Spatial masking of the delayed sound motion: EEG and behavioral measures

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Abstract

This study investigated the effect of simultaneous masking at different angular distances between stationary maskers and signals with delayed motion onset on the perceived location of signal trajectory endpoints and the strength of the global field power (GFP) in evoked responses in the electroencephalogram. Stimulus positions were manipulated through interaural intensity differences. Evoked responses to the signal's onset and offset were maximally suppressed when the masker position matched the signal’s starting and ending points, respectively. As the distance increased, the responses partially recovered, indicating a spatial release from masking. The maximum suppression of the motion onset response occurred when the lateral or central masker was located at the end of the movement trajectory. Despite complete or partial suppression of the GFP, the listeners were able to localize the test signals under masking conditions. However, the perceived signal trajectories shortened, and their perceived positions shifted away from the masker. The GFPs were more susceptible to energetic masking, while behavioral responses were more robust in recognizing motion, as they relied on the activity of broad neural networks involved in the integration of sensory information over a longer time period.

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About the authors

L. B. Shestopalova

Pavlov Institute of Physiology, RAS

Author for correspondence.
Email: shestopalovalb@infran.ru
Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

E. A. Petropavlovskaia

Pavlov Institute of Physiology, RAS

Email: shestolido@mail.ru
Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

D. A. Salikova

Pavlov Institute of Physiology, RAS

Email: shestopalovalb@infran.ru
Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

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Supplementary files

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2. Fig. 1. Methodological approaches. A – signal trajectories relative to the masker position; B – signal structure when moving from the center; C – example of evoked potential (EP) in lead Cz: ON-, MOR, OFF-responses in silence to stimuli moving from the center (responses to left and right movements are averaged); D – example of grand curve of power of global field of ON-response (thick line) under the same conditions as in Fig. 1, C. Thin lines correspond to EP in each of the 32 leads. The scale of the abscissa axis in panels C and D is different.

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3. Fig. 2. Movement onset evoked potentials (MOR) in different conditions in lead Cz, averaged over all subjects (n = 18). Component latencies (ms) are indicated next to the peaks. A – movement away from the center, B – movement toward the center.

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4. Fig. 3. Effect of angular distance between masker and signal on global field power (GFP) of ON, MOR, OFF responses (A, B, C). Abscissus axis – relative positions of signal and masker, ordinate axis – z-score of average GFP values ​​in ±25 ms window around the peak of response component. Circles show significant differences from the “silent” condition. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between adjacent values ​​are shown by solid lines, insignificant (p > 0.05) – by dotted lines. Responses to stimuli moving from the center and to the center are averaged among themselves.

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5. Fig. 4. Effect of the direction of movement on the global field power (GFP) of ON, MOR, OFF responses (after averaging by the Component factor). Abscissa axis – relative position of the signal and masker, ordinate axis – z-score of average GFP values ​​in a ±25 ms window around the peak. See Fig. 3 for designations. Asterisks – significant differences between responses to centrifugal and centripetal movement.

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6. Fig. 5. Averaged trajectories of signal movements to and from the center. The asterisk indicates the location of the masker. Dark arrows are movement trajectories in silence, light arrows are in the presence of the masker. A, B, D are movement to the center, B, G, E are movement from the center.

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7. Fig. 6. Perceived positions of the initial and final points of the signal trajectories when moving from the center and toward the center in silence and at different masker positions. The abscissa axis shows the relative position of the signal and the masker, the ordinate axis shows the perceived angular position in degrees. The vertical lines show the value of the standard error of the mean. A – from the center, B – toward the center. For other designations, see Figs. 3 and 5.

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