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Multiple bursts, multiple looks, and stream coherence in the release from informational masking
Gerald Kidd1, Christine R Mason, Virginia M Richards
1Hearing Research Center and Programs in Communication Disorders, Boston University, 635 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA. gkidd@bu.edu
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|December 3, 2003
Summary
Using multiple masker bursts significantly reduces auditory masking compared to single bursts. Increasing masker bursts enhances this effect, while longer intervals between bursts increase masking, suggesting perceptual organization plays a key role.
Area of Science:
- Auditory perception
- Psychoacoustics
- Signal processing in hearing
Background:
- Simultaneous multitone masking often reveals central processing limitations.
- Previous research shows a reduction in masking using a multiple-bursts-different (MBD) procedure.
- The MBD procedure uses a rapid succession of random maskers, allowing the signal tone to segregate.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how the number of masker bursts affects the release from auditory masking.
- To determine if increasing the interburst interval (IBI) leads to independent processing of bursts.
- To explore the role of perceptual organization in auditory masking release.
Main Methods:
- Varied the number of masker bursts and the interburst interval (IBI) in the MBD procedure.
- Measured masked thresholds for a pure-tone signal under different masking conditions.
- Compared performance in the MBD condition to a single-burst (SB) condition.
Main Results:
- Substantial reduction in masked thresholds occurred with an increasing number of masker bursts for subjects with high informational masking.
- Masking increased as the interburst interval (IBI) lengthened.
- Results did not align with a simple optimal multiple-look model.
Conclusions:
- The release from masking in the MBD procedure is dependent on the number of masker bursts.
- Increasing IBI diminishes the masking release, potentially disrupting signal stream coherence.
- Findings suggest that mechanisms of perceptual sound organization are crucial for understanding auditory masking release.