Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2025
07:13
A Two-interval Forced-choice Task for Multisensory Comparisons
Published on: November 9, 2018
11.0K
A two-stage spectral model for sound texture perception: Synthesis and psychophysics
Hironori Maruyama1, Kosuke Okada1, Isamu Motoyoshi1
1Department of Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Japan.
I-Perception
|February 27, 2023
Summary
This study introduces a novel model for understanding natural sound textures, using only spectral information. The findings suggest that two-stage spectral signals accurately predict how humans perceive environmental sounds.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Perception
- Acoustics
- Psychoacoustics
Background:
- Natural environments contain diverse auditory events like wind, water, and fire.
- Perception of these textural sounds is thought to depend on statistical properties of the auditory events.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a model for perceived sound texture based on spectral information.
- To validate the model using synthetic sounds and psychophysical experiments.
Main Methods:
- Developed a model using only linear and energy spectra to describe sound texture.
- Created synthetic noise sounds preserving two-stage amplitude spectra of real-world sounds.
- Conducted psychophysical experiments with 120 real-world auditory events.
Main Results:
- Synthetic sounds were perceived as similar to original sounds for 120 real-world auditory events.
- Model performance was comparable to a more complex auditory statistics model (McDermott-Simoncelli).
Conclusions:
- The perception of natural sound textures can be predicted using two-stage spectral signals.
- This spectral model offers a simplified yet effective approach to understanding auditory texture perception.
Related Concept Videos
01:01Perception of Sound Waves
4.5K
The human ear is not equally sensitive to all frequencies in the audible range. It may perceive sound waves with the same pressure but different frequencies as having different loudness. Moreover, the perception of sound waves depends on the health of an individual's ears, which decays with age. The health of one's ears may also be affected by regular exposure to loud noises.
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same...
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same...
4.5K
01:21Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
293
The human brain perceives pitch through two primary mechanisms reflected in place theory and frequency theory. Each mechanism describes how sound waves are interpreted as specific pitches by the brain, offering insights into the intricate processes of auditory perception.
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by...
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by...
293
01:27Synesthesia
173
Synesthesia is a remarkable condition where stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People with synesthesia experience a blending or crossing of their senses, such as sight and sound, leading to cross-modal sensations. In this condition, the stimulation of one sense, such as hearing a number or musical note, triggers an experience of another sense, like sensing a specific color, taste, or smell. People...
173
01:17Auditory Perception
408
The auditory system is essential for sound perception, utilizing various critical structures. When sound waves enter the outer ear, they travel through the ear canal and cause the eardrum to vibrate. These vibrations are then transmitted to the middle ear, where three tiny bones – the malleus, incus, and stapes – amplify the sound. This amplification is crucial, as it ensures that the sound vibrations are strong enough to be conveyed to the inner ear. These vibrations then reach the...
408
00:53Sound Intensity Level
4.2K
Humans perceive sound by hearing. The human ear helps sound waves reach the brain, which then interprets the waves and creates the perception of hearing. The loudness of the environment in which a person is located determines whether they can distinguish between different sound sources.
The human ear can perceive an extensive range of sound intensity, necessitating the use of the logarithmic scale to define a physical quantity—the intensity level. It is a ratio of two intensities and...
The human ear can perceive an extensive range of sound intensity, necessitating the use of the logarithmic scale to define a physical quantity—the intensity level. It is a ratio of two intensities and...
4.2K
01:31Hearing
52.7K
When we hear a sound, our nervous system is detecting sound waves—pressure waves of mechanical energy traveling through a medium. The frequency of the wave is perceived as pitch, while the amplitude is perceived as loudness.
52.7K