Subject: Re: The climb of absolute pitch From: Martin Braun <nombraun@xxxxxxxx> Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2012 13:48:04 +0100 List-Archive:<http://lists.mcgill.ca/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=AUDITORY>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@xxxxxxxx web site: http://www.neuroscience-of-music.se/index.htm ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Masta" <audio@xxxxxxxx> To: <AUDITORY@xxxxxxxx> 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