PSY 131 Final Flashcards
Periodicity
the # of cycle of a pure (sine) tone that occur over a given length of time
Partial
a general term that can apply to any mode of vibration in a spectrum
Temporal envelope
the primary determinant in our classification of sound sources
… Why did the transposed version of the scale sound so unnatural?
the natural resonant frequency regions that were produced by the sound source were not preserved by the transpositional process
A distortion product is…
characterized by the introduction of frequency components in the output that were not present in the input
Human sensitivity to frequencies from about 1.5-7 kHz is due to…
the resonant frequencies of the outer and middle ear
the basilar membrane…
separates out via a “traveling” wave, the frequency components of a sound wave
the scala media is…
a canal filled with endolymph that extends along the cochlea
Frequency selectivity
the ability of the auditory system to resolve or separate out the different frequency components of a sound wave
Iso-level curve
Basilar membrane response as a function of the frequency of a pure tone for various levels of the tone
Tuning Curve
the level of a pure tone needed to produce the same basilar membrane response
Basalward shift
traveling wave must move toward the higher frequency region of the basilar membrane to compensate for the shift to lower-frequency excitation
Motility (outer hair cells)
outer hair cells expand and contract wen stimulated due to protein prestin
Compression (shallow response function
as loudness level increases, gain decreases
Frequency suppression
reduction in response to one frequency component wen another frequency component is added
distortion
frequency components that are not present in the input that are present in the output
Masking
the obscuring of one sound by another
Spectral-notch masking
can be used to estimate the shape and bandwidth of the internal auditory filter
The width of an ERB…
is proportional to its center frequency
The psychophysical tuning curve…
is a plot of the level of a masker needed to mask a signal as a function of the frequency of the masker and masker-signal time interval
An excitation pattern….
is a plot of the output of each auditory filter as a function of its center frequency
A formant…
is an emphasized spectral region used to code vowel identification
Loudness
loudness is the subjective magnitude of sound (0 to 120 dB SPL)
Loudness sone
measure that related loudness to a fixed standard on a ratio scale; sound A is twice as loud as sound B if its sone value is twice that of sound B
Loudness phon
hybrid measure that relates sensitivity of the auditory system to frequency and sound level on an interval scale
Dynamic range….
is determined by the lower and upper limits of a person’s ability to process sounds effectively
specific loudness
is a calculation of the output at each auditory filter. it reflect the compression of the basilar membrane
magnitude estimation
assign a number to each sound according to its loudness
magnitude production
subject adjusts the level of a test sound until it has a specified loudness
Just noticeable difference
is the minimum level of an acoustical change at which subjects can hear a difference in the primary perceptual correlate
Weber’s law
The property by which the small detectable increment in intensity is proportional to the baseline intensity
the increase in intensity required for you to notice a change
Weber’s fraction
ratio of the smallest detectable change in physical quantity of the magnitude of that quantity
Pitch
pitch is the aspect of auditory sensation by which sounds are ordered on the scale used for melody in music (30Hz and 5000 Hz)
Rate place theory
basilar membrane in the cochlea conducts frequency analysis (different regions on basilar membrane respond to different frequencies)
temporal theory
phase locking, time pattern of neural spikes is at a multiple integer of the period of the signal
excitation pattern
a plot of the output of filters as a function of center frequency
temporal resolution
speed at which we can process sound
temporal integer mechanism
means by which neural activity is summed up over time
temporal excitation pattern
description of how variation in level is represented in auditory stream
pattern recognition model of pitch
utilizes a central processor up the auditory pathway that finds a “best fit” for the frequency information that is provided by resolved harmonics
temporal model of pitch
utilizes the interaction of unresolved harmonics on the basilar membrane that produce a waveform that repeats at the fundamental frequency
resolved harmonic
is a low numbered partial in a harmonic, complex tone
unresolved harmonic
high numbered partial in a harmonic, complex tone
missing fundamental
shows pitch is determined by the repetition rate of the waveform of a periodic complex tone
neural synchrony
is a measure of how well spike patterns produced across the array of fibers conform to waveform periodicity and structure
Outer ear
pinna, concha, external auditory canal, external auditory meatus, eardrum
protection, amplification, localization
Middle ear
malleus, incus, stapes
impedance matching, selective oval window stimulation, pressure equalization
inner ear
oval window, cochlea
filtering distribution, transduction
inner ear scala(s)
scala vestibuli on top, scala media in the middle, scala tympani on bottom
organ of corti
contains rows of hair cells and various supporting cells and nerve endings
tectorial membrane
lies over organ of corti and connects to the stereocilia and its outer hair cells
