Sensory neuroscience

Sensory neuroscience

Model of how sound localisation could be performed in a complex listening environment using the behaviour of ensembles of spiking neurons.

Sensory neuroscience is the study of how the brain processes sensory information, such as sight, sound, touch, etc. Some of the main aspects of our work are:

Spike-based computation. The brain computes using precisely timed but discrete events called spikes. This mode of computation is different from both traditional analogue and digital computation, and presumably offers benefits compared to them. However, despite several interesting hypotheses and specific models, there is as yet not comprehensive theory of this form of computation.
Auditory system. As we are interested in computation with precisely timed spikes, the auditory system is a natural one to study as the role of precise temporal information is so well established there.
Realistic environments. We are interested in how sensory processing is done in realistic rather than laboratory environments. Specifically, rather than using simplified stimuli such as pure tones, we prefer to analyse the processing of complex stimuli such as natural sounds in a noisy background. We are also interested in the problem of processing a continuous stream of sensory data rather than the typical laboratory problem of responding to a brief, precisely delineated stimuli.

We are interested in both fundamental research into these problems, and applications in areas such as robotics and automatic speech recognition.

Related organisations

European network for immersive audio.

Related software

Auditory Model Initiative

Python/Matlab package for comparing binaural auditory models.

HumanlikeHearing

Python package for psychophysical tests of automatic speech recognition systems.

Related videos

Nonlinearity and network topology in multimodal circuits
Marcus Ghosh talk at ICNS
Talk / 2024
Multimodal units fuse-then-accumulate evidence across channels
Talk on multimodal processing given at VVTNS 2023 seminar series
Talk / 2023
The Psychometrics of Automatic Speech Recognition
Talk on applying psychometric testing to automatic speech recognition systems.
Talk / 2022
Understanding the role of neural heterogeneity in learning
Talk on neural heterogeneity by Nicolas Perez.
Talk / 2021
Neural heterogeneity promotes robust learning
Talk on neural heterogeneity by Dan Goodman.
Talk / 2021
Binaural sound localisation game demo
Demo of binaural sound localisation virtual reality game.
Demo / 2016

Related publications

2025

Chu Y, Luk W, Goodman D
Learning spatial hearing via innate mechanisms.
Preprint
Anil S, Goodman DFM, Ghosh M
Fusing multisensory signals across channels and time.
Preprint
Ghosh M, et al.
Spiking neural network models of interaural time difference extraction via a massively collaborative process.
Preprint

2024

Ghosh M, Béna G, Bormuth V, Goodman DFM (2024)
Nonlinear fusion is optimal for a wide class of multisensory tasks.
PLoS Computational Biology

2022

Weerts L, Rosen S, Clopath C, Goodman DFM
The Psychometrics of Automatic Speech Recognition.
Preprint
Engel I, Goodman DFM, Picinali L (2022)
Assessing HRTF preprocessing methods for Ambisonics rendering through perceptual models.
Acta Acustica

2021

Perez-Nieves N, Leung VCH, Dragotti PL, Goodman DFM (2021)
Neural heterogeneity promotes robust learning.
Nature Communications
Su Y, Chung Y, Goodman DFM, Hancock KE, Delgutte B (2021)
Rate and Temporal Coding of Regular and Irregular Pulse Trains in Auditory Midbrain of Normal‑Hearing and Cochlear‑Implanted Rabbits.
Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology
Engel I (2021)
Improving binaural audio techniques for augmented reality.
PhD thesis, Imperial College London
Weerts L (2021)
Features of hearing: applications of machine learning to uncover the building blocks of hearing.
PhD thesis, Imperial College London

2019

Lestang J-H, Goodman DFM
General neural mechanisms can account for rising slope preference in localization of ambiguous sounds.
Preprint
Chu Y, Goodman DFM (2019)
An Inference Network Model for Goal-directed Attentional Selection.
Cognitive Computational Neuroscience
Engel I, Goodman DFM, Picinali L (2019)
The Effect of Auditory Anchors on Sound Localization: A Preliminary Study.
Immersive and Interactive Audio
Weerts L, Clopath C, Goodman DFM (2019)
A Unifying Framework for Neuro-Inspired, Data-Driven Detection of Low-Level Auditory Features.
Cognitive Computational Neuroscience
Steadman MA, Kim C, Lestang JH, Goodman DFM, Picinali L (2019)
Short-term effects of sound localization training in virtual reality.
Scientific Reports
Lestang J-H (2019)
The role of canonical neural computations in sound localization.
PhD thesis, Imperial College London
+ 3 conference papers

2018

Dietz M, et al. (2018)
A framework for testing and comparing binaural models.
Hearing Research
Goodman DFM, Winter IM, Léger AC, de Cheveigné A, Lorenzi C (2018)
Modelling firing regularity in the ventral cochlear nucleus: mechanisms, and effects of stimulus level and synaptopathy.
Hearing Research
Chungeun K, Steadman M, Lestang JH, Goodman DFM, Picinali L (2018)
A VR-Based Mobile Platform for Training to Non-Individualized Binaural 3D Audio.
Audio Engineering Society
+ 1 conference paper

2017

Goodman DF (2017)
On the use of hypothesis-driven reduced models in auditory neuroscience.
Acoustical Society of America
Dietz M, et al. (2017)
An initiative for testability and comparability of binaural models.
Acoustical Society of America
Lestang JH, Goodman DF (2017)
The roles of inhibition and adaptation for spatial hearing in difficult listening conditions.
Acoustical Society of America
+ 3 conference papers

2016

Dietz M, et al. (2016)
A framework for auditory model comparability and applicability.
Acoustical Society of America
+ 1 conference paper

2015

Goodman DFM, de Cheveigné A, Winter IM, Lorenzi C (2015)
Downstream changes in firing regularity following damage to the early auditory system.
Computational Neuroscience
+ 1 conference paper

2013

Goodman DFM, Benichoux V, Brette R (2013)
Decoding neural responses to temporal cues for sound localization.
eLife

2011

Fontaine B, Goodman DFM, Benichoux V, Brette R (2011)
Brian Hears: online auditory processing using vectorisation over channels.
Frontiers in Neuroinformatics
Kremer Y, Léger J-F, Goodman D, Brette R, Bourdieu L (2011)
Late emergence of the vibrissa direction selectivity map in the rat barrel cortex.
Journal of Neuroscience

2010

Goodman DFM, Brette R (2010)
Learning to localise sounds with spiking neural networks.
Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems
Goodman DFM, Brette R (2010)
Spike-timing-based computation in sound localization.
PLoS Computational Biology