Bioinspired Auditory Model for Vowel Recognition

Viviana Abad Peraza,José Manuel Ferrández Vicente,Ernesto Arturo Martínez Rams

doi:10.3390/electronics10182304

Viviana Abad Peraza, José Manuel Ferrández Vicente + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10182304

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Abstract

In this work, a bioinspired or neuromorphic model to replicate the vowel recognition process for an auditory system is presented. A bioinspired peripheral and central auditory system model is implemented and a neuromorphic higher auditory system model based on artificial neuronal nets for vowel recognition is proposed. For their verification, ten Hispanic Spanish language-speaking adults (five males and five females) were used. With the proposed bioinspired model based on artificial neuronal nets it is possible to recognize with high levels of accuracy and sensibility the vowels phonemes of speech signals and the assessment of cochlear implant stimulation strategies in terms of vowel recognition.

Highlights

Hearing is the process by which sound vibrations are transformed from the external environment into action potentials
It was concluded that the spectral representation of the output of the human phonation model corresponded with the spectral characteristics of the output of the cochlea, which allowed the modeling of the peripheral auditory system
The lateral inhibition process between the auditory neurons of the cochlear nucleus was modeled. It was appreciated how the characteristic frequencies that make up the speech signal, the formants, were defined at the end of this process

Summary

Introduction

Hearing is the process by which sound vibrations are transformed from the external environment into action potentials. Loudness is measured in decibels (dBSPL), with 0 to 130 dBSPL being the range of human hearing All these physical properties undergo transformations to enter the central nervous system. The first transformation consists of the conversion of air vibrations into vibrations of the tympanic membrane These vibrations are transmitted to the middle ear and the ossicles. They are transformed into vibrations of the cochlear fluid in the inner ear and these stimulate the basilar membrane and the organ of Corti. These vibrations are transformed into nerve impulses that travel to the nervous system

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