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Neural Coding of Sound Intensity and Loudness in the Human Auditory System

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Abstract

Inter-individual differences in loudness sensation of 45 young normal-hearing participants were employed to investigate how and at what stage of the auditory pathway perceived loudness, the perceptual correlate of sound intensity, is transformed into neural activation. Loudness sensation was assessed by categorical loudness scaling, a psychoacoustical scaling procedure, whereas neural activation in the auditory cortex, inferior colliculi, and medial geniculate bodies was investigated with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We observed an almost linear increase of perceived loudness and percent signal change from baseline (PSC) in all examined stages of the upper auditory pathway. Across individuals, the slope of the underlying growth function for perceived loudness was significantly correlated with the slope of the growth function for the PSC in the auditory cortex, but not in subcortical structures. In conclusion, the fMRI correlate of neural activity in the auditory cortex as measured by the blood oxygen level-dependent effect appears to be more a linear reflection of subjective loudness sensation rather than a display of physical sound pressure level, as measured using a sound-level meter.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Up 10/2-2, GRK-591/3). The authors would like to thank all volunteers for participating in this study. The helpful comments and suggestions by the reviewers and by J. Melcher as the associate editor are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medizinische Physik, Fakultät V, Universität Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany

    Markus Röhl & Stefan Uppenkamp

  2. Forschungszentrum Neurosensorik, Universität Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany

    Stefan Uppenkamp

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  1. Markus Röhl
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  2. Stefan Uppenkamp
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Correspondence to Stefan Uppenkamp.

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Röhl, M., Uppenkamp, S. Neural Coding of Sound Intensity and Loudness in the Human Auditory System. JARO 13, 369–379 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10162-012-0315-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10162-012-0315-6

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