Tuning properties of the auditory frequency-shift detectors

Demany and Ramos [(2005). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 117, 833-841] found that it is possible to hear an upward or downward pitch change between two successive pure tones differing in frequency even when the first tone is informationally masked by other tones, preventing a conscious perception of its pitch. This provides evidence for the existence of automatic frequency-shift detectors (FSDs) in the auditory system. The present study was intended to estimate the magnitude of the frequency shifts optimally detected by the FSDs. Listeners were presented with sound sequences consisting of (1) a 300-ms or 100-ms random "chord" of synchronous pure tones, separated by constant intervals of either 650 cents or 1000 cents; (2) an interstimulus interval (ISI) varying from 100 to 900 ms; (3) a single pure tone at a variable frequency distance (Delta) from a randomly selected component of the chord. The task was to indicate if the final pure tone was higher or lower than the nearest component of the chord. Irrespective of the chord's properties and of the ISI, performance was best when Delta was equal to about 120 cents (1/10 octave). Therefore, this interval seems to be the frequency shift optimally detected by the FSDs.