Spatial Hearing and Its Disruption Due to Impoverished Auditory Cues
* Presenting author
Abstract:
Spatial hearing allows to localize and selectively attend to sources of interest. It constitutes an important warning mechanism and enables communication in complex environments. Listeners infer the spatial location of a source based on multiple acoustic cues and naturally perceive those sounds as externalized auditory objects. While interaural disparity cues are evaluated early in the auditory brainstem and gradually determine perceived laterality, monaural spectral cues require a more complex recognition of learned patterns. In this talk, I will summarize recent advances in understanding the nature and interplay of the multitude of auditory cues in spatial hearing. Particular focus will be given to perceptual externalization as well as spatial selective attention and I will highlight the detrimental effects of impoverished cue representations on those cognitive abilities.