Subject: Re: pitch discrimination From: "Jesteadt, Walt" <jesteadt(at)BOYSTOWN.ORG> Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 16:58:45 -0500Dear Robert, There were some models and very limited data in the late 60's suggesting that listeners could make Same-Different judgments about pitch of pure tones, but not high-low judgments. For intensity discimination, high-low judgments were known to be more accurate than same-different judgments, for a given difference between the two stimuli to be compared, and there was a signal detection theory explanation as to why that was the case. Bob Bilger and I made those paradigm comparisons for both intensity and frequency discrimination in the same subjects and found they worked the same way. High-low judgments in a 2IFC task were better than Same-Different for both intensity and frequency discrimination. The reference is W. Jesteadt and R. C. Bilger, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 55, 1266-1276, (1974). Since I tested only four subjects, there may be a some subjects who do have that problem. I do not know of such a reference. If anyone does, I would be interested in it. Walt Walt Jesteadt Jesteadt(at)Boystown.Org Director of Research Boystown National Research Hospital 555 N. 30th Street Phn: (402) 498-6704 Omaha, NE 68131 FAX: (402) 498-6351 -----Original Message----- From: Robert J. Zatorre [mailto:MD37(at)MUSICA.MCGILL.CA] Sent: Thursday, May 27, 1999 3:24 PM To: AUDITORY(at)LISTS.MCGILL.CA Subject: pitch discrimination Dear List A reviewer of a recent paper of ours has written the following: "...I thought it was well established that 10 to 30% of normal subjects cannot judge which frequency [in a pair of pure tones] is higher or lower (above chance), while all subjects are generally able to judge if two frequencies are identical or not." My question: is this, in fact, well established, as the reviewer claims, and if so, what might be the reference for this? Any leads you all can give us would be appreciated Thanks Robert Robert J. Zatorre, Ph.D. Montreal Neurological Institute 3801 University St. Montreal, QC H3A2B4 Canada phone: 514-398-8903 fax 514-398-1338