Oscillatory activity in the auditory cortex determines auditory temporal resolution
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1
University of Oldenburg, Department of Psychology, Germany
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2
University of Oldenburg, Department of Psychology, Germany
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3
Research Center Neurosensory Science, Germany
Electrophysiological resonance behavior in the gamma range suggests a neuronal generator mechanism which determines the resonance behavior of the cerebral cortex (Zaehle et al., 2010). Listening to amplitude modulated (AM) tones triggers an auditory steady state response (ASSR) with a spectral peak at the AM frequency. In our first experiment we varied the AM frequency in the gamma range to obtain an ASSR curve as a function of resonance behavior. Individual's ASSR curves showed a non-linear response behavior with a clear peak in the gamma range, which can be interpreted as the brain's preferred frequency. The question that arises is, whether the preferred frequency has a functional relevance for auditory processing. Results from studies evaluating individual's auditory temporal resolution in between-channel gap detection (GD) tasks provide evidence for an interaction between preferred frequency and GD-thresholds (Phillips et al., 1997). Phillips et al. found between-channel GD-thresholds in the range of tens of milliseconds which corresponds to frequencies in the gamma range. In our second experiment we estimated between-channel GD-thresholds as a measurement of auditory temporal resolution (ATR) with a 3 down/1 up staircase procedure. The comparison of the results of 15 individuals from the first and second experiment, revealed a significant negative correlation between individual's auditory temporal resolution and the brain's preferred oscillatory frequency (Spearman: r = - 0.46, p = 0.04). Therefore, we conclude that a higher preferred oscillation facilitates faster processing of auditory stimuli and leads to shorter GD-thresholds. Single unit recordings in monkey auditory cortex revealed neuronal responses that correspond to auditory GD-thresholds (Malone et al., 2010). These findings suggest that ATR is determined by oscillatory activity in the auditory cortex and is reflected in the ability to detect short gaps.
Keywords:
brain oscillations,
auditory temporal resolution,
auditory steady state response,
Resonance frequency,
Gap detection threshold
Conference:
XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 27 Jul - 31 Jul, 2014.
Presentation Type:
Poster
Topic:
Sensation and Perception
Citation:
Baltus
A and
Herrmann
CS
(2015). Oscillatory activity in the auditory cortex determines auditory temporal resolution.
Conference Abstract:
XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII).
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.217.00012
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Received:
19 Feb 2015;
Published Online:
24 Apr 2015.
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Correspondence:
Mrs. Alina Baltus, University of Oldenburg, Department of Psychology, Oldenburg, Germany, alina.baltus@uni-oldenburg.de