides of the BSR tuning curves are similar to those of the AP curves for probe frequencies ranging from 1 to 8 kHz. Also, the BSR and AP curves share a number of characteristics with single-fiber tuning curves. These results suggest that, like the AP, components of the BSR can be used to measure frequency selectivity in the periphery of an intact auditory system.

Animals↗

The mismatch negativity (MMN): towards the optimal paradigm.

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have shown that the mismatch negativity (MMN), a change-specific component of the event-related potential (ERP), for particular auditory features is degraded in different clinical populations. This suggests that the MMN could, in principle, reflect the whole profile and extent of the central auditory deficit. In the present article, we tested a new MMN paradigm allowing one to obtain MMNs for several auditory attributes in a short time. METHODS: MMN responses to changes in frequency, intensity, duration, location, and to a silent gap occasionally inserted in the middle of a tone were compared between the traditional 'oddball' paradigm (a single type of auditory change in each sequence) and the new paradigm (two versions) in which all the 5 types of changes appeared within the same sequence. RESULTS: The MMNs obtained in the new paradigm were equal in amplitude to those in the traditional MMN paradigm. CONCLUSIONS: We propose a new paradigm that can provide 5 different MMNs in the same time in which usually only one MMN is obtained. The new paradigm enables one to objectively determine the profile of different auditory discrimination abilities within a very short recording time.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Effects of auditory and visual interference on auditory-visual delayed matching to sample in monkeys (Macaca fascicularis).

Two monkeys were trained on an auditory-visual (AV) delayed matching-to-sample (DMS) task with auditory cues serving as sample stimuli and visual cues serving as comparison stimuli. To determine whether the monkeys were remembering auditory or visual information during the delay period, auditory and visual interference were presented following the sample stimulus. Auditory interference had little effect on AV DMS performance. In contrast, visual interference severely impaired AV DMS performance, indicating that the monkeys were remembering visual information during the delay period. This finding may reflect a predisposition of monkeys toward remembering information via their dominant visual modality.

Animals↗