Relative influence of interaural time and intensity differences on lateralization is modulated by attention to one or the other cue: 500-Hz sine tones

J Acoust Soc Am. 2009 Nov;126(5):2536-42. doi: 10.1121/1.3212927.

Abstract

When interaural time differences and interaural intensity differences are set into opposition, the measured trading ratio depends on which cue is adjusted by the listener. In an earlier article [Lang, A.-G., and Buchner, A., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 124, 3120-3131 (2008)], four experiments showed that the perceived localization of a broad band sound for which differences in one cue were compensated by differences in the other cue such that the sound seemed to originate from a central position shifted back toward the location from which the sound appeared to originate before the adjustment. It was argued that attention shifted toward the effect of the to-be-adjusted cue during the compensation task, leading to an increased weighting of the to-be-adjusted cue. The use of broadband stimuli raises the question whether the "shift-back effect" was caused by attentional shifts to the effect of the to-be-adjusted binaural cue or by attention shifts to the particular frequency range which is most important for localizations based on the to-be-adjusted cue. Two experiments are reported in which sine tones of 500 Hz were used instead of broadband sounds. The shift-back effect could still be observed, supporting our original hypothesis. A control experiment showed that participants had accurate representations of the critical central position.

MeSH terms

  • Acoustic Stimulation / methods
  • Adult
  • Attention / physiology*
  • Cues
  • Female
  • Functional Laterality / physiology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Perceptual Masking / physiology*
  • Psychoacoustics*
  • Sound Localization / physiology*
  • Time Factors
  • Young Adult