Pavel Zahorik, PhD

Associate Professor & Heuser Hearing Research Endowed Chair

Dr. Pavel Zahorik

 (502) 852-3843

pavel.zahorik@louisville.edu

Lab

Heuser Hearing Research Center

(502) 852-3861

Zahorik Auditory Perception Laboratory

Education

  • Ph.D., 1998, University of Wisconsin

Research Interests

My research interests are in auditory perception generally, with a focus in sound localization and spatial hearing. Specific areas of interest include: the perception of sound source distance, the contributions of echoes and reverberation to percepts of source direction, distance, and abilities to understand speech.  I am also interested in the effects of adaptation, training, and input from other sensory modalities on spatial hearing. Research in my laboratory relies heavily on auditory display technology that effectively simulates a "virtual" auditory space (VAS) using information about the acoustical characteristics of listeners' external ears and the environment. This technology not only enables the precise study of psychophysical relationships between the acoustic signals present at the two ears and human spatial hearing abilities, but also allows for simulations and scientifically relevant signal manipulations that would be impossible in real listening situations. Current projects and collaborations in the lab capitalize on these advantages of VAS technology.

Recent Publications

  • Zahorik, P. & Brandewie, E. (2016).  Speech intelligibility in rooms:  Effect of prior listening exposure interacts with room acoustics.  Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 140(1), 74-86.  PMCID: pending.
  • Stilp, C.E., Anderson, P.W., Assgari, A.A., *Ellis, G.M., & Zahorik, P. (2016). Speech perception adjusts to reliable spectrotemporal properties in the listening environment.  Hearing Research, 341, 168-178.  PMCID: pending.
  • Kolarik, A. J., Moore, B. C. J., Zahorik, P., Cirstea, S., & Pardhan, S. (2016).  Auditory distance perception in humans: a review of cues, development, neuronal bases and effects of sensory loss.  Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 78, 373-395.  PMCID: PMC4744263
  • Kim, D. O., Zahorik, P., Bishop, B, Carney, L., & Kuwada, S. (2015).  Auditory distance coding: rabbit midbrain neurons and human perception.  Journal of Neuroscience, 35(13), 5360-5372.  PMCID: PMC4381006
  • Kuwada, S., Kim, D. O., Koch, K., Abrams, K. S., Idrobo, F., Zahorik, P., & Carney, L. (2015).  Near-field discrimination of sound source distance in the rabbit.  Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, 16(2), 255-262.  PMCID: PMC4368658
  • Anderson, P. W., & Zahorik, P. (2014).  Auditory/visual distance estimation: accuracy and variability.  Frontiers in Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience, 5, 1097.  PMCID: PMC4188027
  • Srinivasan, N. K., & Zahorik, P. (2014).  Enhancement of speech intelligibility in reverberant rooms: Role of amplitude envelope and temporal fine structure.  Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 135(6), EL239-EL245.  PMCID: PMC4032445

Courses Often Taught

  • PSYC 646 / AUDI 648: Hearing Science I
  • PSYC 611 Advanced Statistics II