# Temporal coherence effects on voice attribution in multi-speaker stream segregation

## TL;DR

This study tested how temporal coherence affects the ability to distinguish between two speakers, but found no significant differences in performance.

## Contribution

The study challenges the generalization of temporal coherence principles from simple stimuli to complex speech.

## Key findings

- No significant differences in performance were observed between coherent and incoherent voice conditions.
- Results contradict previous findings from simpler stream-segregation experiments.
- Temporal coherence may not reliably influence voice stream segregation in complex speech.

## Abstract

The principle of temporal coherence predicts that two temporally coherent voices
should form a unified auditory stream, whereas incoherent voices should form
separate streams. This prediction was tested by asking 20 normal-hearing
listeners to identify the last word spoken by the higher or lower of two
talkers, preceded by temporally coherent or incoherent phrases spoken by the
same two talkers, or by silence. In contrast to results from stream-segregation
studies using simple repeating stimuli that manipulated temporal coherence, no
significant differences in performance were observed between the conditions,
raising questions regarding the generalization of temporal-coherence principles
to complex speech.