![]() ![]() Decades of psychological, physiological, and computational research have gone into unraveling the processes underlying auditory perception. ![]() 2004), our auditory system is thought to use a combination of information learned during development and more hardwired solutions developed over evolutionary time to solve this problem. Similar to solutions in the visual domain (e.g., Kersten et al. All that reaches each eardrum is a single sound wave, and yet, in most cases, we are able to extract from that single waveform sufficient information to identify the different sound sources and direct our attention to the ones that currently interest us.ĭeconstructing a waveform into its original sources is no simple matter in fact, the problem is mathematically ill posed, meaning that there is no unique solution. The feat is even more impressive when one considers that sounds are rarely presented in isolation: The sound wave that reaches each ear is often a complex mixture of many sound sources, such as the conversations at surrounding tables of a restaurant, mixed with background music and the clatter of plates. From this simple motion arises our rich perception of the acoustic environment around us. Our ability to detect, localize, and identify sounds is astounding given the seemingly limited sensory input: Our eardrums move to and fro with tiny and rapid changes in air pressure, providing us only with a continuous measure of change in sound pressure at two locations in space, about 20 cm apart, on either side of the head. It is the primary mode of human connection and communication via speech and music. ![]() Hearing provides us with access to the acoustic world, including the fall of raindrops on the roof, the chirping of crickets on a summer evening, and the cry of a newborn baby. ![]()
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