Nonlinear spectral interferometry (NLSI): A new approach to modeling binaural hearing and aural communication channeling

Abstract

A biointerferometric model for spatial hearing is described in which binaural information is processed as an interferometric response via a nonlinear spectral transform of the cross‐correlation function. Relevant observables include phase delay, phase delay rate, visibility amplitude, and visibility phase. Our model accounts for a broad range of hearing phenomena including: (1) localization below diffraction limited frequencies by overtone generation at the cochlea; (2) localization acuity by superresolution of the synthesized beam; (3) beam synthesis by visibility plane sampling through overtone content in speech and cochlear response; (4) the binaural advantage in intelligibility through interferometric rejection and neuronally driven beam steering; and (5) transformation from phase to amplitude localization cues through loss of visibility phase above the phase‐locked frequency range. This model obviates the need for multiple cue and/or component models and has distinct advantages over other cross‐corre...