Project description
Looking at the brain to understand everyday sounds
Environments like offices and metros are filled with sounds that influence our awareness and perception of the surroundings. Understanding how our brains interpret these sounds presents a challenge, particularly for individuals with hearing impairments. The ERC-funded NASCE project aims to establish the Semantic Segmentation Hypothesis (SSH) to advance our understanding of real-world auditory scene analysis (ASA). SSH suggests that semantic representations play a role in ASA, shifting the focus from acoustic processing to understanding everyday sounds. The project explores how the brain creates and uses semantic representations of sound sources, and how these representations interact with acoustic processing to aid in the recognition of different sounds. The project seeks to explore brain dynamics to understand auditory perception.
Objective
In an office, on a metro, or at home, diverse sounds may be surrounding you: a computer fan, footsteps and indistinct chatter, distant cars, the train slowing down. These sounds shape our environmental awareness, even when visual cues are absent. Despite its ecological relevance, understanding how our brain parses the acoustic scene into semantic objects remains a major scientific challenge. Moreover, individuals with hearing impairments, including those relying on hearing aids or cochlear implants, face challenges, both auditory and cognitive, in environments with multiple sound sources. The NASCE project aims to mechanistically comprehend real-world auditory scene analysis (ASA) through a novel framework: the Semantic Segmentation Hypothesis (SSH). The SSH posits that semantic representations drive real-world ASA, shifting the focus from early acoustic processing to the semantic analysis of everyday sounds. It addresses fundamental questions, such as: How does the brain create semantic sound source representations? How do they interact with acoustic processing, and aid our ability to recognize sounds in a scene? NASCE integrates cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and AI methods. Employing neuroimaging and behavioral paradigms, we aim to reveal how the brain dynamically represents auditory scenes across brain regions for relevant listening tasks. Using deep neural networks and ontologies, we aim to construct neuroscientifically grounded computational models simulating cerebral and behavioral responses under the same scenes and tasks as in the experiments. Finally, with advanced analytical methods we will consolidate behavioral, computational, and neuroscientific insights and establish SSH as a groundbreaking theory of ASA. NASCE promotes a paradigm shift, fundamentally reshaping our comprehension of ecological hearing. Moreover, it paves the way for the applications in machine hearing of computational models that mimic human auditory cognition.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences knowledge engineering ontology
- natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology cognitive neuroscience
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering signal processing
- natural sciences computer and information sciences artificial intelligence machine learning deep learning
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-SYG - HORIZON ERC Synergy Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-SyG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
6200 MD Maastricht
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.