Effect of source-motion and self-motion on the resetting of auditory scene analysis

Abstract

Auditory scene analysis needs to parse the incoming flow of acoustic information into perceptual streams, such as distinct musical melodies or sentences from a single talker. Previous studies have demonstrated that the formation of auditory streams is not instantaneous: rather, streaming builds up over time and can be reset by sudden changes in the acoustics of the scene. The present study examined the effect of changes induced by voluntary head motion on streaming. A telepresence robot in a virtual-reality setup was used to disentangle all potential consequences of head motion: changes in acoustic cues at the ears, changes in apparent sound location, and changes in motor processes. The results showed that self-motion induced resetting of auditory streaming. An additive model analysis further revealed that resetting was largely influenced by acoustic cues and apparent sound location rather than by non-auditory factors related to head motion. Thus, low-level changes in sensory cues can affect perceptual organization, even though those changes are fully accounted for by self-motion of the listener. It is suggested that our results reflect a widely distributed neural architecture for the formation of auditory streams.