Measure of the Critical Band for Clicks

Abstract

Clicks are often used in studies of binaural interaction because the auditory system responds so well to interaural time differences between them, regardless of their frequency content. Recent data have suggested that the neural “timing” signals generated by clicks may arise at both the basal end of the cochlea and at the place of maximum displacement on the membrane. This spatial response of the cochlear partition is unknown and must be determined to understand fully the psychophysical results from the use of clicks. One measure of this spatial response is the critical band. Utilizing a band-narrowing, masking paradigm, we ascertained the critical band for numerous commonly used clicks. These critical bands are related to the power spectra of the clicks. [Work supported in part under a contract with the U. S. Office of Naval Research.]