The effect of temporal asymmetry on amplitude modulation detection using pure-tone carriers (L).

The effect of temporal asymmetry on amplitude modulation detection was studied using sawtooth modulators with rising (ramped) or falling (damped) temporal envelopes within each period of modulation. For pure-tone carriers, damped modulation was more detectable than ramped modulation for a 5-kHz carrier (by a threshold difference of 3.2 dB on average) but not for a 1-kHz carrier. The threshold difference obtained at 5 kHz between the ramped and damped modulators was consistent across modulation rates (8-128 Hz). This carrier frequency dependence suggests that the effect of temporally asymmetry on modulation detection originates from envelope-based, within-channel mechanisms.