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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
Published on: July 16, 2015
Effects of periodic interruptions on the intelligibility of speech based on temporal fine-structure or envelope cues
Gaëtan Gilbert1, Isabelle Bergeras, Dorothée Voillery
1Laboratoire de Psychologie de la Perception, CNRS-Paris 5, DEC, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 29 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France.
Abstract:
The intelligibility of speech signals processed to retain either temporal envelope (E) or fine structure (TFS) cues within 16 0.4-oct-wide frequency bands was evaluated when processed stimuli were periodically interrupted at different rates. The interrupted E- and TFS-coded stimuli were highly intelligible in all conditions. However, the different patterns of results obtained for E- and TFS-coded speech suggest that the two types of stimuli do not convey identical speech cues. When an effect of interruption rate was observed, the effect occurred at low interruption rates (<8 Hz) and was stronger for E- than TFS-coded speech, suggesting larger involvement of modulation masking with E-coded speech.
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