Monaural edge pitch and models of pitch perception

Abstract

Noise with a sharp spectral edge produces a definite, perceived pitch. The pitch of lowpass noise lies slightly below the edge and the pitch of highpass noise slightly above it. The pitch shifts away from the edge, expressed in semitones, increase with the decreasing edge frequency. A neural timing model based on positive peaks of the autocorrelation function accounts for the broad features of the shifts. So, does a place model based on the peak of an excitation pattern as enhanced by lateral inhibition. As the edge frequency decreases below 150 Hz, the pitch persists for a lowpass noise but disappears for highpass noise. This result is consistent with the timing model but not with the place model. For high edge frequencies, the pitch is stronger for highpass noise than for lowpass noise—consistent with both timing and place models. As the edge frequency approaches 5000 Hz, the pitch disappears for most listeners, but for some listeners, a pitch persists for edge frequencies beyond 8000 Hz. The latter res...