Masking experiments revealed the auditory filter underlying frequency selectivity

Evidence

Masking experiments have been critical to our understanding of the frequency selectivity of the ear, or the ability of the auditory system to represent one frequency as independent of another. These studies have led to a concept called the auditory filter. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 398

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines frequency selectivity and the auditory filter concept directly relevant to how impaired ears differ.
• XREF: Auditory filter concept connects to later work on cochlear tuning and the reader’s interest in normal vs impaired hearing mechanisms. — connects to: Masked spectral components do not contribute to perceived timbre — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1645