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A Multimodal Wide-Field Fourier-Transform Raman Microscope
Published on: December 30, 2025
Profile analysis: the effects of rove on sparse spectra
1Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University, 200 S. Jordan Avenue, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA. jjlentz@indiana.edu
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|December 13, 2005
Summary
Varying sound levels (roving levels) impair spectral shape sensitivity, especially for widely spaced tones. This suggests listeners focus on excitation pattern peaks, not their edges, for sound perception.
Area of Science:
- Auditory perception
- Psychoacoustics
- Signal processing
Background:
- Spectral shape sensitivity is crucial for understanding complex sounds.
- Varying stimulus levels (roving levels) can degrade auditory sensitivity.
- The role of excitation pattern edges versus peaks in spectral perception remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if nonlinear changes in excitation pattern peak edges contribute to reduced spectral shape sensitivity under roving levels.
- To determine the impact of stimulus level variation on spectral shape sensitivity for different spectral densities.
Main Methods:
- Measured profile-analysis thresholds with and without overall level variation.
- Tested stimuli with varying numbers of frequency components and spacing.
- Analyzed sensitivity differences across various stimulus levels.
Main Results:
- Roving levels significantly decreased sensitivity for widely spaced, sparse stimuli compared to densely spaced ones.
- Stimulus level did not affect sensitivity when level variation was absent.
- Sparse stimuli showed larger decrements in sensitivity under roving levels.
Conclusions:
- Listeners appear to rely on the peaks, not the edges, of excitation patterns for spectral shape perception.
- Excitation pattern inconstancy at the edges is unlikely to explain the heightened sensitivity loss for sparse stimuli under roving levels.
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