Within-channel cues in comodulation masking release (CMR): experiments and model predictions using a modulation-filterbank model

Experiments and model calculations were performed to study the influence of within-channel cues versus across-channel cues in comodulation masking release (CMR). A class of CMR experiments is considered that are characterized by a single (unmodulated or modulated) bandpass noise masker with variable bandwidth centered at the signal frequency. A modulation-filterbank model suggested by Dau et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 102, 2892-2905 (1997)] was employed to quantitatively predict the experimental data. Effects of varying masker bandwidth, center frequency, modulator bandwidth, modulator type, and signal duration on CMR were examined. In addition, the effect of band limiting the noise before or after modulation was shown to influence the CMR in the same way as a systematic variation of the modulation depth. It is demonstrated that a single-channel analysis, which analyzes only the information from one peripheral channel, quantitatively accounts for the CMR in most cases, indicating that an across-channel process is generally not necessary for simulating results from this class of CMR experiments. True across-channel processes may be found in another class of CMR experiments.     

Spectral loudness summation for sequences of short noise bursts

Recent loudness data of single noise bursts indicate that spectral loudness summation depends on signal duration. To gain insight into the mechanisms underlying this duration effect, loudness was measured as a function of signal bandwidth centered around 2 kHz for sequences of 10-ms noise bursts at various repetition rates and, for comparison, for single noise bursts of either 10- or 1000-ms duration. The test-signal bandwidth was varied from 200 to 6400 Hz. For the repeated noise bursts, the reference signal had a bandwidth of 400 Hz. For the single noise bursts, data were obtained for two reference bandwidths: 400 and 3200 Hz. In agreement with previous results, the magnitude of spectral loudness summation was larger for the 10-ms than for the 1000-ms noise bursts. The reference bandwidth had no significant effect on the results for the single noise bursts. Up to repetition rates of 50 Hz, the magnitude of spectral loudness summation for the sequences of noise bursts was the same as for the single short noise burst. The data indicate that the mechanism underlying the duration effect in spectral loudness is considerably faster than the time constant of about 100 ms commonly associated with the temporal integration of loudness.