Using as a starting point the postulate that sensory systems have evolved to perform optimal transformations on behaviorally relevant or natural stimuli, we are using signal analysis methods and information theoretic principles to develop a theory of auditory processing. The purpose of our theory is not just to describe but to understand the neural representation of acoustic communication signals, including speech and music. First, we plan on analyzing the statistics of natural sounds and of speech, music and birdsong in particular. We propose to search for theoretical representations of sounds based on principles of statistical independence and sparse representation. Our derived representations will also attempt to maximize differences between acoustic features that meditate the qualitatively different acoustical percepts of rhythm, timbre and pitch. Second, we will test the validity of these theoretically derived representations in psychophysical experiments in humans, and behavioral experiments in songbirds. These experiments will test the effect on perception of systematically removing acoustic features along the particular dimensions that were derived in the statistical analysis. Third, we will develop information theoretic tools that will allow us to estimate the amount of redundancy in a neuronal ensemble response. These measures will be used to quantify how the neural representation changes as one ascends the auditory processing stream and to test whether the neural representation is becoming more sparse and independent as we theorized. Finally, we will record the neural responses in primary and secondary auditory areas in songbirds to playback of song and filtered song. The data from these neurophysiological experiments will be used to: 1) test the utility of the statistically derived representations to predict responses of single auditory neurons, 2) correlate neural responses and behavioral responses, 3) assess the nature of non-linearities in the response, and 4) test the assumptions of independence at the ensemble level. Our studies will give us insight on how speech, music and other complex sounds are processed by the auditory system. These studies could be instrumental in the development of novel methods for sound processing for hearing aids and auditory neural prosthetics, as well as diagnostic tools for classifying language and learning disorders.

Public Health Relevance

The purpose of this research is to improve understanding of how the human brain represents complex sounds, speech and music in particular. This basic research has direct applications in bio-medical sciences in the development of better hearing aids or cochlear implants for better speech intelligibility and music appreciation. In the long term, the research might also help in understanding the cause of certain types of learning disabilities that involve poor speech comprehension or production.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DC007293-08
Application #
8449123
Study Section
Cognitive Neuroscience Study Section (COG)
Program Officer
Platt, Christopher
Project Start
2004-07-01
Project End
2014-03-31
Budget Start
2013-04-01
Budget End
2014-03-31
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$273,001
Indirect Cost
$79,540
Name
University of California Berkeley
Department
Neurosciences
Type
Organized Research Units
DUNS #
124726725
City
Berkeley
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94704
Elie, Julie E; Theunissen, Frédéric E (2015) Meaning in the avian auditory cortex: neural representation of communication calls. Eur J Neurosci 41:546-67
Perez, Emilie C; Elie, Julie E; Boucaud, Ingrid C A et al. (2015) Physiological resonance between mates through calls as possible evidence of empathic processes in songbirds. Horm Behav 75:130-41
Mouterde, Solveig C; Theunissen, Frédéric E; Elie, Julie E et al. (2014) Acoustic communication and sound degradation: how do the individual signatures of male and female zebra finch calls transmit over distance? PLoS One 9:e102842
Mouterde, Solveig C; Elie, Julie E; Theunissen, Frédéric E et al. (2014) Learning to cope with degraded sounds: female zebra finches can improve their expertise in discriminating between male voices at long distances. J Exp Biol 217:3169-77
Theunissen, Frederic E; Elie, Julie E (2013) Population code, noise correlations, and memory. Neuron 78:209-10
Elliott, Taffeta M; Hamilton, Liberty S; Theunissen, Frédéric E (2013) Acoustic structure of the five perceptual dimensions of timbre in orchestral instrument tones. J Acoust Soc Am 133:389-404
Gastpar, Michael C; Gill, Patrick R; Huth, Alexander G et al. (2010) Anthropic Correction of Information Estimates and Its Application to Neural Coding. IEEE Trans Inf Theory 56:890-900
Woolley, Sarah M N; Hauber, Mark E; Theunissen, Frederic E (2010) Developmental experience alters information coding in auditory midbrain and forebrain neurons. Dev Neurobiol 70:235-52
Vu, Vincent Q; Yu, Bin; Kass, Robert E (2009) Information in the nonstationary case. Neural Comput 21:688-703
Woolley, Sarah M N; Gill, Patrick R; Fremouw, Thane et al. (2009) Functional groups in the avian auditory system. J Neurosci 29:2780-93

Showing the most recent 10 out of 14 publications