title: Stream segregation on a single electrode as a function of pulse rate in cochlear implant listeners.
abstract: While cochlear implants (CIs) usually provide high levels of speech recognition in quiet, speech recognition in noise remains challenging. To overcome these difficulties, it is important to understand how implanted listeners separate a target signal from interferers. Stream segregation has been studied extensively in both normal and electric hearing, as a function of place of stimulation. However, the effects of pulse rate, independent of place, on the perceptual grouping of sequential sounds in electric hearing have not yet been investigated. A rhythm detection task was used to measure stream segregation. The results of this study suggest that while CI listeners can segregate streams based on differences in pulse rate alone, the amount of stream segregation observed decreases as the base pulse rate increases. Further investigation of the perceptual dimensions encoded by the pulse rate and the effect of sequential presentation of different stimulation rates on perception could be beneficial for the future development of speech processing strategies for CIs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, 130 Hudson Hall, P.O. Box 90291, Durham, North Carolina 27708-0291, USA.
authors.forename: Sara I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Duran
authors.forename: Leslie M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: Chandra S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Throckmorton
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001299:Audiometry; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D012048:Correction of Hearing Impairment / Q000523:psychology*; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D010507:Periodicity; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013067:Speech Perception; D013997:Time Factors; D013998:Time Perception