Contributions of temporal and place cues in pitch perception in absolute pitch possessors

Pitch perception is determined by both place and temporal cues. To explore whether the manner in which these cues are used differs depending on absolute pitch capability, pitch identification experiments with and without pitch references were conducted for subjects with different absolute pitch capabilities and musical experience. Three types of stimuli were used to manipulate place and temporal cues separately: narrowband noises, which provide strong place cues but less salient temporal cues; iterated rippled noises, which provide strong temporal cues but less salient place cues; and sinusoidal tones, which provide both. The results indicated that absolute pitch possessors utilize temporal cues more effectively when they identify musical chroma With regard to the judgment of height, it was indicated that place cues play an important role for both absolute and nonabsolute pitch possessors.     

Feature-based attention influences later temporal perception

We investigated the influence of feature-based visual attention on later temporal perception. Although there is ample evidence that space-based attention modulates temporal perception, it is not known whether feature-based attention also serves this function. The present study combined a visual selection task with a temporal interval production task to determine whether feature-based attention interacted with temporal perception. The results indicated that temporal perception of visual stimuli depended on whether the same stimulus had been attended to or ignored in a previous visual selection task. The temporal production of previously ignored stimuli was longer than the temporal production of either previously attended to or novel stimuli. This is the first demonstration of the effect of feature-based attention on later temporal perception. We concluded that temporal perception is affected by previously ignored stimuli.     

The interdependence of pitch and temporal judgments by absolute pitch possessors

The auditory tau and the kappa effects show that there is time-pitch interdependence in our perception. Our judgments of pitch separation between two tones depend on the temporal interval between them (the auditory tau effect), and our judgments of the tones’ temporal interval depend on their pitch separation (the kappa effect). The mechanisms underlying this interdependence were investigated by studying the auditory tau and the kappa effect in three experiments. Comparisons were made between results obtained from subjects with absolute pitch and those who did not have absolute pitch, and two frequency ranges of pure tones (octave and whole-tone conditions) were selected. The procedures had been used in previous experiments (Shigeno, 1986), in which the auditory tau and the kappa effects were compared in speech and nonspeech stimuli. The present results demonstrate that the auditory tau effect does not occur when possessors of absolute pitch judge the closeness of stimuli in pitch, except when the stimulus continuum consists of tones that do not correspond to musical notes in the whole-tone condition. The kappa effect was obtained in the judgment of possessors of absolute pitch in both the octave and the whole-tone conditions. These findings suggest that the interaction between temporal interval and pitch judgment might be explained in terms of the two different memory modes for retaining the pitch of tones, and that these effects occur at the precategorical level.     

Processing Pitch and Temporal Structures in Music Reading: Independent or Interactive Processing Mechanisms?

Music provides a useful domain in which to study how the different attributes of complex multidimensional stimuli are processed both separately and in combination. Much research has been devoted to addressing how the dimension of pitch and time are co-processed in music listening tasks. Neuropsychological studies have provided evidence for a certain degree of independence between pitch and temporal processing, although there are also many experimental reports favouring interactive models of pitch and temporal processing. Here we extended these investigations by examining the processing of pitch and temporal structures when music is presented in the visual modality (i.e. in the form of music notation). In two experiments, musician subjects were presented with visual musical stimuli containing both pitch and temporal information for a brief amount of time, and they were subsequently required to recall both the pitch and temporal information. In Experiment 1, we documented that concurrent, unattended, pitch and rhythmic auditory interference stimuli disrupted the recall of pitch, but not time. In Experiment 2, we showed that manipulating the tonal structure of the visual presentation stimuli affected the recall of pitch, but not time. On the other hand, manipulating the metrical properties of the visual stimuli affected recall of time, and pitch to a certain extent. Taken together, these results suggest that the processing of pitch is constrained by the processing of time, but the processing of time is not affected by the processing of pitch. These results do not support either strong independence or interactive models of pitch and temporal processing, but they suggest that the processing of time can occur independently from the processing of pitch when performing a written recall task.     

Perception of acoustic iterance: Pitch and infrapitch

Detection of acoustic repetition is considered as a continuum extending from .5 through 16,000 Hz. Perceptual characteristics are mapped for the entire range, using repeated randomly derived waveforms (segments from Gaussian noise) as model stimuli. Contributions from temporal domain (neural periodicity) analysis extend from about .5 through 5,000 Hz and from frequency domain (neural place) analysis from roughly 50 through 16,000 Hz. Within the range of overlapping analyses (50 through 5,000 Hz), it is difficult to separate the effects of temporal cues from place cues. However, by using low-frequency acoustic iteration from 1 through 16 Hz, we were able to study temporal analysis in the absence of place cues to repetition. New perceptual phenomena are reported for the “infrapitch” produced by “infratones,” some of which are analogous to phenomena observed for the pitch produced by tones. It appears useful for theory to consider pitch and infrapitch as a single topic: the perception of acoustic iterance.     

Periodicity pitch perception and its upper frequency limit in cats

We have established a procedure for behavioral assessment of periodicity pitch perception in the cat. This procedure requires the training of cats to make a differential response to two different pure tones, and then testing for the transfer of learning when complex stimuli known to produce periodicity pitch sensations in humans are substituted for the pure tones. Complex stimuli consisted of three to five harmonically related frequencies of the same amplitude and phase. Eight cats were the subjects of these experiments. Two of them were controls. It is demonstrated here that cats do perceive periodicity pitch. We also used this procedure to measure the upper frequency limit of periodicity pitch perception for two cats. The frequencies tested were 100, 200, 300, 400, 600, 800, 900, and 1,200 Hz. The data indicate that the upper frequency limit of periodicity pitch perception in the cat is on the order of 600 to 800 Hz. There is a trend of decreasing prominence of the perception of periodicity pitch as the component frequencies are increased. These results are parallel to the human psychophysical data.     

Predictability affects the perception of audiovisual synchrony in complex sequences

The ability to make accurate audiovisual synchrony judgments is affected by the "complexity" of the stimuli: We are much better at making judgments when matching single beeps or flashes as opposed to video recordings of speech or music. In the present study, we investigated whether the predictability of sequences affects whether participants report that auditory and visual sequences appear to be temporally coincident. When we reduced their ability to predict both the next pitch in the sequence and the temporal pattern, we found that participants were increasingly likely to report that the audiovisual sequences were synchronous. However, when we manipulated pitch and temporal predictability independently, the same effect did not occur. By altering the temporal density (items per second) of the sequences, we further determined that the predictability effect occurred only in temporally dense sequences: If the sequences were slow, participants' responses did not change as a function of predictability. We propose that reduced predictability affects synchrony judgments by reducing the effective pitch and temporal acuity in perception of the sequences.     

The contribution of speech rate and pitch variation to the perception of vocal emotions in a German and an American sample

The present study examined acoustic cue utilisation for perception of vocal emotions. Two sets of vocal-emotional stimuli were presented to 35 German and 30 American listeners: (1) sentences in German spoken with five different vocal emotions; and (2) systematically rate- or pitch-altered versions of the original emotional stimuli. In addition to response frequencies on emotional categories, activity ratings were obtained. For the systematically altered stimuli, slow rate was reliably associated with the “sad” label. In contrast, fast rate was classified as angry, frightened, or neutral. Manipulation of pitch variation was less potent than rate manipulation in influencing vocal emotional category choices. Reduced pitch variation was associated with perception as sad or neutral; greater pitch variation increased frightened, angry, and happy responses. Performance was highly similar for the two samples, although across tasks, German subjects perceived greater variability of activity in the emotional stimuli than did American participants.     

Temporal grouping in auditory spatial serial memory

Grouping effects in serial recall have been widely studied with verbal stimuli, but hardly ever with spatial stimuli and not at all with auditory spatial stimuli. In Experiment 1, we examined the influence of combined temporal and pitch grouping on recall of the locations from which bursts of white noise were presented. Similar to findings in verbal studies, effects of the grouping manipulation were found in performance accuracy, in the nature of order errors, and in the timing of responses. Experiment 2 was designed to distinguish the role played by pitch grouping from that played by temporal grouping, through independent manipulation of the presence of a shift in pitch and that of a temporal gap. The results showed that the temporal grouping manipulation determined performance and the pitch grouping manipulation did not. Similarities between our findings and those of verbal studies, and implications for the understanding of serial memory are discussed.     

On the role of space and time in auditory processing

Unlike visual and tactile stimuli, auditory signals that allow perception of timbre, pitch and localization are temporal. To process these, the auditory nervous system must either possess specialized neural machinery for analyzing temporal input, or transform the initial responses into patterns that are spatially distributed across its sensory epithelium. The former hypothesis, which postulates the existence of structures that facilitate temporal processing, is most popular. However, I argue that the cochlea transforms sound into spatiotemporal response patterns on the auditory nerve and central auditory stages; and that a unified computational framework exists for central auditory, visual and other sensory processing. Specifically, I explain how four fundamental concepts in visual processing play analogous roles in auditory processing.     

Brief pitch-priming facilitates infants’ discrimination of pitch-evoking noise: Evidence from event-related potentials

Pitch is derived by the auditory system through complex spectrotemporal processing. Pitch extraction is thought to depend on both spectral cues arising from lower harmonics that are resolved by cochlear filters in the inner ear, and on temporal cues arising from the pattern of action potentials contained in the cochlear output. Adults are capable of extracting pitch in the absence of robust spectral cues, taking advantage of the temporal cues that remain. However, recent behavioral evidence suggests that infants have difficulty discriminating between stimuli with different pitches when resolvable spectral cues are absent. In the current experiments, we used the mismatch negativity (MMN) component of the event related potential derived from electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings to examine a cortical representation of pitch discrimination for iterated rippled noise (IRN) stimuli in 4- and 8-month-old infants. IRN stimuli are pitch-evoking sounds generated by repeatedly adding a segment of white noise to itself at a constant delay. We created IRN stimuli (delays of 5 and 6 ms creating pitch percepts of 200 and 167 Hz) and high-pass filtered them to remove all resolvable spectral pitch cues. In experiment 1, we did not find EEG evidence that infants could detect the change in the pitch of these IRN stimuli. However, in Experiment 2, after a brief period of pitch-priming during which we added a sine wave component to the IRN stimulus at its perceived pitch, infants did show significant MMN in response to pitch changes in the IRN stimuli with sine waves removed. This suggests that (1) infants can use temporal cues to process pitch, although such processing is not mature and (2) that a short amount of pitch-priming experience can alter pitch representations in auditory cortex during infancy.     

Backward recognition masking as a general type of interference in needed poststimulus processing

Auditory backward recognition masking (ABRM) has been argued to reflect interference in the storage and/or processing of a short-lived sensory form of information and has been viewed as a relatively invariant attribute of auditory pitch processing for very brief stimuli that are minimally separated in frequency (DeltaF). In contrast, the present study demonstrates that ABRM reflects interference with several basic principles of auditory processing. Measured in terms of target tone duration, rather than DeltaF, ABRM is demonstrated for target stimuli representing the interval of a musical fifth and masker-target stimulus intervals of a musical third, with thresholds ranging from approximately 22 to 55 msec and psychometric functions that are indicative of more than one contributing factor. On the basis of common underlying principles, the possibility that the threshold for the identification of temporal order of onset reflects ABRM and possible implications for the perception of complex stimuli, including speech, are discussed.     

音高和时长信息感知的范畴特异性及其发展

通过考察不同范畴间相同声音特征和同一范畴内不同声音特征的感知探讨了言语和音乐中音高和时长信息感知的特异性及发展模式。结果发现：同一范畴内不同声音特征的感知显著相关,支持音高和时长信息加工的范畴特异性理论;高一学生只在言语中的音高和时长信息的感知上具有明显的范畴特异性,说明范畴特异性的形成因声音范畴属性的不同而有所差异;高一学生言语中音高信息的感知能力好于对时长信息的感知,而成人却没有差异,可能是受到了母语和第二语言学习经验的影响。     

Characteristics of auditory agnosia in a child with severe traumatic brain injury: a case report

We present a case that is unusual in many respects from other documented incidences of auditory agnosia, including the mechanism of injury, age of the individual, and location of neurological insult. The clinical presentation is one of disturbance in the perception of spoken language, music, pitch, emotional prosody, and temporal auditory processing in the absence of significant deficits in the comprehension of written language, expressive language production, or peripheral auditory function. Furthermore, the patient demonstrates relatively preserved function in other aspects of audition such as sound localization, voice recognition, and perception of animal noises and environmental sounds. This case study demonstrates that auditory agnosia is possible following traumatic brain injury in a child, and illustrates the necessity of assessment with a wide variety of auditory stimuli to fully characterize auditory agnosia in a single individual.     

Brief pitch-priming facilitates infants’ discrimination of pitch-evoking noise: Evidence from event-related potentials

Pitch is derived by the auditory system through complex spectrotemporal processing. Pitch extraction is thought to depend on both spectral cues arising from lower harmonics that are resolved by cochlear filters in the inner ear, and on temporal cues arising from the pattern of action potentials contained in the cochlear output. Adults are capable of extracting pitch in the absence of robust spectral cues, taking advantage of the temporal cues that remain. However, recent behavioral evidence suggests that infants have difficulty discriminating between stimuli with different pitches when resolvable spectral cues are absent. In the current experiments, we used the mismatch negativity (MMN) component of the event related potential derived from electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings to examine a cortical representation of pitch discrimination for iterated rippled noise (IRN) stimuli in 4- and 8-month-old infants. IRN stimuli are pitch-evoking sounds generated by repeatedly adding a segment of white noise to itself at a constant delay. We created IRN stimuli (delays of 5 and 6 ms creating pitch percepts of 200 and 167 Hz) and high-pass filtered them to remove all resolvable spectral pitch cues. In experiment 1, we did not find EEG evidence that infants could detect the change in the pitch of these IRN stimuli. However, in Experiment 2, after a brief period of pitch-priming during which we added a sine wave component to the IRN stimulus at its perceived pitch, infants did show significant MMN in response to pitch changes in the IRN stimuli with sine waves removed. This suggests that (1) infants can use temporal cues to process pitch, although such processing is not mature and (2) that a short amount of pitch-priming experience can alter pitch representations in auditory cortex during infancy.     

汉语语调早期加工的脑机制

采用ERP方法, 结合LORETA源定位分析技术, 考察了汉语语调早期自动加工的脑机制。结果发现： (1)对于附着在二声调汉字后的语调, 无论以单字词的形式, 还是以句子的形式呈现, 都没有诱发MMN; (2)当过滤掉实验刺激的言语信息后, 词音高和句子音高条件均诱发了MMN, 且这两个条件下的MMN波幅差异不显著; (3)LORETA分析发现, 句子音高条件在右半球顶叶的多个区域存在显著激活。该结果拓展了以往的研究结论, 为声学假设提供了证据。     

Developmental changes in the multisensory temporal binding window persist into adolescence

We live in a world rich in sensory information, and consequently the brain is challenged with deciphering which cues from the various sensory modalities belong together. Determinations regarding the relatedness of sensory information appear to be based, at least in part, on the spatial and temporal relationships between the stimuli. Stimuli that are presented in close spatial and temporal correspondence are more likely to be associated with one another and thus 'bound' into a single perceptual entity. While there is a robust literature delineating behavioral changes in perception induced by multisensory stimuli, maturational changes in multisensory processing, particularly in the temporal realm, are poorly understood. The current study examines the developmental progression of multisensory temporal function by analyzing responses on an audiovisual simultaneity judgment task in 6- to 23-year-old participants. The overarching hypothesis for the study was that multisensory temporal function will mature with increasing age, with the developmental trajectory for this change being the primary point of inquiry. Results indeed reveal an age-dependent decrease in the size of the 'multisensory temporal binding window', the temporal interval within which multisensory stimuli are likely to be perceptually bound, with changes occurring over a surprisingly protracted time course that extends into adolescence.     

Retrieval dynamics in self-terminated memory search

Attended stimuli are perceived as occurring earlier than unattended stimuli. This phenomenon of prior entry is usually identified by a shift in the point of subjective simultaneity (PSS) in temporal order judgements (TOJs). According to its traditional psychophysical interpretation, the PSS coincides with the perception of simultaneity. This assumption is, however, questionable. Technically, the PSS represents the temporal interval between two stimuli at which the two alternative TOJs are equally likely. Thus it also seems possible that observers perceive not simultaneity, but uncertainty of temporal order. This possibility is supported by prior-entry studies, which find that perception of simultaneity is not very likely at the PSS. The present study tested the percept at the PSS in prior entry, using peripheral cues to orient attention. We found that manipulating attention caused varying temporal perceptions around the PSS. On some occasions observers perceived the two stimuli as simultaneous, but on others they were simply uncertain about the order in which they had been presented. This finding contradicts the implicit assumption of most models of temporal order perception, that perception of simultaneity inevitably results if temporal order cannot be discriminated.     

Syllabic pitch perception in 2- to 3-month-old infants

The pitch patterns present in speech addressed to infants may play an important role in perceptual processing by infants. In this study, the high-amplitude sucking procedure was used to assess discrimination by 2- to 3-month-old infants of rising versus falling pitch patterns in 400-msec synthetic [ra] and [la] tokens. The syllables’ intonation contour was modeled on infant-directed speech, and covered a range characteristic of an adult female speaker (180–300 Hz). Group data indicated that the 2- to 3-month-old infants discriminated the pitch contour for both stimuli. Results are discussed with reference to previous studies of syllabic pitch perception.     

The influence of temporal regularities on the implicit learning of pitch structures

Implicit learning is the acquisition of complex information without the intention to learn. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of temporal regularities on the implicit learning of an artificial pitch grammar. According to the dynamic attending theory (DAT) external regularities can entrain internal oscillators that guide attention over time, inducing temporal expectations that influence perception of future events. In the present study, the presentation of the artificial pitch grammar in the exposure phase was temporally either regular or irregular for one of two participant groups. Based on the DAT, it was hypothesized that the regular temporal presentation would favour implicit learning of tone structures in comparison to the irregular temporal presentation. Results demonstrated learning of the artificial grammar for the group with the regular exposure phase and partial learning for the group with the irregular exposure phase. These findings suggest that the regular presentation helps listeners to develop perceptual expectations about the temporal occurrence of future tones and thus facilitates the learning of the artificial pitch grammar.