Across-frequency envelope correlation discrimination and masked signal detection

Abstract

This study compared the dependence of comodulation masking release (CMR) and monaural envelope correlation perception (MECP) on the degree of envelope correlation for the same narrowband noise stimuli. Envelope correlation across noise bands was systematically varied by mixing independent bands with a base set of comodulated bands. The magnitude of CMR fell monotonically with reductions in envelope correlation, and CMR varied over a range of envelope correlations that were not discriminable from each other in the MECP paradigm. For complexes of 100-Hz-wide noise bands, discrimination thresholds in the MECP task were similar whether the standard was a comodulated set of noise bands or a completely independent set of noise bands. This was not the case for 25-Hz-wide noise bands. Although the data demonstrate that CMR and MECP exhibit different dependencies on the degree of envelope correlation, some commonality across the two phenomena was observed. Specifically, for 25-Hz-wide bands of noise, there was a robust relationship between individual listeners' sensitivity to decorrelation from an otherwise comodulated set of noise bands and the magnitude of CMR measured for those same comodulated noise bands.