Abstract

The objectives of this project are to analyze the role of time-domain processing in mediating perception of complex sounds, specifically in relation to periodicity ('pitch') perception. Pitch is a critical dimension of auditory perception in humans; it is important, for example, in the identification, localization, and interpretation of many kinds of sounds, including speech and music. The physiological basis for pitch perception has long been one of the dominant themes in research on hearing, but many questions about the neural extraction of pitch in both the ear and the central auditory pathways remain unanswered. Because pitch perception is so fundamental to hearing, understanding its neural bases will be of value in the development of improved auditory prosthetic devices. Part of the difficulty involved in studying pitch stems from the multiplicity of neural codes available for pitch extraction. In this project, the representation of acoustic parameters influencing pitch perception in humans will be examined in the auditory system of an animal species in which the different neural codes available for periodicity extraction can be separated more readily than in most mammalian auditory systems. Anuran amphibians use pitch-like phenomena for mediating intraspecies communication. The behavioral sensitivity of these animals to acoustic parameters influencing 'pitch' will be examined using both ethologically-based and laboratory-based behavioral techniques. The organization of the anuran inner ear allows separation of place (frequency domain) from temporal (time domain) cues in periodicity extraction. Physiological recordings from the auditory nerve and auditory midbrain of these animals will examine the relative roles of frequency domain and time domain processes in mediating periodicity perception. These data will be used to test hypotheses derived from existing models of 'pitch' extraction, and to develop a computational model of time-domain processing in and anuran auditory system.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01NS028565-05
Application #
2267013
Study Section
Biopsychology Study Section (BPO)
Project Start
1990-04-01
Project End
1996-03-31
Budget Start
1994-04-01
Budget End
1995-03-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
1994
Total Cost
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
Brown University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
001785542
City
Providence
State
RI
Country
United States
Zip Code
02912

  Publications

Simmons, Andrea Megela (2013) ""To ear is human, to frogive is divine"": Bob Capranica's legacy to auditory neuroethology. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 199:169-82
Simmons, Andrea M; Costa, Lauren M; Gerstein, Hilary B (2004) Lateral line-mediated rheotactic behavior in tadpoles of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 190:747-58
Simmons, Andrea Megela (2004) Call recognition in the bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana: generalization along the duration continuum. J Acoust Soc Am 115:1345-55
Simmons, Andrea Megela; Chapman, Judith A (2002) Metamorphic changes in GABA immunoreactivity in the brainstem of the bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana. Brain Behav Evol 60:189-206
Horowitz, S S; Chapman, J A; Kaya, U et al. (2001) Metamorphic development of the bronchial columella of the larval bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana). Hear Res 154:12-25
Simmons, A M; Sanderson, M I; Garabedian, C E (2000) Representation of waveform periodicity in the auditory midbrain of the bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana. J Assoc Res Otolaryngol 1:24-Feb
Simmons, A M; Bean, M E (2000) Perception of mistuned harmonics in complex sounds by the bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana). J Comp Psychol 114:167-73
Boatright-Horowitz, S S; Garabedian, C E; Odabashian, K H et al. (1999) Coding of amplitude modulation in the auditory midbrain of the bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) across metamorphosis. J Comp Physiol A 184:219-31
Kumaresan, V; Kang, C; Simmons, A M (1998) Development and differentiation of the anuran auditory brainstem during metamorphosis: an acetylcholinesterase histochemical study. Brain Behav Evol 52:111-25
Boatright-Horowitz, S S; Simmons, A M (1997) Transient ""deafness"" accompanies auditory development during metamorphosis from tadpole to frog. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 94:14877-82

Showing the most recent 10 out of 16 publications