On Fri, Dec 20, 2013 at 7:40 PM, David Worrall <worr...@avatar.com.au>wrote:
> I remember reading that, with exposure, human's audio-processing > "hardware" can adapt to/learn how to use a non-optimal HRTF, given a bit of > time. > Does anyone have a reference for this? > > I don't know about 'non-optimal', but we can learn new ones by cross calibration with other senses, and apparently we don't forget the old ones. Aaron (hel...@ai.sri.com) Nature Neuroscience 1, 417 - 421 (1998) doi:10.1038/1633 Relearning sound localization with new ears Paul M. Hofman, Jos G.A. Van Riswick & A. John Van Opstal University of Nijmegen, Department of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Geert Grooteplein 21, NL-6525 EZ Nijmegen, The Netherlands Correspondence should be addressed to A. John Van Opstal joh...@mbfys.kun.nl Because the inner ear is not organized spatially, sound localization relies on the neural processing of implicit acoustic cues. To determine a sound's position, the brain must learn and calibrate these cues, using accurate spatial feedback from other sensorimotor systems. Experimental evidence for such a system has been demonstrated in barn owls, but not in humans. Here, we demonstrate the existence of ongoing spatial calibration in the adult human auditory system. The spectral elevation cues of human subjects were disrupted by modifying their outer ears (pinnae) with molds. Although localization of sound elevation was dramatically degraded immediately after the modification, accurate performance was steadily reacquired. Interestingly, learning the new spectral cues did not interfere with the neural representation of the original cues, as subjects could localize sounds with both normal and modified pinnae. Full text at: http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v1/n5/full/nn0998_417.html > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <https://mail.music.vt.edu/mailman/private/sursound/attachments/20131220/4d9a2494/attachment.html> _______________________________________________ Sursound mailing list Sursound@music.vt.edu https://mail.music.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/sursound
