Document Detail


The acoustical bright spot and mislocalization of tones by human listeners.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20329844     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Listeners attempted to localize 1500-Hz sine tones presented in free field from a loudspeaker array, spanning azimuths from 0 degrees (straight ahead) to 90 degrees (extreme right). During this task, the tone levels and phases were measured in the listeners' ear canals. Because of the acoustical bright spot, measured interaural level differences (ILD) were non-monotonic functions of azimuth with a maximum near 55 degrees . In a source-identification task, listeners' localization decisions closely tracked the non-monotonic ILD, and thus became inaccurate at large azimuths. When listeners received training and feedback, their accuracy improved only slightly. In an azimuth-discrimination task, listeners decided whether a first sound was to the left or to the right of a second. The discrimination results also reflected the confusion caused by the non-monotonic ILD, and they could be predicted approximately by a listener's identification results. When the sine tones were amplitude modulated or replaced by narrow bands of noise, interaural time difference (ITD) cues greatly reduced the confusion for most listeners, but not for all. Recognizing the important role of the bright spot requires a reevaluation of the transition between the low-frequency region for localization (mainly ITD) and the high-frequency region (mainly ILD).
Authors:
Eric J Macaulay; William M Hartmann; Brad Rakerd
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural    
Journal Detail:
Title:  The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America     Volume:  127     ISSN:  1520-8524     ISO Abbreviation:  J. Acoust. Soc. Am.     Publication Date:  2010 Mar 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-03-24     Completed Date:  2010-06-17     Revised Date:  2011-07-25    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7503051     Medline TA:  J Acoust Soc Am     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  1440-9     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Acoustic Stimulation
Acoustics*
Audiometry, Pure-Tone
Ear Canal / physiology
Hearing / physiology*
Humans
Male
Models, Theoretical*
Noise
Perceptual Masking / physiology
Sound Localization / physiology*
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
DC 00181/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS
Comments/Corrections

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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