Speaker
Description
The soundscape concept characterizes the acoustic environment as perceived by individuals within their context. To classify these sounds, the categories of geophony, biophony, and anthropophony have been proposed for natural, animal, and human-produced sources, respectively. Urban environments present a unique soundscape to which inhabitants are continuously exposed, significantly impacting mental and physiological well-being. Although growing research addresses subjective judgments and general physiological responses to soundscape exposure, a detailed understanding of which specific acoustic features drive distinct physiological changes remains lacking. This gap is particularly pronounced in real-world settings.Our research addresses this methodological gap through a multimodal approach conducted both in the laboratory and in the field. By monitoring cardiac, neural, respiratory, and electrodermal activity with portable devices, we employed statistical methods to correlate sound events with physiological markers of sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic activity. Specifically, our laboratory experiment supports the hypothesis that urban soundscapes elicit higher sympathetic (arousal/stress) and lower parasympathetic (relaxation) activity compared to natural soundscapes, while offering insights into the role of distinct acoustic elements. Concurrently, preliminary in-situ data collection validated the recording system for mobile applications and confirmed trends consistent with laboratory conditions. These findings pave the way for a deeper understanding of the interaction between acoustic and contextual elements in soundscape perception.