PSYCH 3A03 Lecture Notes - Interaural Time Difference, The Cocktail Party, Musical Tone

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCH 3A03
• Professor: Paul Faure

Document Summary

This outline summarizes major points covered in lecture. It is not intended to replace your own lecture notes. Localization is a critical function of the auditory system. Can have life-or-death consequences for predators, preys, and mates (reproduction). Important in helping us distinguish signals from noise: cocktail party effect. Sound localization allows us to attend to specific signals within a noisy environment. Remember that sound may have a source, but sound itself does not have a position. Lateralization is our ability to locate sound to either side relative to our midpoint. Itd cues are processed in the medial superior olive (mso) in brainstem. Ild cues are processed in the lateral superior olive (lso) in brainstem. Max itd cues = 0. 6-0. 8 ms (depending on head size) Itd cues vary with sound source location (azimuth) and remain relatively constant across frequency. Ild cues are more complex and vary with sound source azimuth and elevation.