Rhythm Perception with Fine Structure Cues: A Simulated Study

Abstract

The present study aimed at investigating the effect of adding fine structure cues in rhythm perception. All the speech coding strategies used with cochlear implants extract the envelope of the signal and code the information while missing out information on the fine structure cues. In this study, the fine structure cues were provided along with the envelope and the rhythm perception enhancement was studied. A group of 30 individuals with hearing within normal limits served as subjects for the study. The stimulus consisted of thirty rhymes which were modified by the MATLAB 6.5 software into envelope only (AM) and envelope + fine structure (AM+FM) conditions with 4, 8, 12 channels respectively. Significant improvement in the rhythm perception was seen with the addition of fine structure cues. This study focuses on the importance of adding fine structure cues in the cochlear implant processing strategy to enhance the performance of cochlear implant users in both speech and music perception.