This paper presents a rate-code model of binaural interaction inspired by recent neurophysiological findings. The model consists of a peripheral part and a binaural part. The binaural part is composed of models of the medial superior olive (MSO) and the lateral superior olive (LSO), which are parts of the auditory brainstem. The MSO and LSO model outputs are preprocessed in the interaural time difference (ITD) and interaural level difference (ILD) central stages, respectively, which give absolute values of the predicted lateralization at their outputs, allowing a direct comparison with psychophysical data. The predictions obtained with the MSO and LSO models are compared with subjective data on the lateralization of pure tones and narrowband noises, discrimination of the ITD and ILD, and discrimination of the phase warp. The lateralization and discrimination experiments show good agreement with the subjective data. In the case of the phase-warp experiment, the models agree qualitatively with the subjective data. The results demonstrate that rate-code models of MSO and LSO can be used to explain psychophysical data considering lateralization and discrimination based on binaural cues.

1.
ANSI
(
1996
). S3.6-1996,
American National Specifications for Audiometers
(
American National Standard Institute
,
New York
).
2.
Bernstein
,
L. R.
, and
Trahiotis
,
C.
(
1985
). “
Lateralization of low-frequency complex wave-forms: The use of envelope-based temporal disparities
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
77
,
1868
1880
.
3.
Blauert
,
J.
(
1997
).
Spatial Hearing—The Psychophysics of Human Sound Localization
(
MIT Press
,
Cambridge, MA
).
4.
Bouse
,
J.
, and
Vencovsky
,
V.
(
2015
). “
Two-channel models of medial and superior olive based on psychoacoustics
,”
BMC Neuroscience
16
(
Suppl 1
),
P276
.
5.
Braasch
,
J.
,
Clapp
,
S.
,
Parks
,
A.
,
Pastore
,
T.
, and
Xiang
,
N.
(
2013
). “
A binaural model that analyses acoustic spaces and stereophonic reproduction systems by utilizing head rotations
,” in
The Technology of Binaural Listening
, edited by
J.
Blauert
(
Springer
,
Berlin)
, pp.
201
223
.
6.
Brand
,
A.
,
Behrend
,
O.
,
Marquardt
,
T.
,
McAlpine
,
D.
, and
Grothe
,
B.
(
2002
). “
Precise inhibition is essential for microsecond interaural time difference coding
,”
Nature
417
,
543
547
.
7.
Breebaart
,
J.
,
van de Par
,
S.
, and
Kohlrausch
,
A.
(
2001
). “
Binaural processing model based on contralateral inhibition. I. Model structure
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am
110
,
1074
1088
.
8.
Brughera
,
A.
,
Dunai
,
L.
, and
Hartmann
,
W. M.
(
2013
). “
Human interaural time difference thresholds for sine tones: The high-frequency limit
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
133
,
2839
2855
.
9.
Bures
,
Z.
(
2012
). “
The stochastic properties of input spike trains control neuronal arithmetic
,”
Biol. Cybern.
106
,
111
122
.
10.
Bures
,
Z.
, and
Marsalek
,
P.
(
2013
). “
On the precision of neural computation with interaural level differences in the lateral superior olive
,”
Brain Res.
1536
,
16
26
.
11.
Cherry
,
E. C.
, and
Sayers
,
B. M.
(
1956
). “
Human cross-correlator—A technique for measuring certain parameters of speech perception
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
28
,
889
895
.
12.
Colburn
,
H. S.
(
1977
). “
Theory of binaural interaction based on auditory-nerve data. II. Detection of tones in noise
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
61
,
525
533
.
13.
Colburn
,
H. S.
(
1978
). “
Models of binaural interaction
,” in
Handbook of Perception, Vol. IV
, edited by
E.
Carterette
and
M.
Friedman
(
Academic
,
San Diego, CA
), pp.
467
518
.
14.
Dietz
,
M.
,
Ewert
,
S. D.
, and
Hohmann
,
V.
(
2009
). “
Lateralization of stimuli with independent fine-structure and envelope-based temporal disparities
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
125
,
1622
1635
.
15.
Dietz
,
M.
,
Ewert
,
S. D.
, and
Hohmann
,
V.
(
2011
). “
Auditory model based direction estimation of concurrent speakers from binaural signals
,”
Speech Commun.
53
,
592
605
.
16.
Dietz
,
M.
,
Ewert
,
S. D.
,
Hohmann
,
V.
, and
Kollmeier
,
B.
(
2008
). “
Coding of temporally fluctuating interaural timing disparities in a binaural processing model based on phase differences
,”
Brain Res.
1220
,
234
245
.
17.
Encke
,
J.
, and
Hemmert
,
W.
(
2018
). “
Extraction of inter-aural time differences using a spiking neuron network model of the medial superior olive
,”
Front. Neurosci.
12
,
140
.
18.
Faller
,
C.
, and
Merimaa
,
J.
(
2004
). “
Source localization in complex listening situations: Selection of binaural cues based on interaural coherence
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
116
,
3075
3089
.
19.
Gaik
,
W.
(
1993
). “
Combined evaluation of interaural time and intensity differences: Psychoacoustic results and computer modeling
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
94
,
98
110
.
20.
Goode
,
R. L.
,
Killion
,
M.
,
Nakamura
,
K.
, and
Nishihara
,
S.
(
1994
). “
New knowledge about the function of the human middle ear: Development of an improved analog model
,”
Am. J. Otol.
15
,
145
154
.
21.
Grantham
,
D. W.
(
1984
). “
Interaural intensity discrimination: Insensitivity at 1000 Hz
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
75
,
1191
1194
.
22.
Grothe
,
B.
(
1994
). “
Interaction of excitation and inhibition in processing of pure tone and amplitude-modulated stimuli in the medial superior olive of the mustached bat
,”
J. Neurophysiol.
71
,
706
721
.
23.
Grothe
,
B.
(
2003
). “
New roles for synaptic inhibition in sound localization
,”
Nat. Rev. Neurosci.
4
,
540
550
.
24.
Grothe
,
B.
,
Pecka
,
M.
, and
McAlpine
,
D.
(
2010
). “
Mechanisms of sound localization in mammals
,”
Physiol. Rev.
90
,
983
1012
.
25.
Hacker
,
M. J.
, and
Ratcliff
,
R.
(
1979
). “
A revised table of d′ for M-alternative forced choice
,”
Percept. Psychophys.
26
,
168
170
.
26.
Hartmann
,
W. M.
,
Rakerd
,
B.
, and
Crawford
,
Z. D.
(
2016
). “
Transaural experiments and a revised duplex theory for the localization of low-frequency tones
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
139
,
968
985
.
27.
Jeffress
,
L. A.
(
1948
). “
A place theory of sound localization
,”
J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol.
41
,
35
39
.
28.
Joris
,
P. X.
(
1996
). “
Envelope coding in the lateral superior olive. II. Characteristic delays and comparison with responses in the medial superior olive
,”
J. Neurophysiol.
76
,
2137
2156
.
29.
Joris
,
P. X.
, and
Yin
,
T. C. T.
(
1995
). “
Envelope coding in the lateral superior olive. I. Sensitivity to interaural time differences
,”
J. Neurophysiol.
73
,
1043
1062
.
30.
Klumpp
,
R. G.
, and
Eady
,
H. R.
(
1956
). “
Some measurements of interaural time difference thresholds
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
28
,
859
860
.
31.
Koshkina
,
E.
, and
Bouse
,
J.
(
2017
). “
Localization in static and dynamic hearing scenarios: Utilization of machine learning and binaural auditory model
,” in
Proc. of 21th International Scientific Student Conference POSTER 2017
, Czech Technical University, Prague, pp.
1
5
.
32.
Levitt
,
H.
(
1971
). “
Transformed up-down methods in psychoacoustics
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
49
,
467
477
.
33.
Lindemann
,
W.
(
1986
). “
Extension of a binaural cross-correlation model by contralateral inhibition. II. The law of the first wave front
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
80
,
1623
1630
.
34.
Lopez-Poveda
,
E. A.
, and
Meddis
,
R.
(
2001
). “
A human nonlinear cochlear filterbank
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
110
,
3107
3118
.
35.
Marquardt
,
T.
, and
McAlpine
,
D.
(
2007
). “
A π-limit for coding ITDs: Implications for binaural models
,” in
Hearing—From Sensory Processing to Perception
, edited by
B.
Kollmeier
(
Springer
,
Berlin
), pp.
407
416
.
36.
McAlpine
,
D.
, and
Grothe
,
B.
(
2003
). “
Sound localization and delay lines—Do mammals fit the model?
,”
Trends. Neurosci.
26
,
347
350
.
37.
McAlpine
,
D.
,
Jiang
,
D.
, and
Palmer
,
A. R.
(
2001
). “
A neural code for low-frequency sound localization in mammals
,”
Nat. Neurosci.
4
,
396
401
.
38.
Mills
,
A. W.
(
1960
). “
Lateralization of high frequency tones
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
32
,
132
134
.
39.
Moore
,
B. C. J.
(
2003
).
An Introduction to the Psychology of Hearing
, 5th ed. (
Academia
,
San Diego
).
40.
Moore
,
B. C. J.
, and
Glasberg
,
B. R.
(
1983
). “
Suggested formulae for calculating auditory-filter bandwidths and excitation patterns
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
74
,
750
753
.
41.
Pralong
,
D.
, and
Carlile
,
S.
(
1996
). “
The role of individualized headphone calibration for the generation of high fidelity virtual auditory space
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
100
,
3785
3793
.
42.
Prokopiou
,
A.
,
Moncada-Torres
,
A.
,
Wouters
,
J.
, and
Francart
,
T.
(
2017
). “
Functional modelling of interaural time difference discrimination in acoustical and electrical hearing
,”
J. Neural. Eng.
14
,
1
21
.
43.
Pulkki
,
V.
, and
Hirvonen
,
T.
(
2009
). “
Functional count-comparison model for binaural decoding
,”
Acta Acust. Acust.
95
,
883
900
.
44.
Rayleigh
,
O. M.
(
1907
). “
On our perception of sound direction
,”
Philos. Mag.
13
,
214
232
.
45.
Roberts
,
M. T.
,
Seeman
,
S. C.
, and
Golding
,
N. L.
(
2013
). “
A mechanistic understanding of the role of feedforward inhibition in the mammalian sound localization circuitry
,”
Neuron
78
,
923
935
.
46.
Sakitt
,
B.
(
1973
). “
Indices of discriminability
,”
Nature
241
,
133
134
.
47.
Salminen
,
N. H.
,
Tiitinen
,
H.
,
Yrttiaho
,
S.
, and
May
,
P. J. C.
(
2010
). “
The neural code for interaural time difference in human auditory cortex
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
127
,
EL60
EL65
.
48.
Sayers
,
B. M.
(
1964
). “
Acoustic-image lateralization judgments with binaural tones
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
36
,
923
926
.
49.
Siveke
,
I.
,
Ewert
,
S. D.
,
Grothe
,
B.
, and
Wiegrebe
,
L.
(
2008
). “
Psychophysical and physiological evidence for fast binaural processing
,”
J. Neurosci.
28
,
2043
2052
.
50.
Søndergaard
,
P.
, and
Majdak
,
P.
(
2013
). “
The auditory modeling toolbox
,” in
The Technology of Binaural Listening
, edited by
J.
Blauert
(
Springer
,
Berlin
), pp.
33
56
.
51.
Stern
,
R. M.
, and
Colburn
,
H. S.
(
1978
). “
Theory of binaural interaction based in auditory-nerve data. IV. A model for subjective lateral position
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
64
,
127
140
.
52.
Stevens
,
S. S.
, and
Newman
,
E. B.
(
1936
). “
The location of actual sources of sound
,”
Am. J. Psych.
48
,
297
306
.
53.
Takanen
,
M.
,
Santala
,
O.
, and
Pulkki
,
V.
(
2014
). “
Visualization of functional count-comparison-based binaural auditory model output
,”
Hear. Res.
309
,
147
163
.
54.
Tollin
,
D. J.
(
2003
). “
The lateral superior olive: A functional role in sound source localization
,”
Neuroscientist
9
,
127
143
.
55.
Tollin
,
D. J.
, and
Yin
,
T. T.
(
2005
). “
Interaural phase and level difference sensitivity in low-frequency neurons in the lateral superior olive
,”
J. Neurosci.
25
,
10648
10657
.
56.
van Bergeijk
,
W. A.
(
1962
). “
Variation on a theme of Bekesy: A model of binaural interaction
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
34
,
1431
1437
.
57.
Vítek
,
S.
,
Klíma
,
M.
,
Husník
,
L.
, and
Špirk
,
D.
(
2011
). “
New possibilities for blind people navigation
,” in
International Conference on Applied Electronics
, Pilsen, pp.
405
408
.
58.
von Békésy
,
G.
(
1930
). “
Zur Theorie des Hörens. Über das Richtungshören bei einer Zeitdifferenz oder Lautstärkenungleichheit der beiderseitigen Schalleinwirkungen
” (“On the theory of hearing: On directional hearing with a time difference or inequality of loudness as a sound effect between the two sides”)
, Physik Z.
31
,
824
835
.
59.
Weiss
,
T. F.
, and
Rose
,
C.
(
1988
). “
A comparison of synchronization filters in different auditory receptor organs
,”
Hear. Res.
33
,
175
179
.
60.
Wightman
,
F. L.
, and
Kistler
,
D. J.
(
1992
). “
The dominant role of low-frequency interaural time differences in sound localization
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
91
,
1648
1661
.
61.
Yost
,
W. A.
(
1981
). “
Lateral position of sinusoids presented with interaural intensive and temporal differences
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
70
,
337
409
.
62.
Yost
,
W. A.
, and
Dye
,
R. H.
, Jr.
(
1988
). “
Discrimination of interaural differences of level as a function of frequency
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
83
,
1846
1851
.
63.
Zwislocki
,
J.
, and
Feldman
,
R. S.
(
1956
). “
Just noticeable differences in dichotic phase
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
28
,
860
864
.
You do not currently have access to this content.