Pitch is perceived from firing intervals even when nerves skip cycles

Evidence

Visually it can be seen in Figure 3.11 that if the entries in all these inter-spike interval histograms were added together vertically (i.e., for each firing time interval), then the maximum entry would occur for the period of f0. This is reinforced when it is remembered that all places higher than those shown in the figure would exhibit outputs similar to those shown above the eighth harmonic. Notice how all the places where harmonics are resolved have an entry in their histograms at the fundamental period as a direct result of the fact that nerves may not fire in every cycle. This is the basis on which the temporal theory of pitch perception is thought to function. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 923

Categorization

Category: Causal Relationships

Related

• The fundamental period emerges from pooled nerve firing intervals across all places (similarity 0.91)
• Summed nerve-firing intervals across the basilar membrane reveal the fundamental period (similarity 0.90)
• Neurons firing irregularly across harmonics reveal the fundamental period (similarity 0.89)
• The brainstem may convert interspike intervals directly into firing rates (similarity 0.86)
• Pitch perception combines place-based and timing-based neural analysis of complex tones (similarity 0.85)
• Pitch is perceptual while frequency is acoustic, and not all sounds have pitch (similarity 0.83)
• Pitch perception codes operate in parallel and can compensate for each other’s loss (similarity 0.82)
• Pitch of periodic sounds is determinable from the waveform’s cycle period (similarity 0.81)
• A minimum number of cycles is required before a definite pitch is perceived (similarity 0.81)
• Periodic pressure waves are perceived as pitched while nonperiodic ones are not (similarity 0.81)
• Pitch can be coded by neuron firing rate matching the repetition frequency (similarity 0.81)
• The temporal code mainly handles pitch at low frequencies where pitch is strong (similarity 0.81)
• Autocorrelation pitch schemes lack neural evidence for periodicity-tuned neurons (similarity 0.81)
• Nerve firing intervals are integer multiples of the stimulus period (similarity 0.81)
• A half-wave-rectified-threshold spike model encodes both envelope and fine structure in one mechanism. (similarity 0.81)