Middle Tone Research Articles

Exploring the Influence of the Illumination and Painting Tone of Art Galleries on Visual Comfort

Because of the increase in green lighting in recent years, scholars have been trying to find more comfortable lighting methods in various fields to meet people’s lighting needs. In previous studies, we found that most museum lighting was conducted in the form of subjective questionnaires, but in this study, we tried to introduce a new way to explore the impact of the lighting environment on comfort, namely eye tracking technology. This paper aims to explore the influences when viewing paintings in cold, warm, and middle tones under illumination of 50 lx, 150 lx, and 300 lx, respectively, on the visual comfort of viewers, and the use visual fatigue as the evaluation index to find the most appropriate illumination value for different painting systems in the art museum. By collecting eye movement data under different illuminance and color combination of different paintings and subjective evaluation from the subjects, this paper studies the impact of different illuminances and colors on the subjects’ visual fatigue. By considering the illumination intensity of the light environment and the tone of the painting, it can be found that the warm tone painting was more suitable for 150 lx, the cold tone painting was more suitable for 50 lx, and the middle tone painting was more suitable for 300 lx.

Towards auditory stream segregation in Tursiops truncatus

In humans, understanding a voice amidst competing sounds depends on parsing the sound mixture into “streams” representing each source's content. Streaming can be influenced by top-down attentional focus, while acoustic features can affect streaming percepts through bottom-up, automatic processing of pitch, timbre, and location. Dolphins regularly navigate a cacophony of echoes generated during echolocation, conspecific echolocation clicks, and other, passively received sounds (eg. communication signals, environmental noise), and thus, may rely on streaming. Using auditory evoked potentials (AEPs), we asked whether dolphins exhibit evidence of bottom-up, frequency-based stream segregation. Initial results using a classic A-B-A sequence of repeated tone triplets (either low-high-low or high-low-high tones) suggest that the triplets break apart perceptually into low and high streams; specifically, the AEP magnitude evoked by the middle tone increases with increasing frequency separation. Differences in dolphin hearing sensitivity across the frequencies tested seem to account for some of the frequency manipulation effect. Additionally, earlier studies suggest that the dolphin auditory temporal integration window decreases as frequency increases, which may interact with streaming processes. This lays a foundation for future tests of top-down effects on dolphin auditory stream processing such as attention and expectation.

Lukisan Pemandangan: Teknik Spon Dalam Karya Seni Lukis Jelekong

<p>Nature is a theme that is always present in the development of art in the world, both Western and Asian arts, such as China and Indonesia. The visualization can be a literal or abstract representation. Nature can be an additional element to a painting to convey depth, or perspective. However, the depiction of nature in a painting can also be the main focus of a work of art. In Indonesia itself, there is an Art Village, precisely Jelekong Art Village, where hundreds of people work as painters and some have made nature the main focus of their work. The uniqueness of the Jelekong painter's work lies in the method used and the materials used. So that the authors are interested in further researching the uniqueness of this Jelekong technique. The purpose of this research is to examine the comparison of natural visualization techniques and aspects of Jelekong painting which represent nature in terms of methods and materials. The samples in this study were paintings by Jelekong artists and Western artists. The qualitative descriptive method is considered the most appropriate for analyzing Jelekong painting. The result of this research is that the superiority of the art technique of Ugong painting is the sponge technique created by one of its residents. This technique can create shadow, middle tone, and highlight in a painting. Jelekong's paintings can become the identity of the community in cultivating the local potential of the region</p>

ОБСТЕЖЕННЯ СЕНСОРНОДЕПРИВОВАНИХ ПІДЛІТКІВ ЗА МЕТОДИКОЮ «ДІАГНОСТ-1М»

Introduction . The study of the effect of sensory deprivation on the sensorimotor response by adolescents 14-17 years of age with visual and hearing impairment is considered in the article. People with visual and hearing impairments have a significant number amonge children and adolescents with developmental disabilities in Ukraine. Sensory deprivation is a long-term deprivation of a person's sensory impressions. The need for feelings and affective experiences is actualized in the context of sensory deprivation. This is realized in the form of sensory and emotional hunger. Imagination processes are activated in response to insufficiency of afferents. This has a certain effect on figurative memory. Bright, eidetic ideas emerge that are projected from the outside. These occurrences are evaluated as protective reactions (compensatory). Scientists have begun to study the sensorimotor reactions of humans to understand the mechanisms of integrative activity of the brain, the complex dynamic organization of its various structures. Scientists have actively studied the impact of sensory deprivation on the psychophysiological state of human over the last decade, but there is still no clear picture of the physical and mental state for a sensory deprived teenager. The objective is to obtain and analyze new scientific data about the specificity of the influence of auditory and visual sensory deprivation on the sensorimotor reaction among teenagers aged 14–17. Methods . The study was conducted among 151 teenagers aged 14-17 years . They were divided into three groups: control (healthy students), group of hearing impaired children and group of children with visual impairments. Each group was divided into two subgroups by age: 1st subgroup - students 14-15 years; 2nd subgroup - 16-17 years. Sensory motor reactions were investigated using the «Diagnost-1M» computer technique. This technique is widely tested and has been used quite successfully in many research and educational institutions to diagnose the properties of various psychophysiological functions. It is developed in the Laboratory of Physiology of Higher Nervous Activity of Human Institute of the Institute of Physiology. OO Bogomolets, NAS of Ukraine (Kyiv) by Professors M.V. Makarenko and V.S. Lyzohub. Results . We investigated sensory-motor responses in adolescents with auditory sensory deprivation to sound stimuli. Three sounds with different tones were used: low, medium and high. Statistical analysis of the obtained data of latent periods of different sensorimotor responses in the experimental and control groups showed that, as a whole, the level of adolescents with visual sensory deprivation of both age subgroups was much higher than that of students with hearing impairment and control group. The qualitative distribution of the surveyed children according to the levels of latent periods of simple auditory-motor reaction showed that in the group of sensory deprived persons the highest number (60%) of persons with a very long latency period (low tone) and in the control group - 37% (middle tone). Significant changes are not observed with using sound stimuli for adolescents of the control group, unlike the experimental group. Improvement indicators with age have been identified. The indicators are better for the surveyed of all three groups aged 16-17 years, unlike adolescents 14-15 years. Conclusion. During the studying of the sensorimotor reaction to the stress of varying degrees of difficulty, it was found that that latent periods of differing by the complexity visual-motor responses among children with visual impairment to the sounds are much better than among children from the control group and children with auditory sensory deprivation . This is due to the high level of spatial hearing development and well-developed auditory memory. Sensomotor response rates were better for hearing impaired students on low-pitched sound stimuli than on high- and medium-high stimuli. It can be concluded that with age the indicators of sensorimotor response to loads of varying degrees of complexity improve. Assumptions can be made on the basis of the analysis of the results of the study of sensorimotor response that in the group of students with visual sensory deprivation there is a process of compensating the lost function of the visual analyzer due to auditory.

Application of gradient method for separately analyzing optical and mechanical dot gain of electrophotography prints

Abstract The ultimate goal of each production process is to optimize all the subprocesses leading to the high quality final product. Within the printing process, dot gain is identified as one of the most important variables to control because of the extremely negative impact to middle tone contrast and the overall reproduction. Dot gain consists of two components, mechanical and optical dot gain, as a result of two different contributions. This article proposes a model for separately analyzing components of dot gain for electrophotography prints using gradient method, where the impact of printing technique and paper type will be examined. It is shown that mechanical dot gain for electrophotography prints can be satisfactorily approximated with Gaussian, whilst optical dot gain is once again confirmed to have the form of a Lorentzian.

Investigation of the processing of ambiguous melodies in the brain by behavioral and neurophysiological experiments

Melody recognition is not a mere succession of pitch and time perception but must be an active process to a make a meaningful line of tones. To investigate this process, we devised a form of illusory melody resembling but different from the ones used in the studies of streaming. A4 and E5 tones are continuously presented while another tone M (middle tone, for example, C5 or C#5) between the two continuous tones is presented intermittently (0.25 s presentation and 0.25 s rest and repeating). One may hear either an illusory continuous melody of repeated ME5 or MA4 depending on the preceding unambiguous phrase of repetition of ME5 or MA4. Assuming that this illusion reflects the active process of melody formation, we investigated 1) the transition time from the primary state (either one of the melody forms) fixed by the leading phrase behaviorally, and 2) possible neural correlates by measuring the MEG (magnetoencephalography) responses to the continuous tones separately by amplitude modulating them with different frequencies. MEG signal was filtered for the two modulation frequencies and the ASSR (auditory steady state responses) were obtained for different experimental conditions. The results so far showed wide variance among subjects but seem promising.

40.4: Generation of Uniform and Multitude Gray Scales on Cholesteric LCD by Using a Fast Low Voltage Driving Scheme

AbstractNew fast driving scheme of the Cholesteric LCD with low driving voltages and high image quality has been developed for driving black‐write as well as stable gray scales. Comparing to the dynamic driving scheme, this method could generate more grayscales in the same driving conditions. Combined with the multi‐selection method, even more middle tone gray levels can be distinguished. In addition, the uniformity of the gray scales is considerably better.

Assessment of middle ear function in patients with cleft palate treated under "Smile Train Project"

Objective: To evaluate the middle ear function in patients of cleft palate treated under Smile Train Project. Materials and Methods: Sixty patients (120 ears; 32 male and 28 female) of cleft palate with or without cleft lip were evaluated in pediatrics and ENT OPD in preoperative period. A general medical check up was performed in pediatrics OPD to evaluate the associated craniofacial anomalies. Middle ear function was evaluated in ENT OPD. Otoscopy was done in all patients. Cases under five years of age were evaluated for middle ear function by tympanometry and cases with more than five years of age were evaluated by tympanometry for middle ear function and pure tone audiometry to establish the type of hearing loss. The results are presented as number of ears. Results: A total of 50% of the patients in the study group were in zero- to two-year age group. Otoscopy findings in 120 ears showed that 66.66% of the patients had dull tympanic membrane suggesting a diagnosis of otitis media with effusion. Tympanometry was done in 110 ears, of which, 72.72% of ears had type B tympanogram suggesting otitis media with effusion. Pure tone audiometry in more than five years age group showed that 81.25% ears had conductive hearing loss. Conclusion: This study suggests the need of preoperative ENT check up and audiological assessment in patients of cleft palate undergoing palatal surgery under Smile Train Project. The association of otitis media with effusion in patients with cleft palate appears strong and a high degree of suspicion for the disease should be kept in them. The anatomical defect and possible causative pathophysiology also supports the inference. Otitis media with effusion causing hearing loss in these patients causes speech delay and unfavorable outcome despite aggressive speech therapy in postoperative period. A co-ordinate team approach of concerned specialists involved in managing these patients would definitely improve their outcome.

Clipping-Free Halftoning and Multitoning Using the Direct Binary Search

Halftoning is an important process to convert a gray scale image into a binary image with black and white pixels. The Direct Binary Search (DBS) is one of the well-known halftoning methods that can generate high quality binary images for middle tone of original gray scale images. However, binary images generated by the DBS have clippings, that is, have no tone in highlights and shadows of original gray scale images. The first contribution of this paper is to show the reason why the DBS generates binary images with clippings, to clarify the range of tone in original images that may have clipping, and to present a clipping-free DBS-based halftoning algorithm. The key idea is to apply the ordered dither using a threshold array generated by DBS-based method, to highlights and shadows, and then use the DBS. The second contribution is to extend the DBS to generate L-level multitone images with each pixel taking one of the intensity levels 0/L―1, 1/L―1, ..., L―1/L―1 However, clippings appear in highlights, middle tone, and shadows of generated L-level multitone images. The third contribution of this paper is to modify the multitone version of the DBS to generate a clipping-free L-level multitone images. The resulting multitone images are so good that they reproduce the tones and the details of the original gray scale images very well.

Evaluation of an imputed pitch velocity model of the auditory kappa effect.

Three experiments evaluated an imputed pitch velocity model of the auditory kappa effect. Listeners heard 3-tone sequences and judged the timing of the middle (target) tone relative to the timing of the 1st and 3rd (bounding) tones. Experiment 1 held pitch constant but varied the time (T) interval between bounding tones (T = 728, 1,000, or 1,600 ms) in order to establish baseline performance levels for the 3 values of T. Experiments 2 and 3 combined the values of T tested in Experiment 1 with a pitch manipulation in order to create fast (8 semitones/728 ms), medium (8 semitones/1,000 ms), and slow (8 semitones/1,600 ms) velocity conditions. Consistent with an auditory motion hypothesis, distortions in perceived timing were larger for fast than for slow velocity conditions for both ascending sequences (Experiment 2) and descending sequences (Experiment 3). Overall, results supported the proposed imputed pitch velocity model of the auditory kappa effect.

Applicability of piezoelectric sensors for speech rehabilitation

The applicability of piezoelectric sensors for speech rehabilitation was examined by setting vocalizing tasks for seven healthy young adults (four men and three women). A piezoelectric sensor was attached to the front of the neck and each seated subject was instructed to vocalize /a/ with subjective low and high tones and /pa/, /ta/, and /ka/ with a subjective middle tone. The three major findings were: (1) slow potential changes recorded at the start of these tasks were followed by rapid changes; (2) the tasks did not differ in the average range of the slow changes; (3) female subjects had higher average frequencies of rapid changes than male subjects. The frequencies and phases of the rapid changes paralleled the sound waves recorded in the neck during the tasks. Swallowing tasks verified the appropriateness of the recording system. The advantages of using piezoelectric sensors in the clinic are discussed.

Developmental changes in the perception of pitch contour: Distinguishing up from down

Musically untrained participants in five age groups (5-, 6-, 8-, and 11-year-olds, and adults) heard sequences of three 1 s piano tones in which the first and third tones were identical (A5, or 880 Hz) but the middle tone was displaced upward or downward in pitch. Their task was to identify whether the middle tone was higher or lower than the other two tones. In experiment 1, 5-year-olds successfully identified upward and downward shifts of 4, 2, 1, 0.5, and 0.3 semitones. In experiment 2, older children (6-, 8-, and 11-year-olds) and adults successfully identified the same shifts as well as a smaller shift (0.1 semitone). For all age groups, performance accuracy decreased as the size of the shift decreased. Performance improved from 5 to 8 years of age, reaching adult levels at 8 years.

Processing intensity at rapid rates: Evidence from auditory evoked potentials in 9–11-year-old children

The ability to understand speech requires processing of rapidly changing acoustic information. Much more is known about processing the rapid spectro-temporal properties of speech than is known about processing of intensity, even though intensity is a fundamental cue for accurate speech perception. The purpose for the current study was to characterize, in 9-11-year-old typically language-developing children, the auditory event-related brain potentials elicited by different tone intensities when presented in complex environments (i.e., varying in frequency and intensity) at rapid rates. Pure tones of four different intensity levels (66, 74, 78, and 86dB SPL) and five different stimulus frequencies were presented at a stimulus rate of 10Hz. The latency and amplitude of the auditory event-related brain potentials were measured. At this fast rate, a positive (P1) followed by a negative component was elicited. The lowest intensity sound elicited the lowest P1 amplitude and the highest intensity sound elicited the highest P1 amplitude. The P1 elicited by the two middle tone intensities had amplitudes that fell between the lowest and highest amplitudes but they were not significantly different from each other. The negative component following the P1 was unaffected by intensity variation. Intensity variation of sounds presented in a complex environment at a rapid rate modulated only the amplitude of the earliest obligatory auditory component (P1), consistent with our previous studies in which only the P1 could follow the rapid stimulation rate. P1 amplitude changes reflected the relative differences among the sounds, not the absolute differences in loudness among the sounds presented together in the sequence. The results suggest that the environment, or context, within which rapid sounds occur, influences the relative amplitude of the P1 in children.

突発性難聴に対する副腎皮質ホルモン・高圧酸素療法併用療法の治療成績

We retrospectively evaluated the efficacy of combination therapy with steroid and hyperbaric oxygenation for sudden idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss (SISNHL). Patients (n: 109; 111 ears) visited our clinic within 14 days from onset before receiving treatment between January 1999 and March 2003. Hearing loss was assessed based on criteria prepared by the Ministry of Health and Welfare Acute Severe Hearing Loss Study Group. Patients were distributed into Group I-95 patients who started treatment within 7 days from onset-, and Group II-14 patients who started treatment within 8-14 days from onset. We evaluated the outcome of therapy using grading established by The Research Committee on Acute Profound Deafness, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Japan. The complete recovery of hearing was worse in patients with severe hearing loss. It was 4.8% in grade 4a, 18.2% in grade 3a, 25% in grade 2a, 20.0% in grade 4b, 38.5% in grade 3b, and 66.7% in grade 2b. We studied the relationship between type of hearing loss and recovery after treatment. The complete recovery of hearing was most favorable in patients with low tone hearing loss, followed by those with middle tone hearing loss and those with horizontal hearing loss. These findings indicate that the type of hearing loss was the most significant determinant of SISNHL prognosis and course. Twenty patients with acute stage SISNHL had diabetes mellitus. The recovery of hearing was almost the same in those with and without diabetes mellitus. Recovery was complete in 32.4%, Niarked in 32.4%, and slight in 21.6%. In 13.5%, no change was observed. Our results and data from previous reports, involving more than 70 Japanese patients treated with steroids alone, suggest that combination therapy with steroid and hyperbaric oxygenation is effective for SISNHL.

Single-Neuron Responses to Rapidly Presented Temporal Sequences in the Primary Auditory Cortex of the Awake Macaque Monkey

One fundamental process of the auditory system is to process rapidly occurring acoustic stimuli, which are fundamental components of complex stimuli such as animal vocalizations and human speech. Although the auditory cortex is known to subserve the perception of acoustic temporal events, relatively little is currently understood about how single neurons respond to such stimuli. We recorded the responses of single neurons in the primary auditory cortex of alert monkeys performing an auditory task. The stimuli consisted of four tone pips with equal duration and interpip interval, with the first and last pip of the sequence being near the characteristic frequency of the neuron under study. We manipulated the rate of presentation, the frequency of the middle two tone pips, and the order by which they were presented. Our results indicate that single cortical neurons are ineffective at responding to the individual tone pips of the sequence for pip durations of <12 ms, but did begin to respond synchronously to each pip of the sequence at 18-ms durations. In addition, roughly 40% of the neurons tested were able to discriminate the order that the two middle tone pips were presented in at durations of > or =24 ms. These data place the primate primary auditory cortex at an early processing stage of temporal rate discrimination.

Prognostic Factors in Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Our Experience and a Review of the Literature

We investigated prognostic factors in sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). Our study group consisted of 133 patients with SSNHL who were treated at our department between 1980 and 2000. Eighty-one of them (group B) were treated between 1980 and 1996; they received vasodilators and small doses of steroids. The others (52 patients; group A) were treated between 1997 and 2000; they received vasodilators, steroids at high doses, and hyperbaric oxygen. A multivariate stepwise linear regression was used to identify the prognostic factors that were related to hearing improvement as measured by objective change of gain in the overall average (0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 kHz), the pure tone average (0.5, 1, 2 kHz), the high tone average (4, 6, 8 kHz), and the pure middle tone average (0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz). The following factors were included in the analysis: group (method of treatment), age, gender, seasonal occurrence of disease, presence of tinnitus and vestibular symptoms, time delay before first visit, type of initial audiogram, and type of caloric reaction. In group A, an additional analysis was conducted to include the results of certain laboratory tests: blood morphology parameters, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, glucose level, coagulogram, lipidogram, thyroid-stimulating hormone, autoantibodies (antimitochondrial antibodies, smooth muscle antibodies, and anti-brush border antibodies), and immunoglobulins G, A, and M. Values for p of less than .05 were considered significant. Our analysis suggests the presence of the following prognostic factors for SSNHL: method of SSNHL treatment (better results in group A); time delay before the start of treatment (better results when treatment started within 10 days of the first symptoms of SSNHL); and type of caloric reactions (worse results in patients with canal paresis). In group A, the factors for poor prognosis for absolute hearing improvement were as follows: delayed treatment, labyrinth responsiveness disorders, and decreased level of thyroid-stimulating hormone. In group A, better hearing improvement was observed in those patients in whom SSNHL was diagnosed in the spring. A short time delay before starting treatment (within 10 days), treatment with high doses of steroids and hyperbaric oxygen, preserving complete caloric function of the labyrinths, normal function of the thyroid, and seasonal occurrence of the disease in the spring were positive prognostic factors for hearing recovery in SSNHL.

Clinical Features of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Diabetic Patients

Clinical studies of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) rarely focus on diabetic patients. We attempted to elucidate the clinical features of SSNHL in diabetic patients and to evaluate the factors influencing hearing deficits. Retrospective. A retrospective review of diabetic patients with SSNHL was conducted at National Taiwan University Hospital from 1984 to 2003. The demographic and clinical characteristics, audiometries, and course of hearing recovery were reviewed. Sixty-seven patients (38 men and 29 women) with a mean age of 60.1 +/-11.9 years were recruited. The mean duration of diabetes was 7. 5 +/- 7.7 years. The mean fasting plasma glucose (FPG), postprandial plasma glucose (PPG), and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) at admission were 12.4 +/- 5.3 mmol/L, 14.5 +/- 5.4 mmol/L, and 9.9 +/- 2.9 mmol/L, respectively. Profound hearing loss was very common in this series (44.8%). Hearing impairment was also noted in the opposite ear, especially in the high frequencies. Presenting symptoms, the duration of diabetes, the FPG, and the HbA1C had no significant correlations with the severity of hearing loss. After adjusting for sex and age, a high PPG level was significantly associated with opposite-ear hearing deficits in the middle frequencies. In follow-up, the low and middle tone hearing thresholds in the lesion ears improved more than that at high frequencies, but they still did not return to baseline. Hearing consistently improved within 2 months after disease onset, but improvements were rare thereafter. With suitable treatment, optimal glycemic control could be achieved even under high-dose steroid regimens. In diabetic patients with SSNHL, hearing loss in the contralateral ear and the profound type hearing loss in the lesion ear were commonly noted. The age and PPG level had significant correlations to contra-ear hearing loss. The poor prognosis of sudden deafness in diabetes patients may be caused by preexisting microvascular lesions in the inner ear, and the PPG level could be a risk factor indicator for cochlear dysfunction in diabetic patients. High-dose glucocorticoid should not be contraindicant in diabetic patients with SSNHL. Whether a longer duration of treatment will result in more hearing improvement is worthy of further study.

Perception of coarticulated tones by non-native listeners

Mandarin lexical tones vary in their acoustic realization depending on the surrounding context. Native listeners compensate for this tonal coarticulation when identifying tones in context. This study investigated how native English listeners handle tonal coarticulation by testing native English and Mandarin listeners discrimination of the four Mandarin lexical tones in tri-syllabic sequences in which the middle tone varied while the first and last tones were held constant. Three different such frames were tested. As expected, Mandarin listeners discriminated all pairs in all contexts with a high degree of accuracy. English listeners exhibited poorer discrimination than Mandarin listeners and their discrimination accuracy showed a high degree of context dependency. In addition to assessing accuracy, reactions times to correctly discriminated different trials were entered into a multidimensional scaling analysis. For both listener groups, the arrangement of tones in perceptual space varied depending on the surrounding context suggesting that listeners attend to different acoustic attributes of the target tone depending on the surrounding tones. These results demonstrate the importance for models of cross-language speech perception of including contextual variation when characterizing the perception of non-native prosodic categories. [Work supported by NIH/NIDCD]

The Perceptual Integration of Auditory Stimulus Edges: An Illusory Short Tone in Stimulus Patterns Consisting of Two Partly Overlapping Glides.

Two partly overlapping frequency glides can be perceived as consisting of a long pitch trajectory accompanied by a short tone in the temporal middle. It was found that the appearance of this middle tone could not be related to peripheral processes concerned with spectral splatter or combination tones that could have emerged during the overlap of the glides. Furthermore, it was found that the middle tone was perceived even when components of the 2 glides were separated by more than an equivalent rectangular bandwidth at any time during the overlap. The appearance of the middle tone indicates that auditory events can result from the perceptual integration of component parts-that is, stimulus edges-of acoustically different sounds.

Evaluating frequency proximity in stream segregation.

Consecutive sounds of similar structure that are close in frequency or pitch are more likely to be perceived as part of the same sequence than those at greater frequency separations. The principle of grouping into such perceptual sequences, or auditory streams, is known as frequency proximity. However, the metric by which one frequency difference is judged to be greater or less than another in complex auditory scenes is not yet known. Two experiments explored the metric for frequency proximity. We presented repeating three-tone stimulus patterns at a rate where they are normally heard as two streams, one containing the highest tone and one containing the lowest. The middle tone joined one stream or the other depending on its frequency. Subjects reported the perceived allocation of the variable tone by responding on a 5-point scale. The frequency at which either of these two percepts was equally probable was found to be lower than a logarithmic midpoint or the midpoints on a cochlear map or the Mel scale; that is, it was unlike metrics arrived at by direct comparisons of tones. Further, the midpoint for high and low tones presented synchronously was lower than that for the same tones presented sequentially, demonstrating that in addition to a proximity factor, some additional factor or factors must operate differently when the lower and upper fixed tones are, or are not, presented simultaneously.