Sensitivity to change in perception of speech
Section snippets
Sensorineural systems respond to change
It is both true and fortunate that sensorineural systems respond to change and to little else. Perceptual systems do not record absolute level be it loudness, pitch, brightness, or color. This fact has been demonstrated in every sensory domain. Physiologically, sensory encoding is always relative. This sacrifice of absolute encoding has enormous benefits along the way to maximizing information transmission. Biological sensors have impressive dynamic range given their evolution via borrowed
Spectral contrast and perceptual accommodation of coarticulated speech
Contrast effects are ubiquitous, and of course, they exist for audition (Cathcart and Dawson, 1928–1929; Christman, 1954). Forms of auditory contrast are important for several aspects of speech perception. Over the past few years, multiple studies conducted at Wisconsin have provided evidence that simple processes of spectral contrast serve, at least in part, as a perceptual complement to coarticulation in the acoustic signal. Coarticulation, the spatial and temporal overlap of adjacent
Potential mechanisms
In keeping with typical usage, the term “contrast” has been used in a largely descriptive way thus far. There are a large number of experimental precedents for spectral contrast––often called “auditory enhancement” and these precedents provide more specific hypotheses. Summerfield et al. (1984) established the existence of an “aftereffect” in vowel perception. When a uniform harmonic spectrum was preceded by a spectrum that was complementary to a particular vowel with troughs replacing peaks
Broader spectral and temporal effects
The above demonstrations of spectral contrast have been relatively focused in both time and frequency. The temporal extent of these effects is on the order of less than 1/2 s, and the particular spectral components of interest have been fairly local (e.g., individual spectral prominences). In keeping with the fundamental principle that perceptual systems respond primarily to change, it follows that introduction of stationary signal characteristics should alter perception such that reliable,
Conclusions
Much is often made of the fact that speech production is dynamic and that it is necessary to include some sensitivity to dynamics in one’s model of speech perception. This is undoubtedly true, but it is rarely noted that it is true in a relatively obvious way given the fact that perceptual systems respond nearly exclusively to change. Perception of speech is not distinctive by virtue of sensitivity to kinematic aspects of the signal. It would be exceptional if it were not sensitive to change.
Acknowledgments
Research supported by NIDCD DC04072.
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