Signal detection in animal psychoacoustics: Analysis and simulation of sensory and decision-related influences

Alves-Pinto, Ana; Sollini, Joseph; Sumner, Christian J.

doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.06.001

Cited by 17 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…This also indicates a low day-to-day variability of perceptual thresholds. Our results complement that of an earlier study in ferrets demonstrating that measured thresholds were not affected by trial-totrial fluctuations in the animals' decision criterion [1]. Overall, these findings suggest that the experimental design presented in this study is well suited for psychophysical investigations.…”

Section: Methodological Considerationssupporting

confidence: 86%

Crossmodal integration improves sensory detection thresholds in the ferret

Hollensteiner

Pieper

Engler

et al. 2015

Preprint

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During the last two decades ferrets (Mustela putorius) have been established as a highly efficient animal model in different fields in neuroscience. Here we asked whether ferrets integrate sensory information according to the same principles established for other species. Since only few methods and protocols are available for behaving ferrets we developed a head-free, body-restrained approach allowing a standardized stimulation position and the utilization of the ferret's natural response behavior. We established a behavioral paradigm to test audiovisual integration in the ferret. Animals had to detect a brief auditory and/or visual stimulus presented either left or right from their midline. We first determined detection thresholds for auditory amplitude and visual contrast. In a second step, we combined both modalities and compared psychometric fits and the reaction times between all conditions. We employed Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) to model bimodal psychometric curves and to investigate whether ferrets integrate modalities in an optimal manner. Furthermore, to test for a redundant signal effect we pooled the reaction times of all animals to calculate a race model. We observed that bimodal detection thresholds were reduced and reaction times were faster in the bimodal compared to unimodal conditions. The race model and MLE modeling showed that ferrets integrate modalities in a statistically optimal fashion. Taken together, the data indicate that principles of multisensory integration previously demonstrated in other species also apply to crossmodal processing in the ferret.

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Section: Methodological Considerationssupporting

confidence: 86%

Crossmodal integration improves sensory detection thresholds in the ferret

Hollensteiner

Pieper

Engler

et al. 2015

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Given their relative immaturity at birth, ferrets are also highly suitable for studying the role of sensory experience in the development of sound localization mechanisms (King and Parsons 1999; Moore 2002; King et al 2011). In addition, the temperament of this species makes it particularly useful for behavioral assessments of spatial (Kavanagh and Kelly 1987; Hine et al 1994; Nodal et al 2008) as well as other aspects (Kelly et al 1996; Walker et al 2009; Yin et al 2010; Alves-Pinto et al 2012; Bizley et al 2013) of hearing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral Sensitivity to Broadband Binaural Localization Cues in the Ferret

Keating

Nodal

Gananandan

et al. 2013

JARO

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Although the ferret has become an important model species for studying both fundamental and clinical aspects of spatial hearing, previous behavioral work has focused on studies of sound localization and spatial release from masking in the free field. This makes it difficult to tease apart the role played by different spatial cues. In humans and other species, interaural time differences (ITDs) and interaural level differences (ILDs) play a critical role in sound localization in the azimuthal plane and also facilitate sound source separation in noisy environments. In this study, we used a range of broadband noise stimuli presented via customized earphones to measure ITD and ILD sensitivity in the ferret. Our behavioral data show that ferrets are extremely sensitive to changes in either binaural cue, with levels of performance approximating that found in humans. The measured thresholds were relatively stable despite extensive and prolonged (>16 weeks) testing on ITD and ILD tasks with broadband stimuli. For both cues, sensitivity was reduced at shorter durations. In addition, subtle effects of changing the stimulus envelope were observed on ITD, but not ILD, thresholds. Sensitivity to these cues also differed in other ways. Whereas ILD sensitivity was unaffected by changes in average binaural level or interaural correlation, the same manipulations produced much larger effects on ITD sensitivity, with thresholds declining when either of these parameters was reduced. The binaural sensitivity measured in this study can largely account for the ability of ferrets to localize broadband stimuli in the azimuthal plane. Our results are also broadly consistent with data from humans and confirm the ferret as an excellent experimental model for studying spatial hearing.

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“…This model predicts that the response to a particular stimulus condition will be invariant with respect to the context of the trial within in a sequence. However, there is substantial evidence to the contrary: response bias is infl uenced by the stimuli and responses on the preceding trials, suggesting that criterion dynamics play an important role in shaping perceptual decision making (Alves-Pinto et al, 2012). To explore these dynamics further, we carried out an auditory yes-no task (MacMillan & Creelman, 2005), in which two trained ferrets were required to detect a tone in broadband noise.…”

Section: Cortex: Psychophysics Imaging and Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abstracts of the Fourth Joint Annual Conference, Experimental and Clinical Short Papers Meetings of the British Society of Audiology

Furness

2014

International Journal of Audiology

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1997 . Response properties of neurons in the inferior colliculus of the monaurally deafened ferret to acoustic stimulation of the intact ear . J Neurophysiol , 78 , 767 -779 . Mossop J.E. , Wilson M.J. , Caspary D.M. & Moore D.R . 2000 . Downregulation of inhibition following unilateral deafening . Hear Res , 147 , 183 -187 . Thai-Van H . 2013 . Unilateral deafness: A unique model for the investigation of functional plasticity mechanisms in the human auditory cortex . References Marriage JE , Moore BCJ , Stone MA & Baer T . 2005 . Effects of three amplifi cation strategies on speech perception by children with severe and profound hearing loss . Ear Hear 26 , 35 -47 .

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Signal detection in animal psychoacoustics: Analysis and simulation of sensory and decision-related influences

Cited by 17 publications

References 62 publications

Crossmodal integration improves sensory detection thresholds in the ferret

Crossmodal integration improves sensory detection thresholds in the ferret

Behavioral Sensitivity to Broadband Binaural Localization Cues in the Ferret

Abstracts of the Fourth Joint Annual Conference, Experimental and Clinical Short Papers Meetings of the British Society of Audiology

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