The place code alone explains pure-tone pitch above 4-5 kHz.

Evidence

We first consider the place code. The place code is likely the only code available for pitch perception of pure tones at high frequencies: Physiological data indicate that the temporal model is not in operation at high frequencies due to the lack of auditory nerve phase locking to high-frequency pure tones. Although we can argue that the place code is the only code in operation for high frequencies, evidence across a variety of studies supports the place code in general. First, the place code is consistent with the increasing pitch with increasing intensity. Recall that increasing the intensity of a stimulus leads to a basal shift in the peak of the traveling wave. This peak shift could lead to an increase in pitch with increasing intensity. However, it should be noted that the perceived shift in pitch is generally much less than that predicted by the shift in the traveling wave peak that occurs when the intensity of a tone is increased (McFadden, 1986). Excitation pattern modeling of frequency discrimination data also supports the place code (Wier et al., 1977), as does the effects of intensity variation on the FDLs as measured by Henning. On the whole, the place code is supported as coding pitch perception at frequencies above 4 to 5 kHz. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1275

Categorization

Category: Causal Relationships

• XREF: Connects to cochlear traveling-wave mechanics from earlier excitation-pattern chapters; the basal shift with intensity ties to excitation patterns.

Related

• Place code governs pitch perception of pure tones above about 4 to 5 kHz (similarity 0.97)
• Temporal codes yield weak pitches compared to place codes (similarity 0.87)
• FDL findings compromise a purely temporal account of low-frequency pitch. (similarity 0.86)
• Place and temporal codes work together and must stay synchronized for accurate pitch. (similarity 0.86)
• Place coding poorly carries pitch when harmonics go unresolved. (similarity 0.86)
• Pitch may be jointly coded by temporal patterns and their cochlear location (similarity 0.86)
• Pitch coding shifts between place and entracking mechanisms depending on stimulus level (similarity 0.85)
• Pitch is coded by different mechanisms above and below roughly 3 kHz (similarity 0.85)
• Only two classical theories, place and temporal, explain pitch tracking. (similarity 0.84)
• Pitch arises from where along the cochlea a sound maximally stimulates (similarity 0.84)
• Temporal pitch coding via entracking gives way to place coding above 500 Hz (similarity 0.84)
• Sloping or rising hearing loss can create contradictory pitch codes across frequency regions (similarity 0.84)
• Random intensity variation disrupts place but not temporal pitch coding (similarity 0.84)
• Complex high-frequency tones evoke pitch where pure tones fail above 6 kHz. (similarity 0.83)
• Place theory cannot account for level-independent pitch, so other mechanisms must operate (similarity 0.83)