The auditory organization of complex sounds

Abstract

This chapter reviews the existing evidence on the auditory processes that are responsible for the formation of auditory percepts in natural listening situations ('the auditory scene'). The formation of the perceptual attributes of auditory events is explained as the result of the interaction of two types of auditory grouping processes, general-purpose and schema-based processes. A further distinction is made between attribute-specific and categorical schemas. After discussing the formation of perceptual attributes and of the timbre of familiar sounds, the chapter explores current knowledge on how the brain builds perceptual representations of simultaneous auditory events and of sequences of auditory events. The nature of auditory scene analysis processes and of their interactions is discussed, and a tentative interactive model is proposed as a framework for future research.