title: Frequency discrimination under conditions of comodulation masking release (L).
abstract: Masked detection thresholds can often be improved by introducing coherent masker amplitude modulation across frequency, a phenomenon referred to as comodulation masking release (CMR). While CMR can be large for detection, it is smaller for supra-threshold tasks, such as intensity discrimination. In this experiment, frequency discrimination for a 1000-Hz tone near threshold was found to be poorer in an amplitude-modulated than a steady bandpass noise. These results parallel previous findings for intensity discrimination. Although this study examined the relatively simple task of frequency discrimination, the results may have implications for more complex tasks, such as speech recognition in fluctuating noise.
authors.affiliation: Division Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA. ebuss@med.unc.edu
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Buss
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Grose
authors.forename: Joseph W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Hall
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009622:Noise; D010470:Perceptual Masking / Q000502:physiology*; D010897:Pitch Discrimination / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult