An interaural phase transition in noise evokes a pitch sensation

Evidence

HUGGINS Task Bandpass-filtered noises (passband: 250–4000 Hz) with a duration of 200 ms were used as stimuli. The noise was diotic except for a narrow frequency band centred around 1100 Hz (f c ) with an 18 % width around the centre frequency, on which an interaural phase transition was imposed. This stimulus elicits a sensation of pitch corresponding to fc (Cramer and Huggins 1958 ). — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1043

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the Huggins pitch stimulus: an interaural phase transition in an otherwise diotic noise band produces a pitch percept at that center frequency.
• XREF: Ties to the reader’s interest in psychoacoustics—the Huggins pitch demonstrates that binaural cues alone can generate a pitch percept, relevant to coding of temporal fine structure. — connects to: Low-frequency pitch judgments reflect temporal fine structure via neural phase locking — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1043; Mixing noise with its own delayed copy can create a sense of pitch — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 939; Even nonperiodic noise sounds convey a weak pitch sensation based on spectral energy distribution (+2 more)
• CANDY: A fun fact: inserting a phase flip on one ear’s noise produces a phantom pitch—a binaural illusion.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1043

Broader Connections

• Even nonperiodic noise sounds convey a weak pitch sensation based on spectral energy distribution #corroborates (0.75)
• Mixing noise with its own delayed copy can create a sense of pitch #expands (0.70) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 939