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EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

journals.plos.org

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Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#11
post #7
post #5

As a pilot and a radio officer, I have always been able to process and service 2 audio streams simultaneously. So not surprised with this finding.

Perhaps a dumb question but are they center panned (or mono, i.e. talking over each other) or is it split left ear/right ear when they come through the headset?

Airplane radios are generally broadcasting and receiving mono. There are modern headsets that can also play stereo, but only for onboard music or intercom purposes, if the plane supports it. But in planes with 2 radios you can usually configure their I/O individually. So you can listen (and also talk, although that makes sense less often) on two frequencies at the same time.

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#12

This is maybe only tangentially relevant to the linked study, but I've noticed I can read aloud from a book on autopilot while thinking about other things or even thinking back on past conversations. I could not do this a few years ago, but now it happens on its own. I wonder how that relates to attention and speech streams

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Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#13

This makes me wonder how much of paying attention is really prioritization rather than filtering everything else out. We probably process far more than we're consciously aware of.

Absolutely. Take a look at "unconscious perception".

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#14
post #7
post #5

As a pilot and a radio officer, I have always been able to process and service 2 audio streams simultaneously. So not surprised with this finding.

Perhaps a dumb question but are they center panned (or mono, i.e. talking over each other) or is it split left ear/right ear when they come through the headset?

They are mono, but I was trying to say that with practice, you can process 2 independent audio streams simultaneously irrespective of whether they are mono or stereo. For example, I am able to keep track of 2 people talking at the same time. I obviously can't respond to both but can maintain independent contexts.

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#15

This makes me wonder how much of paying attention is really prioritization rather than filtering everything else out. We probably process far more than we're consciously aware of.

I def process more than I want.

Its def a spectrum.

In the easiest look at people like me who complain very quick if something is wrong like to warm to cold to sweaty etc. and others not even ackknowliding it at all

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#16

This is maybe only tangentially relevant to the linked study, but I've noticed I can read aloud from a book on autopilot while thinking about other things or even thinking back on past conversations. I could not do this a few years ago, but now it happens on its own. I wonder how that relates to attention and speech streams

Sometimes I read a book out loud and think about something completely different.

I wonder if reading aloud might be like walking. I can be walking and speaking to a person at the same time.

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#19
post #14
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps a dumb question but are they center panned (or mono, i.e. talking over each other) or is it split left ear/right ear when they come through the headset?

They are mono, but I was trying to say that with practice, you can process 2 independent audio streams simultaneously irrespective of whether they are mono or stereo. For example, I am able to keep track of 2 people talking at the same time. I obviously can't respond to both but can maintain independent contexts.

I wonder if piano players find that easier too, compared to lay people.

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#20

This is maybe only tangentially relevant to the linked study, but I've noticed I can read aloud from a book on autopilot while thinking about other things or even thinking back on past conversations. I could not do this a few years ago, but now it happens on its own. I wonder how that relates to attention and speech streams

Not reading out loud, but I've caught myself a few times on reading and not processing that, because I was thinking about something else. Like I still did the reading, but straight to /dev/null of my brain
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