Ear dominance in perception of dichotic chords: pure tones versus tone glides. 1979

R G Whittaker, and R J Porter, and J K Cullen

Pitch judgments for dichotic chords composed of two pure tones often show a bias in favor of the chord-component going to one ear. This "ear-advantage for pitch" (EAP) varies between subjects, but is very stable within subject and is thought to reflect differences in spectral "sensitivity" of the two auditory pathways. The present study explored this hypothesis by examining pitch judgments of complexes composed of tones dichotically paired with frequency-varying signals. The direction and strength of EAP was first established using pure tones, then rising tone glides were introduced into the channel going to thenondominant ear. Since a glide possesses less energy at a given frequency than a pure tone of equal duration, an increase in EAP was expected. An increase in EAP was consistently observed for only one subject; three subjects showed small, variable effects; and six subjects displayed a decrease in EAP. The results suggested that factors other than relative spectral sensitivity affect observed EAP.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D010897 Pitch Discrimination The ability to differentiate sound frequency or pitch. Discrimination, Pitch,Pitch Discriminations
D004292 Dominance, Cerebral Dominance of one cerebral hemisphere over the other in cerebral functions. Cerebral Dominance,Hemispheric Specialization,Dominances, Cerebral,Specialization, Hemispheric
D004423 Ear The hearing and equilibrium system of the body. It consists of three parts: the EXTERNAL EAR, the MIDDLE EAR, and the INNER EAR. Sound waves are transmitted through this organ where vibration is transduced to nerve signals that pass through the ACOUSTIC NERVE to the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. The inner ear also contains the vestibular organ that maintains equilibrium by transducing signals to the VESTIBULAR NERVE. Vestibulocochlear System,Vestibulocochlear Apparatus,Apparatus, Vestibulocochlear,Ears,System, Vestibulocochlear
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000161 Acoustic Stimulation Use of sound to elicit a response in the nervous system. Auditory Stimulation,Stimulation, Acoustic,Stimulation, Auditory

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