The effect of presentation level on spectrotemporal modulation detection
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Updated: Feb 2, 2026

Rapid Homogeneous Detection of Biological Assays Using Magnetic Modulation Biosensing System
Published on: June 13, 2010
Sara Magits1, Arturo Moncada-Torres1, Lieselot Van Deun2
1KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Dept. of Neurosciences, ExpORL, Herestraat 49, Bus 721, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
Abstract:
The understanding of speech in noise relies (at least partially) on spectrotemporal modulation sensitivity. This sensitivity can be measured by spectral ripple tests, which can be administered at different presentation levels. However, it is not known how presentation level affects spectrotemporal modulation thresholds. In this work, we present behavioral data for normal-hearing adults which show that at higher ripple densities (2 and 4 ripples/oct), increasing presentation level led to worse discrimination thresholds. Results of a computational model suggested that the higher thresholds could be explained by a worsening of the spectrotemporal representation in the auditory nerve due to broadening of cochlear filters and neural activity saturation. Our results demonstrate the importance of taking presentation level into account when administering spectrotemporal modulation detection tests.
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