Project Acronym: VIMOD
Duration: 01/07/2024 – 30/06/2026
Project Number: SK-AT-23-0002
Funding Agency: Agentúra na podporu výskumu a vývoja

Abstract

Auditory perception can be both challenging and rewarding. In a noisy crowded restaurant, listeners must quickly recalibrate their perception to the acoustic characteristics of the room and constantly switch attention to new speakers throughout a conversation. At the same time, the listening experience is motivating, e.g., when participating in an interesting conversation or enjoying the sounds of the surrounding environment. A major challenge in auditory neuroscience is that the laboratory training procedures, prosthetic devices, and testing tools used to assess hearing abilities are neither rewarding nor representative of the multifaceted experiences of real-world auditory scenes. The goal of the current grant is to use virtual reality to accurately assess auditory abilities and their underlying neural mechanisms. First, a series of experimental studies will be performed to determine how virtualization can be used to adapt horizontal localization depending on preceding auditory context or as a result of training. Then, models will be developed to describe how virtualization influences auditory perception in the examined tasks. The results will be incorporated into the Auditory modeling toolbox (AMT) and used to further develop existing auditory assessment and enhancement tools, previously co-developed by members of the consortium. Finally, a workshop will be organized to train new researchers in the use of virtualization in auditory neuroscience, and to share and disseminate the new results of the project.