Comparing syllable-level dips against whole-word level changes isolates peripheral compression effects

Evidence

Listeners were presented three-syllable “nonsense words” and required to identify the second syllable. Between trails, the level of the second syllable within the word was varied (“dip” condition) or the level of the entire word was varied (“constant” condition). The difference between second-syllable recognition in the two conditions reveals the effect of compression. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4049

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the dip vs constant paradigm used to measure the behavioral effect of cochlear compression on syllable perception.