Dichotic pitch: a new stimulus distinguishes normal and dyslexic auditory function.

Abstract

Two patterns of appropriately filtered acoustic white noise can be binaurally fused by the human auditory system to extract pitch and location information that is not available to either ear alone. This phenomenon is called dichotic pitch. Here we present a new method for generating more effective and useful dichotic pitch stimuli. These novel stimuli allow the psychophysical assessment of dichotic pitch detection thresholds. We show that dichotic pitch detection is significantly impaired in individuals with developmental dyslexia, as compared to average readers. These results suggest a low-level auditory deficit associated with dyslexia and also demonstrate the potential value of our new dichotic pitch stimuli for assessment of auditory processing.