  Deep Learning models have become potential candidates for auditory
neuroscience research, thanks to their recent successes on a variety of
auditory tasks. Yet, these models often lack interpretability to fully
understand the exact computations that have been performed. Here, we proposed a
parametrized neural network layer, that computes specific spectro-temporal
modulations based on Gabor kernels (Learnable STRFs) and that is fully
interpretable. We evaluated predictive capabilities of this layer on Speech
Activity Detection, Speaker Verification, Urban Sound Classification and Zebra
Finch Call Type Classification. We found out that models based on Learnable
STRFs are on par for all tasks with different toplines, and obtain the best
performance for Speech Activity Detection. As this layer is fully
interpretable, we used quantitative measures to describe the distribution of
the learned spectro-temporal modulations. The filters adapted to each task and
focused mostly on low temporal and spectral modulations. The analyses show that
the filters learned on human speech have similar spectro-temporal parameters as
the ones measured directly in the human auditory cortex. Finally, we observed
that the tasks organized in a meaningful way: the human vocalizations tasks
closer to each other and bird vocalizations far away from human vocalizations
and urban sounds tasks.
