Deck 11: The Auditory Brain and Perceiving Auditory Scenes

Question 1

Which auditory pathway includes the core regions, the belt and parabelt, and the anterior parts of the temporal cortex?

A) "what"
B) "who"
C) "why"
D) "where"

Answer 1

A

Question 2

In addition to the ipsilateral cochlear nucleus, the secondary ascending auditory pathway from the right ear includes the:

A) contralateral cochlear nucleus and the contralateral auditory cortex.
B) ipsilateral superior olivary complex and the ipsilateral auditory cortex.
C) contralateral inferior colliculus and the contralateral auditory cortex.
D) contralateral inferior colliculus and the ipsilateral auditory cortex.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which region receives inputs from the auditory core region?

A) the belt and the parabelt
B) the rostral core
C) the rostrotemporal core
D) both the rostral core and the rostrotemporal core

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In addition to the ipsilateral cochlear nucleus, the main ascending auditory pathway from the right ear to the brain includes the:

A) contralateral cochlear nucleus and the contralateral auditory cortex.
B) ipsilateral superior olivary complex and the ipsilateral auditory cortex.
C) contralateral inferior colliculus and the contralateral auditory cortex.
D) contralateral inferior colliculus and the ipsilateral auditory cortex.

Question 5

An acoustic shadow has a much greater effect on:

A) people with small heads than on people with big heads.
B) women than on men.
C) low-frequency sounds than on high-frequency sounds.
D) high-frequency sounds than on low-frequency sounds.

Question 6

Which structure in the auditory pathway is found in the midbrain?

A) the medial geniculate body
B) the superior olivary complex
C) the inferior colliculus
D) the auditory cortex

Question 7

In the ascending auditory pathway, Type I auditory nerve fibers carry signals from inner hair cells in the cochlea to the:

A) contralateral cochlear nucleus.
B) ipsilateral cochlear nucleus.
C) contralateral inferior colliculus.
D) ipsilateral medial geniculate body.

Question 8

Which pathway for audition includes the core regions, the posterior parts of the auditory cortex, and the posterior parietal cortex?

A) "what"
B) "who"
C) "why"
D) "where"

Question 9

Which auditory pathways play a role in modulating the motile response, activating the acoustic reflex, and blocking task-irrelevant ascending auditory signals?

A) the ascending pathways
B) the descending pathways
C) the lateral pathways
D) the horizontal pathways

Question 10

The auditory core region consists of the:

A) belt.
B) parabelt.
C) rostrotemporal core.
D) medial geniculate body.

Question 11

Which structure in the ascending auditory pathway is found in the brain stem?

A) the medial geniculate body
B) the superior olivary complex
C) the inferior colliculus
D) the auditory cortex

Question 12

The descending auditory pathway is NOT involved in:

A) modulating the motile response.
B) activating the acoustic reflex.
C) blocking task-irrelevant ascending auditory signals.
D) sending auditory signals from the left ear to the right ear.

Question 13

Tonotopic maps in the auditory core regions have shown that the:

A) arrangement of neurons is related to temporal coding but not to place coding along the basilar membrane.
B) characteristic frequencies of the neurons appear to be randomly determined.
C) characteristic frequencies of the neurons appear to be organized by amplitudes.
D) characteristic frequencies of the neurons gradually shift from lower at one end to higher at the other end.

Question 14

In the rostral core, posterior neurons have:

A) low characteristic frequencies.
B) high characteristic frequencies.
C) broad tunings.
D) the ability to integrate component frequencies of complex sounds.

Question 15

In which areas would posterior neurons have HIGH characteristic frequencies?

A) the rostral core and the rostrotemporal cores
B) the rostral core and the primary auditory cortex
C) the primary auditory cortex and the rostrotemporal core
D) the primary auditory cortex and the parabelt

Question 16

The main ascending auditory pathway from the right ear includes the ipsilateral cochlear nucleus and the:

A) contralateral cochlear nucleus.
B) ipsilateral superior olivary complex.
C) contralateral inferior colliculus.
D) ipsilateral inferior colliculus.

Question 17

In addition to the core regions, the "where" pathway for audition includes the:

A) belt and parabelt regions and the anterior parts of the temporal cortex.
B) posterior parts of the auditory cortex and the posterior parietal cortex.
C) anterior parts of the auditory cortex.
D) belt and parabelt regions and the posterior parietal cortex.

Question 18

According to researchers Schreiner et al. (2000), neurons with broad tuning widths might be involved in:

A) integrating component frequencies of complex sounds.
B) distintegrating component frequencies of complex sounds.
C) identifying only a narrow band of frequencies when the amplitude of a stimulating tone is high.
D) identifying wide range of frequencies when the amplitude of a stimulating tone is fairly low.

Question 19

The auditory core region of the brain does NOT include the:

A) primary auditory cortex.
B) rostral core.
C) rostrotemporal core.
D) parabelt.

Question 20

Azimuth refers to the _____ dimension.

A) front-to-back
B) side-to-side
C) up-down
D) near-to-far

Question 21

Frequency and loudness help in perceiving distance:

A) only if the sound source is located far away.
B) only if the sound source is approaching.
C) only if the sound source is receding.
D) if the sound source is approaching or receding.

Question 22

Coincidence detectors are located in the:

A) medial superior olive.
B) lateral geniculate body.
C) inner ear.
D) auditory nerve.

Question 23

Interaural time difference refers to the difference in arrival time of:

A) two distinct sounds at the cone of confusion.
B) two distinct sounds at the two ears.
C) the same sound at the two ears.
D) the same sound with different azimuths.

Question 24

Most people have an interaural time difference threshold, which is _____ microseconds.

A) less than 100
B) about 200
C) about 292
D) between 1,000 and 1,500

Question 25

According to the Doppler effect, what component of a sound emitted by a moving sound source is lower behind the sound source than in front of it?

A) azimuth
B) phase
C) amplitude
D) frequency

Question 26

Bats use echolocation by emitting high-frequency sounds in the range of:

A) 20-20,000 Hz.
B) 20,000-100,000 Hz.
C) 100,000-200,000 Hz.
D) 200,000-300,000 Hz.

Question 27

The process of extracting and grouping together the frequencies emitted by a specific sound source is known as _____ analysis.

A) auditory scream
B) auditory stream
C) auditory scene
D) acoustic dream

Question 28

A sound source located directly in front of a listener will produce the same ILD and ITD as a source located directly behind the listener until the listener:

A) closes her eyes.
B) wiggles her ears.
C) moves her head.
D) closes her eyes or wiggles her ears.

Question 29

Information about the elevation of a sound source comes from the spectral shape cue provided by the:

A) pinna.
B) basilar membrane.
C) tympanic membrane.
D) malleus.

Question 30

Human research with echolocation has found that:

A) only blind people can effectively use echolocation.
B) people are unable to effectively use echolocation.
C) blind people have more sensitive hearing than people with normal sight.
D) sighted but blindfolded individuals can use echolocation with practice.

Question 31

The Doppler effect states that the frequency of a sound emitted by a moving sound source is _____ in front of the sound source than behind it.

A) higher
B) lower
C) simpler
D) clearer

Question 32

The _____ effect states that the frequency of a sound emitted by a moving sound source is higher in front of the sound source than behind it.

A) Doppler
B) Dolby
C) temporal proximity
D) spectral shape

Question 33

Neurons that respond to different ILDs are located in the:

A) medial superior olive.
B) lateral geniculate body.
C) cochlea.
D) auditory cortex.

Question 34

An acoustic shadow occurs when the sound source is located:

A) on the median plane.
B) to the listener's left or right.
C) directly in front of the head.
D) directly behind the head.

Question 35

Interaural level difference refers to the difference in:

A) arrival time for two distinct sounds at one of the ears.
B) the sound level of the same sound at the two ears.
C) location within the cone of confusion.
D) the sound level for two distinct sounds at one of the ears.

Question 36

Which statement is NOT true about the precedence effect?

A) Direct sounds will reach the ear earlier than reflected sounds.
B) People with medial geniculate body implants demonstrate the precedence effect.
C) There are more reflected sounds when inside a room than when outside in a field.
D) Reflected sounds will have lower amplitudes than direct sounds.

Question 37

The location of two equidistant sound sources would be in the cone of confusion when _____ are highly similar.

A) only their ITDs
B) only their ILDs
C) both their ITDs and ILDs
D) their dBs

Question 38

As a sound source recedes from the listener, the loudness:

A) decreases.
B) increases.
C) stays the same.
D) increases and then decreases.

Question 39

The pinna helps in providing information about the:

A) distance of a sound source.
B) side-to-side location of a sound source.
C) elevation of a sound source.
D) sources of sound.

Question 40

The intensity of a sound decreases with the distance from the sound source. When the sound source is not located on the median plane, there is a difference in the intensity of the sound that reaches both the ears. This effect is significant when the sound source is located:

A) far from the head.
B) close to the head.
C) far from a magnetic field.
D) close to a magnetic field.

Question 41

Determine which of the following would be considered examples of sensory-substitution devices: (1) a thermometer, (2) a toaster, (3) an oscilloscope, (4) the beep of a car going backward, (5) an escalator, (6) a musical score. Which senses are being substituted by sensory-substitution devices?

Question 42

When a sequence of pure-tone glides separated by brief gaps of silence is presented, a listener can:

A) perceive the gaps in the auditory signal.
B) hear an interrupted sound instead of a continuous sound.
C) perceive the gaps as continuing or gliding behind the noise.
D) does not perceive the gaps any longer.

Question 43

A football helmet completely covers and cushions a player's ears (pinna), except for a tiny opening that allows sound to enter. How is a player's ability to localize sounds affected by wearing a helmet?

Question 44

Five pure tones are presented simultaneously such that three of them are harmonics of the same fundamental tone and one is a nonharmonic tone. How many auditory streams would the listener perceive?

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) five

Question 45

Explain this analogy: auditory scene analysis is like trying to determine the activity on a lake by looking at the waves striking a one-foot-wide section of the shore.

Question 46

Sometimes, when listening to music over a pair of headphones, an individual visualizes a live performance of a band. The person also visualizes the location of each musical instrument and the singer on the stage. (A) Explain how this effect is achieved. (B) Explain whether the music can be produced such that it is perceived as coming from behind the listener.

Question 47

What are coincidence detectors? Where are they located, and what function do they perform?

Question 48

Discuss three cues that help in determining the distance between the ear and a source of sound.

Question 49

What type of mapping is ascribed to structures in the auditory core region? Briefly define this type of mapping. Does this type of arrangement resemble any other structure's arrangement?

Question 50

A listener will find it difficult to judge the frequency of two sequential tones if:

A) two different-frequency captor tones are also included.
B) two same-frequency flanker tones and a series of same-frequency captor tones are also included.
C) several same-frequency captor tones are also included.
D) two same-frequency flanker tones are also included.

Question 51

The mixture of frequencies arriving at the ear within a given interval of time can be grouped according to:

A) harmonic coherence only.
B) synchrony only.
C) harmonic coherence and/or synchrony.
D) interaural time differences and/or musical dissonance.

Question 52

How does diffraction of sound waves explain both the effectiveness of the interaural time difference and the ineffectiveness of the interaural-level difference in discerning the azimuth of a low-frequency sound?

Question 53

According to Albert S. Bregman's description of auditory scene analysis:

A) unrelated auditory streams rarely start or stop at exactly the same time.
B) unrelated auditory streams typically start and stop at the same time.
C) a single auditory stream typically includes an abrupt change in frequency, amplitude, or timbre.
D) each of the frequency components of a single auditory stream tends to change independently of the others.

Question 54

The FIRST step in auditory scene analysis is to organize the input into a set of distinct:

A) auditory streams.
B) acoustic shadows.
C) frequency ranges.
D) locations.

Question 55

What auditory information would a visually impaired bicyclist use to safely negotiate the location of other vehicles and stationary objects?