BCS 221: Syllabus

Spring 2012

Time & Location

Mondays 3:25 – 6:05 PM, Goergen Hall 108

Personnel

Dr. Peter Q. Pfordresher (Instructor)
Office: In Buffalo!
E-mail:
Phone: 716-645-0234

Course Description

This course considers how we comprehend the auditory environment. Topics include the physical stimulus for hearing, the physiology of the auditory system (both at the periphery and in the central nervous system), the psychophysics of basic auditory perception (e.g., hearing thresholds), higher level auditory perception (including auditory scene analysis and the perception of complex auditory events such as speech and music), and hearing disorders. We will consider research from a diverse range of perspectives including behavioral research, cognitive neuroscience, studies of individual differences, and research that adopts a comparative perspective.

Required Readings

Plack, C. J. (2005). The Sense of Hearing. Lawrence Earlbaum. [text]

Most weeks there will be additional readings on Blackboard.

Important Dates

Midterm 1: February 20
Midterm 2: April 2
Final: May 7 8:30 AM

Assessment

Your performance in the course will be calculated as follows:

Midterms: 30% each (60% total)
Final paper: 40%

The two midterms will not be cumulative; the final exam will be cumulative. Material on exams will focus on lectures, as well as reading assignment. Unless I announce otherwise, you will be responsible for material assigned for reading that is not covered in lectures. Each exam will consist of a combination of fill-in-the-blank and short-answer questions. Answers to exam questions must reflect an understanding of course material and not personal opinion (unless explicitly stated). During exams all cellular phones, pagers, etc., should be turned OFF. Students who answer or even look at cell phones during an exam will fail that exam.

On certain days, I will take some time out of the beginning of class to give you a non-graded quiz for the purpose of understanding how well the course material is understood and remembered. These quizzes will not be used to determine your final grade but will help you better understand how well you know the material. They will also give you some sense of questions that might be given on exams.

Exams may only be missed in the event of an emergency. If you are unable to take an exam at the scheduled time for a legitimate reason, and you know in advance, contact the instructor. You will need to present appropriate documentation supporting your reason for missing the exam. If you miss an exam due to an unexpected illness or emergency, contact the instructor as soon as possible. Again, you will need to present appropriate documentation.

Make-up exams for midterms will be distributed on the day of the final. Thus you would need to take two exams in one sitting that day (I will construct exam lengths to make this a reasonable proposition). Midterm makeup exams will consist of short essay questions.

Attendance and Classroom Etiquette

Attendance in lectures is technically not mandatory, but is strongly suggested. I promise to treat each of you with respect in the classroom, and I ask you to do the same for me and your fellow classmates. I will expect that any pagers or mobile (cellular) phones will be turned off during the class, and that students will not read or study other material during class. Most important, please respect the desire of your fellow classmates to ask questions even when you do not feel the urge to do so. Students who engage in disruptive or disrespectful behavior may be asked to leave the classroom.

List of Additional Readings

(posted on Blackboard) These are listed in the order in which they are assigned (see tentative lecture schedule). Note that I may make changes to this list as needed as the semester goes on.

Rauschecker, J., & Tian, X. (2000). Mechanisms and streams for processing of "what" and "where" in auditory cortex. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 97, 11800-11806.
Plomp, R., & Levelt, W. J. M. (1965). Tonal Consonance and Critical Bandwidth. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 38, 548.
Schmuckler, M. A. (2004). Pitch and pitch structures. In J. Neuhoff (Ed.) Ecological Psychacoustics (pp. 271-318). San Diego, CA : Elsevier.
Zahorik, P., & Wightman, F. L. (2001). Loudness constancy with varying sound source distance. Nature Neurosicence, 4, 78-83.
Handel, S. (1989). Identification of speakers, instruments, and environmental events. Chapter 8 from Listening: An introduction to the perception of auditory events (pp. 219-264). Cambridge, MA : MIT Press.
Handel, S. (1989). Rhythm. Chapter 11 from Listening: An introduction to the perception of auditory events (pp. 383-460). Cambridge, MA : MIT Press.
Mills, A. W. (1958). On the Minimum Audible Angle. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 30, 237-246.
Snyder, J. S., & Alain, C. (2007). Toward a neurophysiological theory of auditory stream segregation. Psychological Bulletin, 133, 780-799.
Zatorre, R. J., Belin, P., & Penhune, V. B. (2002). Structure and function of auditory cortex: Music and speech. Trends in cognitive sciences, 6, 37-46.
Schnupp, J., Nelken, I., & King, A. (2011). Development, learning, and plasticity. Chapter 7 from Auditory neuroscience: Making sense of sound (pp. 269-294). Cambridge, MA : MIT Press.

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