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One of the main ways that people communicate with one another is through speech, which relies on the impressive capacities of the auditory system. This module aims to provide you with a solid foundation in how speech and other sounds are processed along the human auditory pathway. It covers responses related to acoustic properties of sounds (e.g., pitch) and those related to higher-level cognitive factors (e.g., attention) that are critical for perceiving speech in everyday environments (e.g., when background noise is present). It also discusses sources of individual differences among people.

There are ten interactive lectures, held weekly, and two supporting lab classes. The lab sessions provide practical experience analysing real neuroscientific datasets, interpreting the results, and discussing exercises as a group. Students are given directed reading lists associated with each topic and a variety of web resources for deepening understanding of key concepts.

Indicative Topics

• The auditory pathway
• Sound frequency and pitch
• Auditory scene analysis
• Speech responses in the brain
• Percieving speech in noisy environments
• Auditory attention and learning
• Individual differences

Module Aims

• To introduce core concepts in auditory cognitive neuroscience;
• To demonstrate how auditory cognitive neuroscience is relevant to speech perception;
• To provide experience reading and summarising scientific literature;
• To develop a critical mindset for evaluating studies in auditory cognitive neuroscience;
• To provide practical experience analysing neuroscientific datasets.

By the end of this module, students should be able to

• Describe responses along the auditory pathway and explain their relevance to speech perception
• Appreciate how cognitive processes allow sounds to be perceived in sub-optimal conditions
• Discuss how auditory perception and cognition vary among people
• Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of scientific studies in auditory cognitive neuroscience
• Analyse neuroscientific datasets