Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 13, 2025

Pupillometry to Assess Auditory Sensation in Guinea Pigs
Published on: January 6, 2023
Pupillary response to dynamic pitch alteration during speech perception in noise
1Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Temple University, 1701 North 13th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, USA jing.shen@temple.edu.
Abstract:
Dynamic pitch, also known as intonation, conveys both semantic and pragmatic meaning in speech communication. While alteration of this cue is detrimental to speech intelligibility in noise, the mechanism involved is poorly understood. Using the psychophysiological measure of task-evoked pupillary response, this study examined the perceptual effect of altered dynamic pitch cues on speech perception in noise. The data showed that pupil dilation increased with dynamic pitch strength in a sentence recognition in noise task. Taken together with recognition accuracy data, the results suggest the involvement of perceptual arousal in speech perception with dynamic pitch alteration.
Related Concept Videos
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
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...
Perception of Sound Waves
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same...
Hearing
Auditory Perception
The Cochlea
Doppler Effect - II

