Effects of Attention on Auditory Perceptual Organization

doi:10.1016/B978-012375731-9/50056-2

Neurobiology of Attention

2005, Pages 317-323

https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012375731-9/50056-2 Get rights and content

ABSTRACT

This chapter summarizes the evidence on the effects of attention on auditory perceptual organization, with particular reference to the phenomenon of auditory streaming. Four approaches are described, and the limitations of each discussed. It is concluded that, although some streaming can take place without subjects devoting all their attention to the sounds, attention can have a profound effect on auditory perceptual organization.

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Cited by (5)

Low-level deficits in beat perception: Neither necessary nor sufficient for explaining developmental dyslexia in a consistent orthography
2012, Research in Developmental Disabilities
Citation Excerpt :
Our results indicate that attention and general cognitive ability are among those variables and thus, the examination of the relationship between beat perception and reading after implementing controls for these variables has helped to clarify this relationship. Even if such control, particularly for attention, is likely to obscure reverse causation with poor auditory perception causing low attention, it is important to bear in mind that this approach is in direct agreement with the literature demonstrating that the extent to which perceptual organization is influenced by attention is profound (Carlyon & Cusack, 2005) and thus cannot be overlooked. The purpose of the present study was twofold: to investigate the relationship of beat perception tasks with measures of phonological processing and word reading fluency and to examine beat perception deficits developmentally.
This article reports two different studies examining the theoretical account of low-level deficits in beat perception as an alternative explanation of developmental dyslexia in Greek, an orthographically consistent language. Study I examined the relationship of amplitude rise time and frequency discrimination with measures of phonological processing, working memory, and reading fluency in a large unselected sample of Grade 4 children. Study II examined the presence of beat perception deficits in groups of Grade 2, 4, and 6 children with dyslexia and their chronological age controls. The results provided no evidence to support meaningful associations between beat perception tasks and reading or the theoretical account of beat perception deficits as a sufficient explanation or contributing factor to dyslexia. Implications on the importance of auditory processing in reading in orthographically consistent languages are discussed.
The role of auditory cortex in the formation of auditory streams
2007, Hearing Research
Auditory streaming refers to the perceptual parsing of acoustic sequences into “streams”, which makes it possible for a listener to follow the sounds from a given source amidst other sounds. Streaming is currently regarded as an important function of the auditory system in both humans and animals, crucial for survival in environments that typically contain multiple sound sources. This article reviews recent findings concerning the possible neural mechanisms behind this perceptual phenomenon at the level of the auditory cortex. The first part is devoted to intra-cortical recordings, which provide insight into the neural “micromechanisms” of auditory streaming in the primary auditory cortex (A1). In the second part, recent results obtained using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) in humans, which suggest a contribution from cortical areas other than A1, are presented. Overall, the findings concur to demonstrate that many important features of sequential streaming can be explained relatively simply based on neural responses in the auditory cortex.
Modulating Cortical Instrument Representations During Auditory Stream Segregation and Integration With Polyphonic Music
2021, Frontiers in Neuroscience
Assessing top-down and bottom-up contributions to auditory stream segregation and integration with polyphonic music
2018, Frontiers in Neuroscience
Attention effects on auditory scene analysis: Insights from event-related brain potentials
2014, Psychological Research

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CHAPTER 52 - Effects of Attention on Auditory Perceptual Organization

ABSTRACT