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EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

journals.plos.org

41–50 of 193 posts

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#41

Many mindfulness practices seem to direct attention at two place at once, to quiet the inner voice. Perhaps this relates to more than just speech, but to attention itself. George Gurdjieff's "The Fourth Way" deals with self remembering, and his pupil, P. D. Ouspensky, has a very vivid description in [1] of how focusing on two things at once leads to a changed state of consciousness, that seems like meditation, and co…

I believe this is why fugues are such a pleasure to listen to!

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#42

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

Welcome to a glimpse into the pathetic life [if one can even call it a life…] of a sad and wretched creature — the poor humans born with a deficiency of attention and an abundance of activity. This is a universal experience for the lost souls who stumble through life, burdened with a despicable and perverted simulacrum of a normal human’s brain, condemned with a condition more commonly known as…

The Dangerously Corrupted and Criminally Insane Mind of the ADHD Afflicted!

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#43
post #40
post #35

Yes, and you can also write two different sentences using two different pens in your hands.

When my son was about 4 or 5 he used to draw pictures with pens in both hands simultaneously which I was always amazed he could do!

When I was an infant I'd waddle through my mothers garden to my favourite fruit tree... a chilly bush. I'd pick the red chillies and eat them with gusto. My mouth would turn red but that didn't bother me. These were very hot chillies that my parents couldn't eat even when they were green.

Sadly, I lost that super power at some point. I love a spicy curry, but I don't think I'd make it through a Hot Ones episode as a guest.

Does your son still have his ability?

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#44
post #2

parents tend to yell at the same time and it needs simultaneous processing

Your example is needlessly bleak, but in general: yes, we're a social species and being able to process multiple speech streams seems obviously pretty important in many social contexts involving more than two people.

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#45
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 think it was wondered whether you were having the independent streams panned hard to the left and right ears and if that had something to do with hemispheres of the brain and the processing efficiency.

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#46
Come on guys, the contribution of the research is that it made measurements of how the processing of multiple inputs is represented in EEGs, not whether or not we can handle multiple inputs. Stop acting snarky, it just shows you didn't read beyond the headline.

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#47

If you couldn't process multiple streams ( audio/visual/other senses ) how would you ever be able to monitor the background for danger and context switch? There is a difference between conscious experience and what's going on in the background.

This is about multiple speech streams.

More specific from the mere ability to process multiple sensory streams in general.

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#49

If you couldn't process multiple streams ( audio/visual/other senses ) how would you ever be able to monitor the background for danger and context switch? There is a difference between conscious experience and what's going on in the background.

There’s a big difference between processing multiple streams, and processing multiple streams simultaneously.

You can achieve the former, without the latter, by doing time slicing. Spending a small amount of time processing stream A, then dropping that and processing stream B for a moment, then swapping back. Just like how a single core CPU can process multiple threads.

Proving the brain is continuously processing and encoding multiple streams simultaneously is an interesting finding that helps us better understand how our brains handle multitasking. That’s absolutely something worth studying and understanding, even if the headline discovery “feels” obvious. It the precise mechanism that’s interesting, not the effect the mechanism produces.

Re: EEG shows brain can simultaneous encode two speech streams

#50

If you couldn't process multiple streams ( audio/visual/other senses ) how would you ever be able to monitor the background for danger and context switch? There is a difference between conscious experience and what's going on in the background.

There’s a big difference between processing multiple streams, and processing multiple streams simultaneously. You can achieve the former, without the latter, by doing time slicing. Spending a small amount of time processing stream A, then dropping that and processing stream B for a moment, then swapping back. Just like how a single core CPU can process multiple threads. Proving the brain is continuously processing an…

When I meditated a lot, I was able to sit in a cafe and listen to 3 conversations without switching and be able to understand them and remember them all. It happened to me few times. Also, once, sleeping in a tent, a voice from a dream interfered with sound of raindrops and became distorted and I woke up scared only to quickly get what just happened.
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