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[CNRS]
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The memory of noise: Auditory illustrations
[version
française]
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This first example is just a noise (click on the image to
listen
to it, ideally over headphones). A noise is simply a sequence of random
numbers. All noises sound more or less like 'shhhhhhhh'. |
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But our perception of noises can be changed by memorizing
them.
This example was formed by repeating an identical snippet of noise
twice per second. If you hear a regular rhythm in the noise, then you
have learnt the snippet, which was formed from 22050 random numbers. |
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This last example is formed from a single repetition of
another snippet of noise. When you first hear it, you probably just
hear 'shhhhhh'. However, if you listen to it several times, you might
start to pick out the repetition. If so, then you have learnt it from
scratch. |
The article describes an experimental procedure that was slightly
different, in that the listeners who took part in the
experiment didn't know that there was any noise to learn, but a noise
was presented, just occasionally, throughout the experiment. We showed
that listeners still learnt the noise. More than that, their learning
was rapid, robust, and it lasted for
several weeks. So it seems that there is a mechanism for auditory
plasticity that is remarkably effective at allowing us to identify and
memorize sounds which are repeated in our acoustical worlds.
Reference : Agus, T.R., Thorpe, S.J., & Pressnitzer, D.
(2010). Rapid formation of robust auditory memories: Insights from
noise. Neuron 66: 610-618.
[Equipe Audition]
[CNRS]
[LPP Paris 5]
[ENS] [DEC]