An important feature of the auditory system is its ability to distinguish many simultaneous
sound sources. The primary goal of this work was to understand how a robust, preattentive
analysis of the auditory scene is accomplished by the subcortical auditory system.
Reasonably accurate modelling of the morphology and organisation of the relevant auditory
nuclei, was seen as being of great importance. The formulation of plausible models and their
subsequent simulation was found to be invaluable in elucidating biological processes and in
highlighting areas of uncertainty.
In the thesis, a review of important aspects of mammalian auditory processing is presented
and used as a basis for the subsequent modelling work. For each aspect of auditory
processing modelled, psychophysical results are described and existing models reviewed,
before the models used here are described and simulated. Auditory processes which are
modelled include the peripheral system, and the production of tonotopic maps of the
spectral content of complex acoustic stimuli, and of modulation frequency or periodicity. A
model of the formation of sequential associations between successive sounds is described,
and the model is shown to be capable of emulating a wide range of psychophysical
behaviour. The grouping of related spectral components and the development of pitch
perception is also investigated. Finally a critical assessment of the work and ideas for future
developments are presented.
The principal contributions of this work are the further development of a model for pitch
perception and the development of a novel architecture for the sequential association of
those groups. In the process of developing these ideas, further insights into subcortical
auditory processing were gained, and explanations for a number of puzzling psychophysical
characteristics suggested.
Date of Award | 1994 |
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Original language | English |
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Awarding Institution | |
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Neural Models of Subcortical Auditory Processing
McCabe, S. L. (Author). 1994
Student thesis: PhD