Laboratory of Comparative Sensory Physiology, Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry of Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Atten Percept Psychophys. 2023 Nov;85(8):2718-2730. doi: 10.3758/s13414-023-02663-y. Epub 2023 Mar 22.
Auditory localization plays an essential role in various tasks, including spatial orientation, locomotion, attention and memory. Optimization of experimental routine is important for preliminary assessment of the subject's sound localization ability. In the present study, a new quick technique for estimating the relative minimum audible distance (RMAD) using sound images is introduced. Twenty adults with normal hearing took part in six RMAD measurements in free field. The reference RMAD values were obtained using a method of constant stimuli by physically positioning a real sound source. The same method was used with stationary sound images created by superposition of signals emitted by two loudspeakers. To optimize the measurements, the RMADs were determined for the sound images using two adaptive psychoacoustic procedures known as one-down, one-up and two-down, one-up staircases. The group-average RMADs obtained by the method of constant stimuli for both types of stimuli and by two adaptive procedures were similar, 7% (SD = 2%). The effect of whether subjects were sighted or blindfolded was not significant for measurements of RMAD to sound images. The average measurement times were 373 s (SD = 20 s) for the method of constant stimuli, 85 s (SD = 9 s) for the one-down, one-up, and 124 s (SD = 14 s) for the two-down, one-up procedure. The results are consistent with the previous studies and confirm the validity of the measurements of RMAD using adaptive procedures with stationary sound images as a quick method.
听觉定位在各种任务中起着至关重要的作用，包括空间定向、运动、注意力和记忆。优化实验程序对于初步评估受试者的声音定位能力非常重要。在本研究中，引入了一种使用声音图像估计相对最小可听距离 (RMAD) 的新快速技术。20 名听力正常的成年人在自由场中进行了六次 RMAD 测量。参考 RMAD 值是通过物理定位真实声源使用恒定刺激法获得的。对于由两个扬声器发出的信号叠加产生的固定声音图像，也使用相同的方法。为了优化测量，使用两种自适应心理声学程序（一降一升和二降一升阶梯）确定了声音图像的 RMAD。使用恒定刺激法和两种自适应程序获得的两种类型刺激的组平均 RMAD 相似，为 7%（SD=2%）。对于 RMAD 到声音图像的测量，被试是否有视力或蒙住眼睛的效果并不显著。对于恒定刺激法，平均测量时间为 373 秒（SD=20 秒），一降一升程序为 85 秒（SD=9 秒），二降一升程序为 124 秒（SD=14 秒）。结果与先前的研究一致，证实了使用自适应程序和固定声音图像测量 RMAD 作为一种快速方法的有效性。
