Neural correlates of auditory streaming in an objective behavioral task

Abstract

Segregating streams of sounds from sources in complex acoustic scenes is crucial for perception in real world situations. We analyzed an objective psychophysical measure of stream segregation obtained while simultaneously recording forebrain neurons in the European starlings to investigate neural correlates of segregating a stream of A tones from a stream of B tones presented at one-half the rate. The objective measure, sensitivity for time shift detection of the B tone, was higher when the A and B tones were of the same frequency (one stream) compared with when there was a 6- or 12-semitone difference between them (two streams). The sensitivity for representing time shifts in spiking patterns was correlated with the behavioral sensitivity. The spiking patterns reflected the stimulus characteristics but not the behavioral response, indicating that the birds' primary cortical field represents the segregated streams, but not the decision process.