The perceptual segregation of simultaneous auditory signals: Pulse train segregation and vowel segregation

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
In the experiments reported here, we attempted to find out more about how the auditory system is able to separate two simultaneous harmonic sounds. Previous research (Halikia & Bregman, 1984a, 1984b; Scheffers, 1983a) had indicated that a difference in fundamental frequency (FO) between two simultaneous vowel sounds improves their separate identification. In the present experiments, we looked at the effect of FOs that changed as a function of time. In Experiment 1, pairs of unfiltered or filtered pulse trains were used. Some were steady-state, and others had gliding FOs; different FO separations were also used. The subjects had to indicate whether they had heard one or two sounds. The results showed that increased FO differences and gliding FOs facilitated the perceptual separation of simultaneous sounds. In Experiments 2 and 3, simultaneous synthesized vowels were used on frequency contours that were steady-state, gliding in parallel (parallel glides), or gliding in opposite directions (crossing glides). The results showed that crossing glides led to significantly better vowel identification than did steady-state FOs. Also, in certain cases, crossing glides were more effective than parallel glides. The superior effect of the crossing glides could be due to the common frequency modulation of the harmonics within each component of the vowel pair and the consequent decorrelation of the harmonics between the two simultaneous vowels.

This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit: