Role of suppression and retro-cochlear processes in comodulation masking release

Recent physiological studies suggest that comodulation masking release (CMR) could be a consequence of wideband inhibition at the level of the cochlear nucleus. The present study investigates whether the existence region of psychophysical CMR is comparable to the inhibitory areas of units showing a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 2006-12, Vol.120 (6), p.3843-3852
Main Authors: ERNST, Stephan M. A, VERHEY, Jesko L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Auditory Threshold - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Cochlea - physiology
Ear and associated structures. Auditory pathways and centers. Hearing. Vocal organ. Phonation. Sound production. Echolocation
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hearing - physiology
Humans
Perceptual Masking - physiology
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
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Summary:Recent physiological studies suggest that comodulation masking release (CMR) could be a consequence of wideband inhibition at the level of the cochlear nucleus. The present study investigates whether the existence region of psychophysical CMR is comparable to the inhibitory areas of units showing a physiological correlate of CMR. Since the inhibitory areas are similar to suppressive regions at the level of the basilar membrane, the amount of CMR that can be accounted for by suppression was determined by predicting the data with a model incorporating a peripheral nonlinearity. A CMR of up to 6 dB could still be experimentally observed for a flanking band (FB) four octaves below the on-frequency masker (OFM). For FB frequencies below the OFM, the suggested model predicts CMR equal to the measured CMR for high levels of the FB. The model underestimates the magnitude of CMR for midlevels of the FB, indicating that suppression alone cannot account for CMR. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that wideband inhibition plays a role in CMR.
ISSN:0001-4966
1520-8524
DOI:10.1121/1.2361183