Abstract
The threshold notch depth for discriminating between a flat-spectrum broadband noise and a similar noise with a rectangular spectral notch centered at 8 kHz varies nonmonotonically with stimulus level (Alves-Pinto and Lopez-Poveda, submitted to J. Acoust. Soc. Am.). A possible explanation for this result is that the notch may be encoded in the rate profile of auditory nerve (AN) fibers with high spontaneous rate (HSR) at low levels and in that of low spontaneous rate (LSR) fibers at high levels. To test this hypothesis, the rate profile of guinea pig AN fibers was measured in response to broadband notched noise for different notch depths and widths and for overall levels ranging from 40 to 100 dB SPL. Preliminary results support the hypothesis that HSR fibers can encode the spectral notch only for levels up to around 70 dB SPL. However, they also suggest that, as in the psychophysics, the negative effect of level is less pronounced the wider the notch. Additional data are required to confirm the role of LSR fibers to encode for the notch at higher levels. [Work supported by Spanish FIS PI020343 and G03/203.]
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