Teasing out the cues for auditory detection of tones in noise

Professor Laurel Carney, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, University of Rochester

CSB 209

Abstract

This talk will review the experimental and computational modeling strategies that we use to study the ability of the auditory system to detect tones in the presence of background noise. This is a classic problem in auditory psychophysics, and is also of clinical interest - difficulty hearing and communicating in noisy environments is the most problematic issue for listeners with hearing loss. The talk will focus on recent results, as well as plans for a new project for which we are recruiting graduate research assistants.

Speaker Biography

Professor Laurel H. Carney came to the University of Rochester from Syracuse University, where her laboratory was investigating auditory coding of complex sounds, focusing on the detection of signals in noise and the coding of amplitude fluctuations. Professor Carney uses behavioral, physiological, and computational modeling techniques towards the goal of relating neural responses to perception.