Neural correlates of auditory streaming in an objective behavioral task

Segregating streams of sounds from sources in complex acoustic scenes is crucial for perception in real world situations. We analyzed an objective psychophysical measure of stream segregation obtained while simultaneously recording forebrain neurons in the European starlings to investigate neural co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2014-07, Vol.111 (29), p.10738-10743
Main Authors: Itatani, Naoya, Klump, Georg M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Animals
Auditory cortex
Auditory Perception - physiology
Auditory Threshold - physiology
Behavior, Animal - physiology
Behavioral neuroscience
Biological Sciences
Bird songs
Birds
Brain
Correlation analysis
Europe
Figure ground
Forebrain
Mental stimulation
Neurons
Neurons - physiology
Perception
Starlings - physiology
Streaming
Sturnus vulgaris
Task Performance and Analysis
Time Factors
Triplets
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Summary:Segregating streams of sounds from sources in complex acoustic scenes is crucial for perception in real world situations. We analyzed an objective psychophysical measure of stream segregation obtained while simultaneously recording forebrain neurons in the European starlings to investigate neural correlates of segregating a stream of A tones from a stream of B tones presented at one-half the rate. The objective measure, sensitivity for time shift detection of the B tone, was higher when the A and B tones were of the same frequency (one stream) compared with when there was a 6- or 12-semitone difference between them (two streams). The sensitivity for representing time shifts in spiking patterns was correlated with the behavioral sensitivity. The spiking patterns reflected the stimulus characteristics but not the behavioral response, indicating that the birds’ primary cortical field represents the segregated streams, but not the decision process.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1321487111