Subject: Re: AUDITORY Digest - 10 May 2001 (#2001-88) From: Stephen Grossberg <steve(at)CNS.BU.EDU> Date: Sat, 12 May 2001 08:49:36 -0400Dear All, I am coming into the discussion of streams vs. groupings in the middle, so hope that I haven't missed a key distinction that will make my remarks below irrelevant. In neural models that attempt to explain and simulate data about auditory streams and groupings, there are shared mechanisms--which may enhance the possibility of confusion between the two--but they also seem to operate at distinct brain levels and have their own specialized form. This is the case if you use the word grouping primarily to include the concept of chunking, or unitization, say in the sense of George Miller's Magic Number 7, rather than as an all-embracing concept for all temporal binding processes. In particular, auditory streams may arise due to resonant feedback interactions between two levels of processing that represent spectral information and pitch information, respectively. Groupings may arise due to resonant feedback interactions between two levels of processing that represent working memory items and list chunks, respectively. These distinct processes also interact. Steve Grossberg >All, > >It is certainly tempting to say that if Al B. is uncertain about "streams" >vs. "groups" the rest of us should avoid the issue. But that question did >cause me to reflect over the reason for the quick acceptance, some years ago >now, of the concept of "streams", which might have been argued to have been >unnecessary, given the rich vocabulary already established by Gestalt >psychologists. Perhaps it was already obvious to most of you...but it just >occurred to me that we did need a word to characterize grouping phenomena in >audition, where the temporal dimension dominates. The Gestalt vocabulary >had been developed primarily with static visual displays in mind, even >though its founders clearly believed that the grouping principles were valid >for all modalities. "Streams and streaming" nicely capture the temporal >dimension that is the essential property of most auditory grouping >phenomena. > >Chuck Watson > >-----Original Message----- >From: Automatic digest processor [mailto:LISTSERV(at)LISTS.MCGILL.CA] >Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2001 11:00 PM >To: Recipients of AUDITORY digests >Subject: AUDITORY Digest - 10 May 2001 (#2001-88) > > >Date: Thu, 10 May 2001 22:31:54 -0400 >From: Al Bregman <BREGMAN(at)PSYCH.MCGILL.CA> >Subject: Re: streams and groups > >Hi Tony and List, > >I know what a stream is -- a time-varying sound or sequence of >sounds, treated by the auditory system as coming from a single >sound source. However, I don't know what is meant by a group. >Perhaps the context in which this term was found would be >informative. How was it used in the original source? > >Best, > >Al >------------------------------------------------- >Albert S. Bregman, Emeritus Professor >Dept of Psychology, McGill University >1205 Docteur Penfield Avenue >Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 1B1 > >Office: > Phone: +1 (514) 398-6103 > Fax: +1 (514) 398-4896 >Home: > Phone & Fax: +1 (514) 484-2592 >Email: > bregman(at)psych.mcgill.ca >------------------------------------------------- > >----- Original Message ----- >From: A.Watkins <syswatkn(at)READING.AC.UK> >To: <AUDITORY(at)LISTS.MCGILL.CA> >Sent: 10-May-01 11:08 AM >Subject: streams and groups > > >> Can anyone help me answer this question from my undergraduate >student, >> or should the answer be more obvious to me than it is (which is >not >> very)? >> >> Hi Tony >> >> Just going through the grouping and segregation info and >getting a bit >> confused about what the difference is between a stream and a >group. Is >> there one? >> >> Tammy >> >> -- >> Anthony J Watkins >> Psychology Department, The University of Reading, Reading, RG6 >6AL, UK. >> phone: +44 (0)118-987-5123 ext. 7559; fax: +44 (0)118-931-6715 >> home page: http://www.rdg.ac.uk/~syswatkn/home.html >> email: syswatkn(at)reading.ac.uk >> > >------------------------------ > >End of AUDITORY Digest - 10 May 2001 (#2001-88) >***********************************************