Predicting perceptual boundaries in auditory streaming using delay differential equations

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Computational Neuroscience
• Auditory Perception

Background:

• Auditory streaming organizes complex soundscapes into distinct sources.
• Perceptual boundaries and bistability are key to understanding auditory organization.
• Neural models are crucial for investigating the mechanisms of auditory perception.

Purpose of the Study:

• To model auditory streaming using coupled neural populations.
• To investigate the relationship between neural thresholds and perceptual boundaries.
• To explore how symmetry-breaking bifurcations govern auditory perception transitions.

Main Methods:

• Developed a computational model with excitatory and inhibitory neural populations.
• Simulated a two-tone auditory stream with delayed cross-inhibition.
• Analyzed perception boundaries in relation to neural thresholds and bifurcations.

Main Results:

• Perceptual boundaries are highly sensitive to neural threshold choices.
• Symmetry-breaking bifurcations govern transitions between auditory perceptions.
• A variable-threshold criterion, based on neural response amplitude, improves boundary accuracy.

Conclusions:

• Neural thresholds play a critical role in auditory perception boundaries.
• Fixed thresholds are insufficient; variable thresholds offer a more refined approach.
• Stimulus parameters significantly shape auditory perceptual organization.