Foreground-background discrimination indicated by event-related brain potentials in a new auditory multistability paradigm

Szalárdy, Orsolya and Winkler, István and Schröger, Erich and Widmann, Andreas and Bendixen, Alexandra (2013) Foreground-background discrimination indicated by event-related brain potentials in a new auditory multistability paradigm. Psychophysiology, 50 (12). pp. 1239-1250. ISSN 00485772

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Abstract

For studying multistable auditory perception, we propose a paradigm that evokes integrated or segregated perception of a sound sequence, and permits decomposition of the segregated grouping into foreground and background sounds. The paradigm combines 3-tone pitch patterns with alternating timbres, resulting in a repeating 6-tone structure that can be perceived as rising based on temporal proximity, or as falling based on timbre similarity. Listeners continuously report their percept while EEG is recorded. Results show an ERP modulation starting at ~70 ms after sound onset that can be explained by whether a sound belongs to perceived foreground or background, with no additional effect of integrated vs. segregated grouping. Auditory grouping as indexed by the mismatch negativity did not correspond with reported sound grouping. The paradigm offers a new possibility for investigating effects of conscious perceptual organization on sound processing.

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