title: Phase effects in masking related to dispersion in the inner ear.
abstract: Phase effects in masking experiments using multitone maskers are usually associated with strong variations in the masker envelope. In this article, psychoacoustic experiments with such maskers that lead to phase-dependent threshold variations of up to 20 dB, although the phase transformation leaves the envelope unchanged, are described. However, after filtering the maskers with a realistic basilar membrane model, the envelopes are different owing to the models phase-dispersive properties. Comparison of model outputs with the experimental results reveals a strong correlation between the two for a wide range of parameters, provided one makes the additional assumption that the ear has a minimum integration time of a few milliseconds.
mesh_terms: D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D001489:Basilar Membrane / Q000502:physiology*; D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D010470:Perceptual Masking / Q000502:physiology*; D011571:Psychoacoustics