It all sounds the same to me: Sequential ERP and behavioral effects during pitch and harmonicity judgments

Abstract

The representation of complex sounds was examined by comparing both behavioral and event-related brain p potentials (ERPs) to the change or repetition of fundamental frequency (ƒ 0 ) and harmonicity. In the pitch task, p participants were asked to categorize the incoming stimulus as either low or high, regardless of harmonicity, f and in the harmonicity task, participants indicated whether the stimulus was tuned or mistuned, regardless of p pitch. Over three experiments, participants were faster in responding to pitch than to harmonicity. As a result n of this asymmetry, behavioral and ERP data showed that irrelevant changes in harmonicity had little impact on p performance during the pitch task, whereas harmonicity judgments were impeded by irrelevant changes in ƒ 0 . These data are consistent with both general horse-race accounts of processing and specific accounts of mistuning detection that posit prior ƒ 0 registration. In addition, ERP components N2 and P3 were modulated by both intertrial contingency and task instructions, revealing the further influence of top-down mechanisms on concurg g rent sound segregation.

Predictability effects in auditory scene analysis: a review

“…Second, old-plus-new effects on simultaneous ASA have mainly been demonstrated for simple repetition (see also Best et al, 2008; Dyson and Alain, 2008), and have been shown to break down rapidly with more complex forms of predictability (Jones and Litovsky, 2008; Best et al, 2010). In contrast, sequential old-plus-new effects occur with predictable patterns of sound events exceeding mere repetition, as reviewed above.…”