Learning and Generalization of Auditory Temporal–Interval Discrimination in Humans

The sensory encoding of the duration, interval, and order of different stimulus features provides vital information to the nervous system. The present study focuses on the influence of practice on auditory temporal–interval discrimination. The goals of the experiment were to determine (1) whether practice improved the ability to discriminate a standard interval of 100 msec bounded by brief 1 kHz tones from longer intervals, and, if so, (2) whether this improvement generalized to different tonal frequencies or temporal intervals. Learning was examined in 14 human subjects using an adaptive, two-alternative, forced-choice procedure. One hour of training per day for 10 d led to marked improvements in the ability to discriminate between the standard and longer intervals. The generalization of learning was evaluated by independently varying the spectral (tonal frequency) and temporal (interval) components of the stimuli in four conditions tested both before and after the training phase. Remarkably, there was complete generalization to the trained interval of 100 msec bounded by tones at the untrained frequency of 4 kHz, but no generalization to the untrained intervals of 50, 200, or 500 msec bounded by tones at the trained frequency of 1 kHz. Thus, these data show that (1) temporal–interval discrimination using a 100-msec standard undergoes perceptual learning, and (2) the neural mechanisms underlying this learning are temporally, but not spectrally, specific. These results are compared with those from previous investigations of learning in visual spatial tasks, and are discussed in relation to biologically plausible models of temporal processing.

• Publication year

  1997

• Venue

  Journal of Neuroscience

• Publication date

  1997-05-15

• Fields of study

  Mathematics, Medicine, Psychology

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.17-10-03956.1997PMID 9133413PMCID PMC6573705
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• The representation of temporal information in perception and motor control.

  1996cited by this paper
• Perceptual learning in parafoveal vision.

  1995cited by this paper
• Speech Recognition with Primarily Temporal Cues

  1995cited by this paper
• Perceptual learning in vernier acuity: what is learned?

  1995cited by this paper
• Temporal information transformed into a spatial code by a neural network with realistic properties

  1995cited by this paper
• Fast perceptual learning in hyperacuity.

  1995cited by this paper
• Effect of reducing slow temporal modulations on speech reception.

  1994cited by this paper
• Perceptual learning: learning to see.

  1994influential reference
• Effects of practice and signal energy on duration discrimination of brief auditory intervals

  1994cited by this paper
• The Internal Clock: Electroencephalographic Evidence for Oscillatory Processes Underlying Time Perception

  1994cited by this paper
• Effect of temporal envelope smearing on speech reception.

  1994cited by this paper
• On dopaminergic modulation of temporal information processing.

  1993cited by this paper
• Parametric modeling of the temporal dynamics of neuronal responses using connectionist architectures.

  1993cited by this paper
• Processing of temporal information in the brain.

  1993cited by this paper
• The time course of learning a visual skill

  1993cited by this paper
• Analysis and Modeling of Neural Systems

  1992cited by this paper
• Effects of benzodiazepine‐induced sedation on temporal processing

  1992cited by this paper
• Fast perceptual learning in visual hyperacuity.

  1991cited by this paper
• Computation of frequency-to-spatial transform by olfactory bulb glomeruli

  1991cited by this paper
• Duration discrimination of filled and empty auditory intervals: Cognitive and perceptual factors

  1991cited by this paper
• Where practice makes perfect in texture discrimination: evidence for primary visual cortex plasticity.

  1991cited by this paper
• The Internal Clock: Evidence for a Temporal Oscillator Underlying Time Perception with Some Estimates of its Characteristic Frequency

  1990cited by this paper
• The Storage of Time Intervals Using Oscillating Neurons

  1989cited by this paper
• Computational Handbook of Satistics

  1987cited by this paper
• Neural computation by concentrating information in time.

  1987cited by this paper
• The effect of practice on the oblique effect in line orientation judgments.

  1985cited by this paper
• Properties of the Internal Clock a

  1984cited by this paper
• Acoustic parameters underlying the responses of song-specific neurons in the white-crowned sparrow

  1983cited by this paper
• Loss of axons in the cat optic nerve following fetal unilateral enucleation: an electron microscopic analysis

  1983cited by this paper
• Adaptive filter model of the cerebellum

  1982cited by this paper
• Possible neural mechanisms of target distance coding in auditory system of the echolocating bat Myotis lucifugus.

  1982cited by this paper
• Learning in grating waveform discrimination: specificity for orientation and spatial frequency.

  1981cited by this paper
• Perceptual learning specific for orientation and spatial frequency

  1980cited by this paper
• Some experiments on the sound of silence in phonetic perception.

  1979cited by this paper
• Improvement in vernier acuity with practice

  1978cited by this paper
• Discrimination of time intervals marked by brief acoustic pulses of various intensities and spectra

  1977influential reference
• The effect of marker variability on the discrimination of temporal intervals

  1976cited by this paper
• Discrimination of short temporal intervals: A comparison of two models

  1975influential reference
• Role of duration in disambiguating syntactically ambiguous sentences

  1975cited by this paper
• Psychophysical theories of duration discrimination

  1974cited by this paper
• Defects of Non-Verbal Auditory Perception in Children with Developmental Aphasia

  1973cited by this paper
• Transformed up-down methods in psychoacoustics.

  1971cited by this paper
• Masking-level differences obtained with a pulsed tonal masker.

  1970cited by this paper
• Computational Handbook of Statistics

  1968cited by this paper
• Is the cerebellar cortex a biological clock in the millisecond range?

  1967cited by this paper
• A Cross-Language Study of Voicing in Initial Stops: Acoustical Measurements

  1964cited by this paper
• STUDIES ON SUBJECTIVE DURATION. I. DIFFERENTIAL SENSITIVITY IN THE PERCEPTION OF REPEATED TEMPORAL INTERVALS.

  1964cited by this paper
• Temporal discrimination and the indifference interval. Implications for a model of the "internal clock".

  1963cited by this paper
• Human Discrimination of Auditory Duration

  1962cited by this paper
• Tempo of frequency change as a cue for distinguishing classes of speech sounds.

  1956cited by this paper
• A place theory of sound localization.

  1948cited by this paper

• On the generalization of accommodation to head-related transfer functions.

  2025cites this paper
• Determining the potential benefits of error feedback and metacognition on perceptual learning in the temporal and spatial domain

  2025cites this paper
• Preferred tempo influence on learning transfer from perceptual to stepping timing in Parkinson's disease.

  2025cites this paper
• A Second Introduction to the Neurobiology of Interval Timing.

  2024cites this paper
• Neural Correlations of Improving in Auditory Temporal Discrimination based on Entropy of EEG Signals

  2024cites this paper
• Shift in excitation-inhibition balance underlies perceptual learning of temporal discrimination.

  2024cites this paper
• Double training reveals an interval-invariant subsecond temporal structure in the brain

  2024influential citation
• Crossmodal to unimodal transfer of temporal perceptual learning

  2024cites this paper
• Modal and amodal cognition: an overarching principle in various domains of psychology

  2023cites this paper
• Pre-supplementary Motor Cortex Mediates Learning Transfer from Perceptual to Motor Timing

  2023cites this paper
• Perceptual, procedural, and task learning for an auditory temporal discrimination task.

  2023cites this paper
• Musical Training Facilitates Exogenous Temporal Attention via Delta Phase Entrainment within a Sensorimotor Network

  2023cites this paper
• Temporal learning in the suprasecond range: insights from cognitive style

  2022cites this paper
• Brain Functional Connectivity Changes During Learning of Time Discrimination

  2022cites this paper
• Temporal perceptual learning distinguishes between empty and filled intervals

  2022cites this paper
• Adaptive Syllable Training Improves Phoneme Identification in Older Listeners with and without Hearing Loss

  2022cites this paper
• The impacts of training on change deafness and build-up in a flicker task

  2022cites this paper
• A supramodal and conceptual representation of subsecond time revealed with perceptual learning of temporal interval discrimination

  2022cites this paper
• Dopamine enhanced auditory perceptual learning in humans via long-term memory consolidation

  2021cites this paper
• Feature-based attention enables robust, long-lasting location transfer in human perceptual learning

  2021cites this paper
• Temporal accuracy of gait after metronome practice.

  2021cites this paper
• A perceptual glitch in serial perception generates temporal distortions

  2021cites this paper
• Effects of stimulus and task structure on temporal perceptual learning

  2021cites this paper
• The Orbitofrontal Cortex in Temporal Cognition

  2020cites this paper
• The timing network is engaged in the practice of internally driven tapping independently of the learning transfer from perceptual to motor timing

  2020influential citation
• Event-Related Potentials following Gaps in Noise: The Effects of the Intensity of Preceding Noise.

  2020cites this paper
• Dynamic changes of timing precision in timed actions during a behavioural task in guinea pigs

  2020cites this paper
• Improving older adults' understanding of challenging speech: Auditory training, rapid adaptation and perceptual learning.

  2020cites this paper
• Neurofeedback Training of Auditory Selective Attention Enhances Speech-In-Noise Perception

  2020cites this paper
• Force field generalization and the internal representation of motor learning

  2019cites this paper
• The nature of sensory time perception – centralised or distributed?

  2019cites this paper
• Perceptual learning evidence for an interval- and modality-invariant representation of subsecond time

  2019influential citation
• Is it impossible to acquire absolute pitch in adulthood?

  2019cites this paper
• Modulation of Beta Oscillations for Implicit Motor Timing in Primate Sensorimotor Cortex during Movement Preparation

  2019cites this paper
• Effects of stimulus and task structure on temporal perceptual learning

  2019cites this paper
• Primate beta oscillations and rhythmic behaviors

  2018cites this paper
• Towards a whole brain model of Perceptual Learning.

  2018cites this paper
• The Neural Basis of Timing: Distributed Mechanisms for Diverse Functions.

  2018cites this paper
• Acquiring absolute pitch in adulthood is difficult but possible

  2018cites this paper
• Integrating Models of Interval Timing and Reinforcement Learning.

  2018cites this paper
• Rate after-effects fail to transfer cross-modally: Evidence for distributed sensory timing mechanisms

  2018cites this paper
• Perceptual-learning evidence for inter-onset-interval- and frequency-specific processing of fast rhythms

  2018cites this paper
• Short-Term Synaptic Plasticity as a Mechanism for Sensory Timing.

  2018cites this paper
• Comparison of Two Music Training Approaches on Music and Speech Perception in Cochlear Implant Users

  2018cites this paper
• The Functional Architecture of Interval Timing

  2018cites this paper
• The Influence of Time Estimation and Time‐Saving Preferences on Learning to Make Temporally Dependent Decisions from Experience

  2017cites this paper
• Audiomotor Perceptual Training Enhances Speech Intelligibility in Background Noise.

  2017cites this paper
• Melanie A. and Henshaw, Helen and Clark, Daniel and Moore, David R. (2014) Benefits of phoneme discrimination training in a randomized controlled trial of 50- to 74-year-olds with mild hearing loss. Ear and Hearing, 35 (4). e110-e121. ISSN 0196-0202

  2017cites this paper
• An investigation of the spatial selectivity of the duration after‐effect

  2017cites this paper
• Cathodal transcranial direct-current stimulation over right posterior parietal cortex enhances human temporal discrimination ability

  2017cites this paper
• Is the Role of External Feedback in Auditory Skill Learning Age Dependent?

  2017cites this paper
• Testing a Computerized Cognitive Training Protocol in Adults Aging With HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders: Randomized Controlled Trial Rationale and Protocol

  2017cites this paper
• Sleep-dependent consolidation benefits fast transfer of time interval training

  2016influential citation
• Temporal Processing by Intrinsic Neural Network Dynamics

  2016cites this paper
• How modality specific is processing of auditory and visual rhythms?

  2016cites this paper
• Effects of Long-Term Speech-in-Noise Training in Air Traffic Controllers and High Frequency Suppression. A Control Group Study.

  2016cites this paper
• Air Traffic Controllers’ Long-Term Speech-in-Noise Training Effects: A Control Group Study

  2016cites this paper
• Comparison and Evaluation of Sonification Strategies for Guidance Tasks

  2016influential citation
• Auditory Perceptual Learning in Adults with and without Age-Related Hearing Loss

  2016cites this paper
• Context-Dependent Duration Signals in the Primate Prefrontal Cortex.

  2016cites this paper
• Duration estimation entails predicting when

  2015cites this paper
• The Role of Response Bias in Perceptual Learning

  2015cites this paper
• Generality and specificity in the effects of musical expertise on perception and cognition.

  2015cites this paper
• Shared timing variability in eye and finger movements increases with interval duration: Support for a distributed timing system below and above one second

  2015cites this paper
• Time-based event expectations employ relative, not absolute, representations of time

  2015cites this paper
• Acquisition versus Consolidation of Auditory Perceptual Learning Using Mixed-Training Regimens

  2015cites this paper
• The aftereffect of perceived duration is contingent on auditory frequency but not visual orientation

  2015cites this paper
• Evidence From Multiple-Interval Timing Tasks Time in the Hundreds of Millisecond Range? Do We Have a Common Mechanism for Measuring

  2015cites this paper
• Abnormal Oscillatory Brain Responses in Dyslexic children with Poor Categorical Perception

  2015cites this paper
• Sleep-dependent neuroplastic changes during auditory perceptual learning.

  2015cites this paper
• Feedback Valence Affects Auditory Perceptual Learning Independently of Feedback Probability

  2015cites this paper
• The Effects of Stimulus Variability on the Perceptual Learning of Speech and Non-Speech Stimuli

  2015cites this paper
• Time Adaptation Shows Duration Selectivity in the Human Parietal Cortex

  2015cites this paper
• Modulation of Implicit Sensory and Sensorimotor Learning: An Investigation Within and Across Sensory Modalities

  2014cites this paper
• Time perception: the bad news and the good

  2014cites this paper
• The effects of type of interval, sensory modality, base duration, and psychophysical task on the discrimination of brief time intervals

  2014cites this paper
• Behaviorally Gated Reduction of Spontaneous Discharge Can Improve Detection Thresholds in Auditory Cortex

  2014cites this paper
• An investigation of the integrity of two components of the cerebellar neurocircuitry involved in classical eyeblink conditioning in children prenatally exposed to alcohol: a magnetic resonance spectroscopy and functional magnetic resonance imaging study

  2014cites this paper
• Neurobiology of Interval Timing

  2014cites this paper
• Processing of sub- and supra-second intervals in the primate brain results from the calibration of neuronal oscillators via sensory, motor, and feedback processes

  2014influential citation
• Visual objects in the auditory system in sensory substitution: how much information do we need?

  2014cites this paper
• Aging, Hearing Loss, and Speech Recognition: Stop Shouting, I Can’t Understand You

  2014cites this paper
• Information Processing in the Primate Basal Ganglia during Sensory-Guided and Internally Driven Rhythmic Tapping

  2014cites this paper
• Benefits of Phoneme Discrimination Training in a Randomized Controlled Trial of 50- to 74-Year-Olds With Mild Hearing Loss

  2014cites this paper
• The effects of training length on the perceptual learning of time-compressed speech and its generalization.

  2014cites this paper
• Audition, learning and experience: expertise through development

  2014influential citation
• Temporal Perceptual Learning

  2014cites this paper
• Auditory Processing Performance and Nonsensory Factors in Children with Specific Language Impairment or Auditory Processing Disorder

  2014cites this paper
• Introduction to the neurobiology of interval timing.

  2014cites this paper
• Dissociable Neuroanatomical Correlates of Subsecond and Suprasecond Time Perception

  2014cites this paper
• Multisensory perceptual learning and sensory substitution.

  2014cites this paper
• Auditory training during development mitigates a hearing loss-induced perceptual deficit

  2014cites this paper
• Peer Reviewed Title: Modulation of Implicit Sensory and Sensorimotor Learning: An Investigation Within and Across Sensory Modalities

  2014cites this paper
• eview ultisensory perceptual learning and sensory substitution

  2014cites this paper
• Fast transfer of crossmodal time interval training

  2014cites this paper
• Explicit and Implicit Temporal Learning Using an Action Video Game

  2014cites this paper
• The influence of auditory training on measures of temporal resolution in younger and older adults

  2013cites this paper
• Effects of practice on variability in an isochronous serial interval production task: asymptotical levels of tapping variability after training are similar to those of musicians.

  2013cites this paper
• Ei-kielellisen auditiivisen harjoittelun vaikutus kuullunerotteluun ja kielellisiin taitoihin lapsilla, joilla on kielellinen erityisvaikeus

  2013cites this paper
• Training to Improve Language Outcomes in Cochlear Implant Recipients

  2013cites this paper