Re: The climb of absolute pitch

[Martin Braun <nombraun@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Bob and other,

> Reference oscillators?  Are these for real, or just part of
> the proposed pitch shift explanation?

Appropriate oscillators have been reported both in mammals

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11344253

comment

http://www.neuroscience-of-music.se/Galazyuk.htm

and, even more compellingly, in birds

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8517126

The function of these oscillators in pitch extraction has not yet been 
investigated. Those who have the means to do so usually are unaware of the 
basics of pitch extraction. Those who have knowledge on pitch extraction 
usually have no means to work on cellular neurophysiology.

Martin

-------------------------------------------
Martin Braun
Neuroscience of Music
S-66492 Värmskog
Sweden
email: nombraun@xxxxxxxxx
web site: http://www.neuroscience-of-music.se/index.htm



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Masta" <audio@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <AUDITORY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2012 2:32 PM
Subject: Re: The climb of absolute pitch


> Martin:
>
> Thank you for your comments.  You mention that:
>
> "The pitch shift that has been discussed in this threads
> has nothing to do with any of this. It has been proposed
> that its cause lies in the biochemical alteration of the
> speed of the intracellular neural reference oscillators in
> the pitch extracting areas in the central nuclei of the
> inferior colliculi."
>
> Reference oscillators?  Are these for real, or just part of
> the proposed pitch shift explanation?  I guess I have a
> hard time envisioning a biological oscillator with the
> required accuracy and stability, but on the other hand AP
> would seem to require *something* with accuracy and
> stability... I guess I was just assuming it was the BM
> mechanics.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Bob Masta