People

Affiliated Faculty

Research Interests

Binaural and spatial hearing, perceptual effects of echoes and reverberation, speech and signal intelligibility in noise and reverberation, source segregation, auditory and cross-modal attention, plasticity and learning in spatial perception.

Current Research

Work in Dr. Shinn-Cunningham's laboratory focuses on exploring how the brain processes the acoustic information reaching the ears. Both behavioral experiments and computational models are employed to elucidate how acoustic features in sound are extracted and processed by the human listener. Current projects include studies of directional and distance perception, the effects of echoes and reverberation on auditory perception, the influence of spatial cues and other source attributes on acoustic source segregation, auditory and cross-modal attention, and short-term plasticity and perceptual learning in spatial hearing.

Selected Recent Publications

Hu, K, Divenyi, P, Ellis, D, Jin, Z, Shinn-Cunningham, BG and Wang, D “Preliminary Intelligibility Tests of a Monaural Speech Segregation System” Proceedings of Workshop on the Statistical and Perceptual Audition Brisbane, Australia, 21 September (2008)

Choi, IY, Shinn-Cunningham, BG, Chon, SB and Sung, KM “Objective Measurement of Perceived Auditory Quality in Multi-channel Audio Compression Coding Systems” Journal of the Audio Engineering Society 56: 3-17 (2008)

Grace, SM, Quaranta, E, Shinn-Cunningham, BG and Voigt, HF “Simulation of the Head-Related Transfer Function for Gerbils Using a Boundary Element Method” Acta Acustica United with Acustica 9: 310-320 (2008)

Dent, ML, Welch, TE, McClaine, EM and Shinn-Cunningham, BG “Species Differences in the Categorization of Acoustic Stimuli by Birds” Behavioral Processes 77: 184-190 (2008)

Shinn-Cunningham, BG and Wang, D “Influences of Auditory Object Formation on Phonemic Restoration” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 121: 295-301 (2008)

Lee, AKC and Shinn-Cunningham, BG “Effects of Reverberant Spatial Cues on Attention-Dependent Object Formation” Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology 9: 150-160 (2008)

Ihlefeld, A and Shinn-Cunningham, BG “Spatial Release from Energetic and Informational Masking in a Divided Speech Identification Task” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 123: 4380-4392 (2008)

Ihlefeld, A and Shinn-Cunningham, BG “Spatial Release from Energetic and Informational Masking in a Selective Speech Identification Task” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 123: 4369-4379 (2008)

Lee, AKC and Shinn-Cunningham, BG “Effects of Frequency Disparities on Trading of an Ambiguous Tone Between Two Competing Auditory Objects” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 123: 4340-4351 (2008)

Gallun, FJ, Durlach, NI, Colburn, HS, Shinn-Cunningham, BG, Best, V, Mason, CR and Kidd, Jr., G "The Extent to Which a Position-Based Explanation Accounts for Binaural Release from Informational Masking" Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 124: 439-449 (2008)

Shinn-Cunningham, BG "Object-Based Auditory and Visual Attention" Trends in Cognitive Sciences 12: 182-186 (2008)

Lee, AKC, Babcock, S, and Shinn-Cunningham, BG “Measuring the Perceived Content of Auditory Objects Using a Matching Paradigm” Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology 9: 388-397 (2008)

Kopco, N and Shinn-Cunningham, BG “Influences of Modulation and Spatial Separation on Detection of a Masked Broadband Target” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, in press (2008)

Ihlefeld, A and Shinn-Cunningham, BG “Disentangling the Effects of Spatial Cues on Selection and Formation of Auditory Objects” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, in press (2008)

Shinn-Cunningham, BG and Best, V “Selective Attention in Normal and Impaired Hearing” Trends in Amplification [invited submission for special issue on Auditory Scene Analysis] in press (2008)

Best, V, Ozmeral, E, Kopco, N and Shinn-Cunningham, BG “Object Continuity Enhances Selective Auditory Attention” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105: 13174-13178 (2008)

Shinn-Cunningham, BG and Wang, D “Auditory Object Formation Influences Speech Understanding” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 121: 295-301 (2008)

Lee, AKC and Shinn-Cunningham, BG “Effects of Reverberant Spatial Cues on
Attention-Dependent Object Formation” Journal of the Association for Research in
Otolaryngology 9: 150-160 (2008)

Shinn-Cunningham, BG “Object-Based Auditory and Visual Attention” Trends in Cognitive Sciences, in press (2008)

Ihlefeld, A and Shinn-Cunningham, BG “Spatial Release from Energetic and
Informational Masking in a Selective Speech Identification Task” Journal of the
Acoustical Society of America, in press (2008)

Ihlefeld, A and Shinn-Cunningham, BG “Spatial Release from Energetic and
Informational Masking in a Divided Speech Identification Task” Journal of the
Acoustical Society of America, in press (2008)

Lee, AKC and Shinn-Cunningham, BG “Effects of Frequency Disparities on Trading of an Ambiguous Tone between Two Competing Auditory Objects” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (2008)

Best, V, Gallun, F, Carlile, S and Shinn-Cunningham, BG “Binaural Interference and Auditory Grouping” Journal of the  Acoustical Society of America 121: 1070-76 (2007)

Best, V, Ozmeral, EJ and Shinn-Cunningham, BG “Visually Guided Attention Enhances Target Identification in a Complex Auditory Scene” Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology 8(2): 294-304 (2007)

Shinn-Cunningham, BG, Lee, AKC and Oxenham, AJ “Auditory Non-Allocation of a Sound Element Lost in Perceptual Competition” Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 104: 12223-12227 (2007) [feat. in Faculty of 1000 Biology: Evaluations for Shinn-Cunningham BG  et al PNAS 2007 Jul 17 104 (29) :12223-7
http://www.f1000biology.com/article/id/1090702/evaluation]

Narayan, R, Best, V, Ozmeral, EJ, Shinn-Cunningham, BG and Sen, K “Cortical Interference Effects in the Cocktail Party Problem” Nature Neuroscience 10 (12): 1601-1607 (2007) [feat. in Faculty of 1000 Biology: Evaluations for Narayan R et al Nat Neurosci 2007 Dec 10 (12) :1601-7
http://www.f1000biology.com/article/id/1098200/evaluation]