Neural-scaled entropy predicts the effects of nonlinear frequency compression on speech perception

The Neural-Scaled Entropy (NSE) model quantifies information in the speech signal that has been altered beyond simple gain adjustments by sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and various signal processing. An extension of Cochlear-Scaled Entropy (CSE) [Stilp, Kiefte, Alexander, and Kluender (2010). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 128(4), 2112-2126], NSE quantifies information as the change in 1-ms neural firing patterns across frequency. To evaluate the model, data from a study that examined nonlinear frequency compression (NFC) in listeners with SNHL were used because NFC can recode the same input information in multiple ways in the output, resulting in different outcomes for different speech classes. Overall, predictions were more accurate for NSE than CSE. The NSE model accurately described the observed degradation in recognition, and lack thereof, for consonants in a vowel-consonant-vowel context that had been processed in different ways by NFC. While NSE accurately predicted recognition of vowel stimuli processed with NFC, it underestimated them relative to a low-pass control condition without NFC. In addition, without modifications, it could not predict the observed improvement in recognition for word final /s/ and /z/. Findings suggest that model modifications that include information from slower modulations might improve predictions across a wider variety of conditions.