John Rinzel, Center for Neural Science and Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University

Auditory Streaming and the Cocktail Party Problem

When experiencing an ambiguous sensory stimulus (e.g., the faces-vase image), subjects may report random alternations (time scale, seconds) between the possible interpretations. I will describe dynamical models for neuronal populations that compete for dominance through mutual inhibition, influenced by slow adaptation and noise. In highly idealized formulations network units are percept specific without direct representation of stimulus features. Our psychophysical experiments and modeling involve perception of ambiguous auditory stimuli (try the link below). The models incorporate feature specificity, tonotopically organized inputs and receptive fields, so that perceptual selectivity is emergent rather than built-in. Our model addresses the effects of selective attention, distractors and deviants as well as the transient build-up phase of sound source segregation as when entering a cocktail party.

http://auditoryneuroscience.com/topics/streaming-galloping-rhythm-paradigm

Organized by

Richard Kempter