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Robert Baumgartner @robertbaumgartner.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

[3/4]We show that listeners reduce localization ambiguity through implicit, short-term statistical learning of a source’s spectral shape. Auditory inference adapts within minutes: the brain uses recent spectral consistency to update priors and refine spatial decoding.

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Robert Baumgartner @robertbaumgartner.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

[2/4]Sound localization in the vertical dimension relies heavily on direction-dependent spectral cues shaped by the listener’s anatomy👂. But naturally, the sound source itself brings its own spectral structure, which can obscure those spatial cues, making localization an ill-posed inference problem.

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Robert Baumgartner @robertbaumgartner.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

In other words: without spatial hearing, the brain’s early warning system for approaching threats breaks down.

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Robert Baumgartner @robertbaumgartner.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

Why do approaching sounds grab our attention more than receding ones? Our new study suggests that this "looming bias" isn’t just about simple acoustic features — it depends on whether the sound can be localized in space. @isf-oeaw.bsky.social‬ doi.org/10.3389/fnin...

doi.org

Frontiers | The role of spatial perception in auditory looming bias: neurobehavioral evidence from impossible ears

IntroductionSpatial hearing enables both voluntary localization of sound sources and automatic monitoring of the surroundings. The auditory looming bias (ALB...

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Robert Baumgartner @robertbaumgartner.bsky.social · 25/02/2024

Very much looking forward to our #Dynamates #FENS2024 Satellite Symposium at OeAW & UniVie with Florent Meyniel, John van Opstal, Simone Pika, and Barbara Shinn-Cunningham. Only few spots left – don't wait to register: www.oeaw.ac.at/isf/dynamate...

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Robert Baumgartner @robertbaumgartner.bsky.social · 03/11/2023

Apply for a 1-year postdoc position to join our highly interdisciplinary team of young auditory cognitive researchers and perform cutting-edge model-based analyses of neurobehavioural data (👆+EEG+👁️) www.oeaw.ac.at/en/ari/ari/a... Located at ÖAW in Vienna. Please distribute!

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