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Related Concept Videos

Echo01:06

Echo

The human ear cannot distinguish between two sources of sound if they happen to reach within a specific time interval, typically 0.1 seconds apart. More than this, and they are perceived as separate sources.
Imagine the sound is reflected back to the ears. Assuming that the source is very close to the human, the difference between hearing the two sounds—the emitted sound and the reflected sound—may be more than the minimum time for perceiving distinct sounds. If this is the case, then the...
Sound Waves: Interference00:53

Sound Waves: Interference

Sound waves can be modeled either as longitudinal waves, wherein the molecules of the medium oscillate around an equilibrium position, or as pressure waves. When two identical waves from the same source superimpose on each other, the combination of two crests or two troughs results in amplitude reinforcement known as constructive interference. If two identical waves, that are initially in phase, become out of phase because of different path lengths, the combination of crests with troughs...
Interference: Path Lengths01:10

Interference: Path Lengths

Consider two sources of sound, that may or may not be in phase, emitting waves at a single frequency, and consider the frequencies to be the same.
Two special sources may be considered when they are in phase. This can be easily achieved by feeding the two sources from the same source. An example would be synchronizing the two speakers by feeding them with the same source, such as the sound waves produced by a tuning fork. This setup ensures that the two sources have the same frequency and are...
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location01:21

Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location

The human brain perceives pitch through two primary mechanisms reflected in place theory and frequency theory. Each mechanism describes how sound waves are interpreted as specific pitches by the brain, offering insights into the intricate processes of auditory perception.
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...
Perception of Sound Waves01:01

Perception of Sound Waves

The human ear is not equally sensitive to all frequencies in the audible range. It may perceive sound waves with the same pressure but different frequencies as having different loudness. Moreover, the perception of sound waves depends on the health of an individual's ears, which decays with age. The health of one's ears may also be affected by regular exposure to loud noises.
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...

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Sound source segregation by goldfish: two simultaneous tones.

Richard R Fay1

  • 1Parmly Hearing Institute, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60626, USA. rfay@luc.edu

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|June 11, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Goldfish can perceive simultaneous tones as separate sounds, demonstrated by distinct responses to pure tones after hearing mixtures. Tone simultaneity does not hinder auditory segregation in fish, unless frequencies are too close.

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Area of Science:

  • Auditory perception
  • Animal behavior
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Auditory perception research often focuses on single sound sources.
  • Understanding how animals process complex auditory scenes is crucial for ecological and evolutionary studies.
  • Goldfish (Carassius auratus) possess a well-developed auditory system, making them a suitable model for auditory perception research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the perceptual segregation of simultaneous tones in goldfish.
  • To determine if auditory conditioning to tone mixtures affects generalization to single tones.
  • To explore the role of frequency separation in auditory segregation.

Main Methods:

  • Classical respiratory conditioning was used to train goldfish to respond to two-tone mixtures.
  • A stimulus generalization paradigm tested responses to pure tones after conditioning.
  • Experiments compared conditioning to simultaneous vs. alternating tones and varied frequency separation.

Main Results:

  • Generalization gradients showed two peaks, indicating perceptual segregation of simultaneous tones.
  • Auditory segregation was not impaired by tone simultaneity, but failed when frequency separation decreased.
  • Conditioning to alternating tones resulted in broader generalization, but gradient shapes remained similar.

Conclusions:

  • Goldfish perceptually segregate simultaneous tones, similar to humans.
  • Auditory simultaneity does not inherently impede tone segregation in goldfish.
  • Frequency proximity is a critical factor limiting auditory segregation in this species.