Noise-induced shifts in the pitch of pure and complex tones

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Abstract
The influence of masking noise on the pitch of dichotic two‐tone complexes and on the pure‐tone pitches of their spectral components is investigated by matching both to the pitch of a binaural periodic pulse comparison signal. It is found that noise‐induced shifts in the pitch of pure tones are considerably larger than induced shifts in complex tone or ’’residue’’ pitch. A pitch matching experiment with pure tones and contralateral noise reveals a general, central effect of noise on pitch. If empirical pitch matching data are corrected for this central effect, complex‐tone pitch is found to be independent of the influence of masking noise, whereas pure‐tone pitch remains subject to significant induced shifts. This finding is inconsistent with some of the modern pitch theories. It is consistent with the notion that pure‐tone pitch is mediated by spatial, and complex‐tone pitch by temporal encoding in peripheral auditory units.

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