Pupils Predict Perception. Can They Also Change It?
Abstract
Pupils constantly change in response to what we perceive and process. I'll show how pupil dilation predicts both time perception and—more relevant for this audience—phoneme discrimination in second language learners. The correlation is striking: larger pupil responses to deviant sounds predict better discrimination. This raises an intriguing possibility: if pupils reflect learning, can manipulating them enhance it? I'll share our early attempts to answer this question.
Bio
Tetsuto Minami received his PhD in informatics from Kyoto University, Japan, in 2004. After working as a postdoctoral researcher at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NiCT), he joined Toyohashi University of Technology, where he is currently Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. His research interests include human cognitive functions such as face and emotional processing, visual perception, and pupillary responses, using non-invasive methods such as EEG, fMRI, and pupillometry.
How age-related hearing loss alters the perception of music and environmental sounds
Abstract
Aging affects our hearing in numerous ways, typically resulting in increased thresholds at high frequencies, a reduced dynamic range, and difficulty understanding speech in noise. A major challenge in studying these effects is the high degree of individual variation among elderly listeners, which makes it difficult to isolate specific auditory factors. To overcome this, we use a hearing impairment simulator to replicate peripheral auditory decline in young, normal-hearing participants. This setup allows us to observe how hearing loss "itself" influences the perception of the sounds around us. I will share results from recent pilot experiments focused on environmental sounds and music, which I have been conducting alongside students in our lab.
Bio
Toshie Matsui earned her master’s degree in piano performance from Kyoto City University of Arts, followed by a Ph.D. in music psychology. She has built a diverse research career through postdoctoral positions, spanning music performance generation and music information processing to clinical studies on hearing aids within the field of otorhinolaryngology. Currently, she is a professor at Toyohashi University of Technology, where she leads the Auditory Psychophysics Laboratory.