Sound level context modulates neural activity in the human brainstem.

Optimal perception requires adaptation to sounds in the environment. Adaptation involves representing the acoustic stimulation history in neural response patterns, for example, by altering response magnitude or latency as sound-level context changes. Neurons in the auditory brainstem of rodents are sensitive to acoustic stimulation history and sound-level context (often referred to as sensitivity to stimulus statistics), but the degree to which the human brainstem exhibits such neural adaptation is unclear.

Sustained neural activity correlates with rapid perceptual learning of auditory patterns.

Repeating structures forming regular patterns are common in sounds. Learning such patterns may enable accurate perceptual organization. In five experiments, we investigated the behavioral and neural signatures of rapid perceptual learning of regular sound patterns.