The 5th workshop on
Cognitive neuroscience of auditory and cross-modal perception
15-17 April 2024, Košice (pronounced KOH-shih-tse), Slovakia
News and updates (cl
News and updates (click here to view older posts) :
19 April:
The workshop is officially over. Thanks everybody for your contribution. All the talks, posters, demos and social events were wonderful. Looking forward to the 6th edition in 2-3 years. Workshop photos are archived here.
Objectives:
- This workshop will include advanced research talks (and introductory lectures) on a range of topics related to the neural processes of auditory, visual and cross-modal perception.
- The main focus of this year’s workshop will be on spatial audio virtualization and gamification for hearing assessment and enhancement.
- The talks will illustrate the multidisciplinary character of cognitive neuroscience research, covering behavioral, neuroimaging, and modeling approaches, as well as applications of the research in auditory prosthetic devices.
- The workshop is aimed at early-stage and advanced students and young researchers, and it will provide ample opportunities for direct interactions between the lecturers and the attendees.
The workshop will follow up on our previous workshops. (An electronic version of the proceedings with lectures and assignments from the previous two workshops is available here.)
Format:
1/2-day sessions, including invited talks, contributed talks, and posters focusing on the topics of Spatial Audio Virtualization and Gamification for Hearing Assessment and Enhancement (general), as well as other topics in computational and cognitive neuroscience. (Also, non-scientific program – outings to tourist destinations near Kosice – will be organized on the days before and/or day after the workshop.)
Guest speakers and SAV consortium speakers:
G. Christopher Stecker, Boys Town National Research Hospital, “The roles and bases of auditory spatial awareness”
Z. Ellen Peng, Boys Town National Research Hospital, ” The role of postural stability on functional spatial hearing in children with typical and atypical development of hearing and vestibular functions”
Antje Ihlefeld, Meta, “Individual Differences in Spatial Auditory Processing”
Lauren Calandruccio, Case Western Reserve University, “Listening in noise in multiple languages: considerations for enhancing the efficiency of speech recognition testing”
Eleni Vlahou, University of Thessaly, “Exploring Spatial Auditory Attention in Gamified Cocktail Party Settings”
Mathieu Lavandier, ENTPE – University of Lyon, “Modelling speech intelligibility in noise: from differences in SRTs to full psychometric functions?”
Robert Baumgartner, Austrian Academy of Sciences, “Short-term adaptation of spatial hearing”
Bernhard Laback, Austrian Academy of Sciences, “Dilation of Auditory Space by Short-Term Context”
Piotr Majdak, Austrian Academy of Sciences, ” Introduction to the framework for auditory modeling based on Bayesian inference”
Anja Pahor, Univerza v Mariboru, “Development and validation of mobile measures of executive function”
Frederick Gallun, Oregon Health and Science University, “Does Psychoacoustics Have to be Boring? Exploring Gamification of Auditory Testing”
Jyrki Ahveninen, Mass General Research Institute / Harvard Medical School, “Multimodal studies on attention and crossmodal influences in auditory networks”
Virginia Best, Boston University, “When and why do hearing aids disrupt sound externalization?”
Aaron Seitz, Northeastern University, “New games to train speech in competition; from psychoacoustics to music”
Kaisu Lankinen, Mass General Research Institute / Harvard Medical School “Using 7T fMRI to examine functional properties of the human auditory pathways”
Ľuboš Hládek & Norbert Kopčo, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, “Other topics in SAV: Attention and distance in real and virtual environments”. 2 parts: (Sebena R, Ahveninen J, Best V, Kopco N “The reference frame of the electrophysiological correlates of attentional cueing in auditory spatial discrimination”, Hladek L, Seitz A, Kopco N “Reverberation and level cues for auditory distance perception in real environments”)
Program (tentative):
Instructions for the presenters:
- Invited talks Each talk has 35 mins assigned to it (30 mins talk; 5 mins discussion), followed by a 5 min break. There will be a PC with audio capabilities and PowerPoint on it. Bringing your talk on USB is the preferred option. But we’ll also have a VGA/HDMI/USB-C option for connecting your laptop. Please find your chair person and try to upload your presentations to the presentation computer before your session so that we can go smoothly.
- Contributed talks Each presentation is scheduled for 15 minutes (13 mins talk; 2 mins discussion). Equipment: see above.
- Posters Posters will be up during the poster session (Tuesday PM) which will be in the library room (different from the lecture room) that is reserved for the whole day of Tuesday. So, they can go up already Tuesday morning. Presenters are expected to be at their poster for approximately a half of the poster session, they can explore the other posters during the other half. They are also encouraged to be available to present their posters during the breaks in the Tuesday AM session. Poster boards of 118cm (h) x 70 (w) with pins will be provided.
- Demos of different training/evaluation apps/games will be shown at stations in the library room during the poster & demos session. They will be introduced during the Tuesday 11:30 slot. Please let us know if you’re planning to bring any hands-on demo and/or need to borrow any specific equipment (PC, headphones).
Social events & outings, lunch, refreshments:
We are planning several outings for the participants. There is a sign-up sheet here. The participants are expected to pay the cost of their participation – see the plan, organizer contact info, and costs below (we are working on sponsorship…). Meeting for all events is at Jesenna 5 (workshop venue). Also there is a Whatsapp group mainly for the outings and for people to get in touch (see Contacts section).
Sunday (14.04) 14:00 – 18:00 Visit to the botanical garden (Cost 5 EUR) and their cafe. Later, we can go to Kembridz or Corvus or Golem pub. Contact: Myroslav +421950205609
Monday (15.04) 18:00 Reception at Hotel Marathon (welcome drink and refreshments free – no signup needed; dinner and individual drinks available for purchase). Contact: Keerthi +421919185728.
Tuesday (16.04) 17:00 – 18:00 Guided Kosice city tour in English (5 EUR). (Afterwards, meet up in a pub, e.g. Golem or Dobré časy). Contact: Keerthi +421919185728.
Wednesday (17.04) 12:00 – 18:00: trip to Tokaj (20 EUR transportation) with lunch (10 EUR) followed by wine tasting (20 EUR) in the Ostrozovic cellar and then either a walk to the viewing tower there or the newly renovated Borsa Rakozi castle/museum. Contact: Peter +421915326659
Thursday (18.04) 9:00 – 18:00: trip to High Tatras (25 EUR transportation), starting at Tatranska lomnica (options: gondola lift/hiking to Skalnate pleso lake – 30EUR, gondola lift to Lomnicky stit peak – 80EUR). In case of bad weather, alternate program: Domica Cave/Betliar Castle/Kaltenecker brewery. Contact – Udbhav (udbhav.singhal@student.upjs.sk, +421-944274042 ).
Lunch: There are four restaurants nearby (Hotel Maraton, Nico Caffe, Malbo Caffe , Santa Lucia) with good lunch options for individual lunch. We selected Maraton for lunch on Apr 15 and Nico for Apr 16 for people who want to have lunch together. We are planning to make a group reservation/order of meals in advance for the ones who want to go together (everybody pays for themselves). For more details and to reserve click here. (Apr 17 lunch will be at Tokaj.)
Refreshments: Sparkling and still water, tea, and coffee, pastries and fruit will be available during the workshop in the lecture room. Also, there is a “Bufet” (cafeteria) in the building where you can buy snacks, coffee etc.
Venue:
Videoconference lecture hall, Faculty of Science / Technicom building, P. J. Šafárik University, Jesenná 5, 04001 Košice Slovakia.
Organizers:
Norbert Kopco, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice
Frederick Gallun, Oregon Health and Science University
Robert Baumgartner, Austrian Academy of Sciences
Mathieu Lavandier, ENTPE – University of Lyon
Organizing team and contact:
Perception and Cognition Lab
Email: kogneuro@gmail.com
WhatsApp group
Practical info:
WIFI Internet: Eduroam and/or WiFi: cogneuro24 Password: 24kosice
Travel, accommodation, visitor information:
Getting around: You can easily walk almost everywhere within Kosice old town. The workshop venue is a 1/2-hr walk from the railway & bus stations.
Kosice has a reliable public transportation system. You can find a route planner. To get to the workshop from the train/bus stations, you can take the #17 bus or #2 tram to Radnica Stareho Mesta station.The easiest way of getting around is by a cab or an Uber-like peer-to-peer ride-sharing service BOLT . HOPIN is a taxi hailing app, similar to Uber, but using regular cabs. You can use it to request a cab from any place to any place in Košice, you see the cost prior to ordering, and you can even request a cab driver that speaks English. You can also hail regular cabs on the street, the cost within city should never be more than 5 EUR. Or you can call the cab companies. Easy Taxi has a fixed rate of 3EUR anywhere within Košice. American Taxi offers fixed rate of 12 EUR to/from the airport.
Another option is a shared bike (see here).
Travel: The Kosice Airport is served by Austrian Airlines, Swiss Air and LOT Polish Airlines (via Vienna, Zurich, Warsaw), and by low-cost airlines Wizzair (London Luton) and Ryanair (London Stansted, Prague, Dublin, Liverpool). Alternatively you can fly to Budapest Airport and take a 3-hr shuttle bus to Kosice (for example, using Flixbus, cassoviaexpres or Airtrans.sk). FlixBus offers bus connections from Poland (from Krakow or Krakow airport), taking 4 to 5 hrs. Also FlixBus serves many cities directly or with connection from Kosice. More information about how to get to Kosice (also by train or bus) can be found here.
Accommodation: There are several hotels close to the workshop venue, for example Hotel Maraton, Crystal, Rokoko, Ambassador, Yasmin, or Slavia (for more hotel options please see http://www.booking.com, http://www.hotels.com, for hostels see: http://www.hostels.com, http://www.hostelworld.com).
Recommended restaurants: Nearby: Sport, Mango, Maraton, Pizzeria ClaSa, Santa Lucia, Tip Top, Krcma Letna, Tabacka, Dobre Bistro, Mala Praha, Nico, Gesto. Slovak and international cuisine: Villa Regia, Uhorský dvor (also Hungarian), Jaskyňa (also Middle-Eastern/falafel), Iris (in Zlaty Dukat hotel), Republika východu (The East-Slovak Republic, modern with a traditional twist), Le Colonial, Olive Tree (in Hilton hotel), fast-food and regular restaurants in Aupark shopping center, 12 apoštolov, Camelot, Med Malina, Golden Royal, Atrium (in Teledom hotel), Czech: Budejovická hospoda, Česká hospoda, Polish: Karczma mlyn (Italian): Mediterran, La Ventana, Napoli, Piano, Jazz Garden, Zlatý zvon, Retro Cult Club, French: A la maison, Middle-Eastern: Kleopatra-Agadir, Burekas, Vegetarian/vegan: Halmi (gluten-free vegan), Ajvega, Madrid (has vegan options, limited menu, dinner only), Indian: Góvinda, Little India, Taj Mahal, Steak house: Rosto, Ukrainian: Barvinok, Sushi/Thai/Asian: Bamboo, Maiko sushi, Greek: Korfu, Vietnamese: Asia fast food, Turkish: Osman city (fast food), Breakfast: Rozpravka. Beer: Golem micro brewery, Hostinec, Luxor, Dobre casy, Red Nose, Madrid. Wine: Dva a dve, Villa Cassa, Vinoteka Loefler, Barrique – Pivotéka & Vinotéka.
Visitor Information, Current Events and Activities:
Košice was the European Capital of Culture in 2013 (thanks to which a lot of new cultural venues were built, including a kulturpark, kunsthalle, and a science park called Steelpark). A well-updated web page with events and trip ideas (as well as accommodation and other tourist info) is http://www.visitkosice.org/en .
Here is a list of tips for optional activities and “English-friendly” cultural events in Kosice during the workshop:
- You can visit the Tourist Info Center near the Cathedral to find out more about the events.
- Theater and philharmonic orchestra.
- Walks and small trips: Botanical Garden, Zoo, Kosice Castle and Watchtower (info in Slovak).
- Exhibits and other events (daily)
- Live music: Tabacka
- Movies (most international movies have original sound track and Slovak subtitles): Daily schedule of movie theaters with English movie titles (go to section Film; look for movies with “titulky”), Usmev cinema
Registration:
The workshop is open to all interested students/scientists. Registration is free of charge but required. To register, please send an email to kogneuro@gmail.com stating your full name and affiliation and the dates on which you are planning to attend. All accepted abstracts will be published on the workshop website and in the abstract book. No proceedings will be published. In case you would like to have a presentation please send us an abstract (up to 200 words; also indicate whether you prefer poster or oral presentation) no later than March 21, 2024.
Acknowledgement:
Sponsorship:
Organization of the workshop has been partially supported by Meta Reality Labs.