Because pitch is the most acute of all human auditory percepts, pitch perception experiments are stringent tests of neurophysiological models of the human auditory system. in this project three programs in human pitch perception are proposed to test or to develop models of auditory neural patterns. (1) Experiments on pitch discrimination for short tones of unequal duration challenge the existing neurophysiological interpretations of the perception of impulsive tones. The development of an alternative statistical decision theory model is suggested. (2) Experiments on the formation of pitch by manipulation of the mutual coherence of signals delivered to the two ears reveal similarities and differences when compared to binaural pitch effects resulting from manipulation of the interaural phase. The results can be used to refain models of binaural interaction and theories of central neural patterns. (3) Experiments on the ability to isolate the pitch of a mistuned component in a complex tone probe the limits of auditory temporal analysis. The data provide tests of the descriptions of the role which neural synchrony plays in percepturally segrating different sources of sound. Together these three research programs will develop new knowledge, with potential clinical significance. Concerning auditory neural excitation patterns. Specifically this knowledge can help to refine the distinctions between those kinds of hearing deficits which can be treated successfully at the auditory periphery and those which cannot.
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| Rakerd, B; Hartmann, W M (1986) Localization of sound in rooms, III: Onset and duration effects. J Acoust Soc Am 80:1695-706 |
| Rakerd, B; Hartmann, W M (1985) Localization of sound in rooms, II: The effects of a single reflecting surface. J Acoust Soc Am 78:524-33 |
