Mechanism for generating peaks and notches of head-related transfer functions in the median plane

It has been suggested that the first spectral peak and the first two spectral notches of head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) are cues for sound localization in the median plane. Therefore, to examine the mechanism for generating spectral peaks and notches, HRTFs were calculated from four head sh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 2012-12, Vol.132 (6), p.3832-3841
Main Authors: TAKEMOTO, Hironori, MOKHTARI, Parham, KATO, Hiroaki, NISHIMURA, Ryouichi, LIDA, Kazuhiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Audition
Biological and medical sciences
Cephalometry - methods
Cues
Ear Auricle - anatomy & histology
Ear Auricle - physiology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Head - anatomy & histology
Head - physiology
Head Movements
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Motion
Perception
Pressure
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Sound
Sound Localization
Sound Spectrography
Time Factors
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Summary:It has been suggested that the first spectral peak and the first two spectral notches of head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) are cues for sound localization in the median plane. Therefore, to examine the mechanism for generating spectral peaks and notches, HRTFs were calculated from four head shapes using the finite-difference time-domain method. The comparison between HRTFs calculated from the whole head and the pinna-related transfer functions calculated from the segmented pinna indicated that the pinna determines the basic peak-notch pattern of the HRTFs. An analysis of the distribution patterns of pressure nodes and anti-nodes on the pinna computed in the steady state for sinusoidal excitations confirmed that the first three peaks correspond to the first three normal modes of the pinna. The analysis also revealed that at the first spectral notch frequencies, one or two anti-nodes appeared in the cymba and the triangular fossa, and a node developed in the concha. Furthermore, according to changes in the instantaneous pressure distribution patterns on the pinna, three types of mechanisms were hypothesized for inducing the node in the concha depending on the source elevation angle.
ISSN:0001-4966
1520-8524
DOI:10.1121/1.4765083