Psychophysical tuning curves: Restricting the listening band to the signal region

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Abstract
Psychophysical tuning curves were generated for 3 human listeners by determining the threshold for a 2.0 kHz sinusoid fixed at 20 dB SPL [sound pressure level] as a function of the level and frequency of a narrow-band noise masker. Then the listening band available to the listeners was restricted by inserting a low-level (.simeq. 18 dB SPL) stationary masker at 1.8 kHz. The stationary masker alone did not mask the signal but it depressed the upper branch of the tuning curve by as much as 20 dB. The lower branch of the curve was essentially unaffected. When the low-level stationary masker was repositioned to 2.2 kHz the effect was reversed; the lower branch of the tuning curve was depressed but the upper branch was little changed. The thresholds on the 2 branches of the tuning curve are based on information in different frequency regions and indicate that even at reasonably low signal levels the traditional psychophysical tuning curve overestimates the frequency selectivity of the ear.

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