Effects of a contralateral interference tone on auditory recognition

The effects of a contralateral interference tone on identification of the frequency of a brief signal were investigated. The signal was a 20-reset sinusoid and was the same intensity as the 500-msec interference tone. Changes in frequency discrimination were measured as a function of the temporal intee, al between rdgnal and interference tone. Frequency discrimination was unaffected by the presence of a leading interference torte. However, the addition of a trailing interference tone produced a small (about 15%) decrement in performance relative to discriminability measured in quiet. In contrast to the data and supporting theory of Massaro (1970) percent correct identification did not vary appreciably with intertone interval. The present data suggest that interference effects previously obtained with untrained Os ;are greatly attenuated for well-practiced Ss