Sound localisation and sensory system interaction Flashcards
What are 3 reasons why sound localisation is important?
1) Survival
2) Communication
3) Perception of the auditory space
How is a perception in auditory space acheived?
- All information taken from sound arriving at both ears
- MAP of the environment is formed that is NOT intrinsically represented on receptor cells
What are 2 benefits of sound localisation?
1) Know where a sound is and where is is moving to
2) Can improved speech understanding
What are the 2 cues for sound localisation?
Where do they require input from?
1) Monaural cues (one ear)
2) Binaural cues (both ears)
What do monaural cues help to localise?
How is this different to binaural cues?
Monaural - sounds in the vertical place (elevation)
Binaural - sounds in the horizontal plane (azimuth)
What is the horizontal plane called?
Azimuth
What is the vertical plane called?
Elevation
What do the head and the shape of the ear do (in relation to sounds)?
What do these show?
Create hear-related transfer functions (HRTFs)
Characteristic notches in the recordings of an auditory nerve, depending on where is was received in elevation
What can HRTFs be used to create?
A map of how sound is amplified in the ear from different elevations and frequencies
What happens if you modify the outside of the ear with an insert?
The map changes and can no longer locate sound in the vertical plane
What are 2 examples of binaural cues to localise sounds?
1) Interaural TIME differences
2) Interaural LEVEL differences
What are 2 examples of binaural cues to localise sounds?
What strategies are normally used in a species?
What can cause one strategy to dominate?
1) Interaural TIME differences
2) Interaural LEVEL differences
BOTH strategies are normally used, but it depends upon evolutionary history
Hearing range
Head size - large head is better for timing, small head is better for levels
What are interaural TIME differences?
The difference in the ARIVAL TIME of sounds at the 2 ears
What are interaural TIME differences usually used for?
Why?
Low frequency sounds
High frequency sounds - time difference between the waves are much smaller and harder to detect
What are interaural LEVEL differences?
The difference between the INTENSITY of the sound at the 2 ears
What are interaural LEVEL differences used to detect?
High frequency sounds
What structure is involved in DETECTING timing/level differences of sound?
Where is it present?
Superior olivary complex
In the brainstem
What structure/s are involved in CALCULATING timing/level differences of sound?
Where are these present?
aVCN - anterior ventral cochlear nucleus
MSO - medial superior olive
LSO- lateral superior olive
MNtB - medial nucleus of the trapezoid body
Present in the superior olivary complex
In what pathway is interarual LEVEL differences calculated?
What area in the superior olivary complex is not involved?
LSO-MNtB binuaural excitatory inhibitory (EI) pathway
Doesn’t include the MSO
Describe the LSO-MNtB binuaural excitatory inhibitory (EI) pathway used to detect interaural level differences in sound (when sound is coming from the LEFT ear)
- Input from left ear to left aVCN
- Excitatory input from here to the left LSO
- Input from the right ear to the MNtB - excitatory input
- Inhibitory input from here to the left LSO
- LSO detects DIFFERENCES between excitatory and inhibitory inputs
- Excitatory input is larger than inhibitory input, loudness of sound in the left ear is very loud
- MAXIMUM output from the left LSO
What happens to the output from the left LSO when the sound moves from the left side of the head towards the right?
- Loudness heard in the left ear becomes less
- Inhibitory input from the right ear starts to become more than the excitatory input from the left ear
- LSO output becomes smaller until there is no output
How many LSOs are there in the brainstem?
2
When there is high sound at the left ear, which LSO has high output?
Low output?
High output - left LSO
Low output - right LSO
When there is high sound at the right ear, which LSO has high output?
Low output?
High output - right LSO
Low output - left LSO
In any auditory pathway, what is the first structure that the ‘sound’ travels to?
What does this structure then do?
aVCN
Anterior ventral cochlear nucleus
This structure sends EXCITATORY projections to structures further along the pathway