Pitch priming in sequences of two sounds.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 2016-09-01; 140(3): 2056-2063
DOI: 10.1121/1.4963093
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1. J Acoust Soc Am. 2016 Sep;140(3):2056.
Pitch priming in sequences of two sounds.
Demany L(1), Lucas T(1), Semal C(1).
Author information:
(1)Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d’Aquitaine, Centre
National de la Recherche Scientifique and Université de Bordeaux, 146 rue Leo
Saignat, F-33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France.
Frequency discrimination limens (FDLs) were measured for pairs of stimuli
differing from each other with respect to pitch salience. One of the two stimuli
to be compared within a trial was a pure tone of at least 100 ms, evoking a
salient pitch, while the other stimulus consisted of only eight sinusoidal cycles
(experiment 1), or was a noise band with a Gaussian spectral envelope, evoking a
weak pitch corresponding to the peak frequency (experiment 2). From trial to
trial, frequency was varied randomly and widely. In both experiments, the FDLs
were lower, by an average factor of about 3, when the stimulus with the more
salient pitch preceded the other stimulus than vice versa. Evidence is presented
against an interpretation of this temporal asymmetry in terms of memory
limitations. It is suggested that the asymmetry reflects a pitch-priming effect.
In two additional experiments, both of the stimuli to be compared within a trial
were very short tone bursts or noise bands; perceptually, they differed only with
respect to pitch height. Performance was markedly better than in experiments 1
and 2, and was not improved when the two stimuli were preceded by a 300-ms tone
intended to produce pitch priming.
DOI: 10.1121/1.4963093
PMID: 27914416