Capturing neural biomarkers of auditory attention
Abstract
The long-range vision of our laboratory is to create, within 25 years, a revolutionary assistive hearing device that will selectively amplify a signal of interest based on listener intent. We propose to achieve this by reading brainwaves non-invasively and classifying them into different human cognitive states using electroencephalography (EEG). To make this vision a reality, there are many different branches of research—spanning the fields of neuroscience and engineering— that must be advanced in parallel. Specifically, we must have a deep understanding of the cortical dynamics associated with multiple aspects of auditory attention. We have thus far concentrated on characterizing the cortical network associated with endogenous attention, e.g., capturing the cortical dynamics associated with a listener willfully directing their attention from one speaker to another. Another equally important phenomenon is exogenously triggered changes of attention, e.g., shifting attention to an acoustically salient environmental sound, such as a siren. Currently, how this exogenous attention interacts with the listener intent is largely unknown in audition, e.g., how is it that a listener can quickly choose to ignore the siren and refocus attention on a specific talker? The proposed project focuses on capturing the cortical dynamics associated with the interaction between endogenous and exogenous attention. We will use state-of-the-art multimodal neuroimaging (combining magnetic resonance imaging; MRI, and magneto- an electro-encephalography, M-EEG) to capture the brain dynamics associated with the interaction between listener-directed and stimulus-driven attention. We will then apply our brain-state classification techniques to explore how different aspects of top-down auditory attention can be classified in real-time, thereby establishing another positive step toward realizing our long-range vision.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 12, 2016
- Source ID
- N000141512124
Entities
People
- Adrian Kuo Ching Lee
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Washington