Gender-specific sensitivity to low frequencies in male speech.
The perception of human voices as naturally occurring sound objects may correspond to the detection of specific components of the frequency spectrum. In the current study, a psychophysical experiment was undertaken to investigate whether male and female listeners differed with respect to which frequencies were important in the perception of a male voice as a natural sound object. For females (but not males) the presence of low frequencies (<220 Hz), but not high frequencies (>4 kHz), was most crucial in the perception of a male voice as natural. This finding could be compatible with a neuroethological interpretation: low frequencies in the range that were studied are important in distinguishing male from female voices and mature from immature male voices.
Hunter
Michael D
MD
Sheffield Cognition and Neuroimaging Laboratory (SCANLab), Academic Clinical Psychiatry, University of Sheffield, The Longley Centre, Norwood Grange Drive, Sheffield S5 7JT, UK. m.d.hunter@shef.ac.uk
Phang
Soo-Yee
SY
Lee
Kwang-Hyuk
KH
Woodruff
Peter W R
PW
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D014831:Voice / Q000502:physiology