Effects of varying signal duration on pure‐tone frequency discrimination in humans and monkeys

1993 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 1541-1546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan M. Sinnott ◽  
Charles H. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Pure Tone ◽  
Frequency Discrimination ◽  
Signal Duration ◽  
Tone Frequency

scholarly journals Factors Affecting Sensitivity to Frequency Change in School-Age Children and Adults

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 1972-1982 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Buss ◽  
Crystal N. Taylor ◽  
Lori J. Leibold
Keyword(s):  
Pure Tone ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Frequency Discrimination ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Frequency Change ◽  
School Age ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Tone Frequency ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Temporal Cues

Purpose The factors affecting frequency discrimination in school-age children are poorly understood. The goal of the present study was to evaluate developmental effects related to memory for pitch and the utilization of temporal fine structure. Method Listeners were 5.1- to 13.6-year-olds and adults, all with normal hearing. A subgroup of children had musical training. The task was a 3-alternative forced choice in which listeners identified the interval with the higher frequency tone or the tone characterized by frequency modulation (FM). The standard was 500 or 5000 Hz, and the FM rate was either 2 or 20 Hz. Results Thresholds tended to be higher for younger children than for older children and adults for all conditions, although this age effect was smaller for FM detection than for pure-tone frequency discrimination. Neither standard frequency nor modulation rate affected the child/adult difference FM thresholds. Children with musical training performed better than their peers on pure-tone frequency discrimination at 500 Hz. Conclusions Testing frequency discrimination using a low-rate FM detection task may minimize effects related to cognitive factors like memory for pitch or training effects. Maturation of frequency discrimination does not appear to differ across conditions in which listeners are hypothesized to rely on temporal cues and place cues.

scholarly journals On the utility of perceptual anchors during pure-tone frequency discrimination

2020 ◽  
Vol 147 (1) ◽  
pp. 371-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel R. Mathias ◽  
Leonard Varghese ◽  
Christophe Micheyl ◽  
Barbara G. Shinn-Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
Pure Tone ◽  
Frequency Discrimination ◽  
Tone Frequency

Effects of real and illusory glides on pure‐tone frequency discrimination

2003 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 2291-2291
Author(s):  
Johannes Lyzenga ◽  
Robert P. Carlyon ◽  
Brian C. J. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Pure Tone ◽  
Frequency Discrimination ◽  
Tone Frequency

The effects of real and illusory glides on pure-tone frequency discrimination

2004 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 491-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Lyzenga ◽  
R. P. Carlyon ◽  
B. C. J. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Pure Tone ◽  
Frequency Discrimination ◽  
Tone Frequency

scholarly journals Functional Role of Auditory Cortex in Frequency Processing and Pitch Perception

2002 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Jude Tramo ◽  
Gaurav D. Shah ◽  
Louis D. Braida
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Pure Tone ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Frequency Discrimination ◽  
Frequency Selectivity ◽  
Frequency Resolution ◽  
Frequency Change ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Difference Thresholds ◽  
Frequency Processing

Microelectrode studies in nonhuman primates and other mammals have demonstrated that many neurons in auditory cortex are excited by pure tone stimulation only when the tone's frequency lies within a narrow range of the audible spectrum. However, the effects of auditory cortex lesions in animals and humans have been interpreted as evidence against the notion that neuronal frequency selectivity is functionally relevant to frequency discrimination. Here we report psychophysical and anatomical evidence in favor of the hypothesis that fine-grained frequency resolution at the perceptual level relies on neuronal frequency selectivity in auditory cortex. An adaptive procedure was used to measure difference thresholds for pure tone frequency discrimination in five humans with focal brain lesions and eight normal controls. Only the patient with bilateral lesions of primary auditory cortex and surrounding areas showed markedly elevated frequency difference thresholds: Weber fractions for frequency direction discrimination (“higher”—“lower” pitch judgments) were about eightfold higher than Weber fractions measured in patients with unilateral lesions of auditory cortex, auditory midbrain, or dorsolateral frontal cortex; Weber fractions for frequency change discrimination (“same”—“different” pitch judgments) were about seven times higher. In contrast, pure-tone detection thresholds, difference thresholds for pure tone duration discrimination centered at 500 ms, difference thresholds for vibrotactile intensity discrimination, and judgments of visual line orientation were within normal limits or only mildly impaired following bilateral auditory cortex lesions. In light of current knowledge about the physiology and anatomy of primate auditory cortex and a review of previous lesion studies, we interpret the present results as evidence that fine-grained frequency processing at the perceptual level relies on the integrity of finely tuned neurons in auditory cortex.

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