Place theory cannot account for level-independent pitch, so other mechanisms must operate

Evidence

The temporal theory gives a basis for understanding how the fundamental period could be found from an analysis of the nerve firing times from all places across the basilar membrane. However, not all observed pitch perception abilities can be explained by the temporal theory alone, the most important being the pitch perceived for sounds whose f0 is greater than 5 kHz. This cannot be explained by the temporal theory because phase locking breaks down above 5 kHz. Any ability to perceive the pitches of sounds with f0 greater than 5 kHz is therefore thought to be due to the place theory alone. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 907 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

In 1940, Schouten observed that Helmholtz’s version of the place model could not account for the pitch of a complex sound when the harmonic associated with the fundamental frequency was removed (Schouten, 1940). Schouten dubbed this phenomenon the residue pitch, also sometimes called the pitch of the missing fundamental. One hypothesis explaining the residue pitch was related to Helmholtz’s theory: The residue pitch occurred because distortion in the cochlea yielded a traveling wave representation at the location corresponding to the fundamental frequency. However, in 1954, Licklider demonstrated that a residue pitch still was perceivable even when a low-frequency noise was added that would have masked any representation of that component (Licklider, 1954). This put the nail in the coffin on the distortion hypothesis and confirmed that Helmholtz’s theory of pitch perception was incomplete and insufficient. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1286 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Helmholtz wrongly assumed every heard pitch requires a physically present partial; Place and timing theories fail to explain some complex pitch perception phenomena — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 907; The residue pitch refuted Helmholtz’s place theory of pitch percept. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1286 (+3 more)

Related

• The residue pitch refuted Helmholtz’s place theory of pitch percept. (similarity 0.94)
• Place and timing theories fail to explain some complex pitch perception phenomena (similarity 0.92)
• Correct theories of pitch perception were suppressed by Helmholtz’s authority (similarity 0.91)
• Only two classical theories, place and temporal, explain pitch tracking. (similarity 0.91)
• Place theory claims pitch is encoded by basilar membrane position (similarity 0.89)
• Residue pitch is computed in the auditory cortex within a tenth of a second (similarity 0.89)
• Place theory cannot fully explain how pitch is extracted from components (similarity 0.88)
• Both place and temporal codes could underlie pitch, confounding identification of the main code (similarity 0.87)
• Missing fundamental pitch survives even when cochlear distortion is masked out (similarity 0.87)
• The central debate in pitch perception is whether humans are essentially walking Fourier analyzers (similarity 0.87)
• Place coding of fundamental pitch fails at high frequencies when harmonics smear together (similarity 0.87)
• Helmholtz wrongly assumed every heard pitch requires a physically present partial (similarity 0.86)
• Pitch may be jointly coded by temporal patterns and their cochlear location (similarity 0.86)
• Helmholtz’s place theory says pitch derives from the basilar membrane’s location of maximum excitation. (similarity 0.86)
• Place theory cannot explain pitch for sounds composed only of components below 50 Hz (similarity 0.85)

Broader Connections

• Place and timing theories fail to explain some complex pitch perception phenomena #corroborates (0.92) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 907
• Place coding of fundamental pitch fails at high frequencies when harmonics smear together #corroborates (0.90)
• The residue pitch refuted Helmholtz’s place theory of pitch percept. #corroborates (0.88) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1286
• Hearing analyzes pitch through both place and timing mechanisms #expands (0.82)