Congenital amusia is a disorder characterized by life-long, selective deficits in the perception of music. This study examined pitch-perception abilities in a group of 10 adults with this disorder. Tests were administered that assessed fine-grained pitch perception by determining thresholds both for the detection of continuous and segmented pitch changes, and for the recognition of pitch direct...

This study aims to provide direct perceptual evidence of whether listeners integrate spectral cues in pitch-range perception. A force-choice pitch classification experiment with four spectral conditions was conducted to investigate whether spectral cues manipulation can affect pitch-height perception. The results show that the pitch classification function is significantly shifted under differe...

The production and perception of pitch and rhythm were tested in patients with acquired unilateral left-hemisphere (LH) lesions (and subsequent motor dysphasia, n = 13), patients with unilateral right-hemisphere (RH) lesions (n = 14), and normal age-matched controls. While the LH dysphasic subjects were not generally impaired on the production or perception of pitch, they were grossly impaired ...

Pitch is a perceptual correlate of periodicity. Sounds with distinct spectra can elicit the same pitch. Despite the importance of pitch perception, understanding the cellular mechanism of pitch perception is still a major challenge and a mechanistic model of pitch is lacking. A multi-stage neuronal network model is developed for pitch frequency estimation using biophysically-based, high-resolut...

Current theories of auditory pitch perception propose that cochlear place (spectral) and activity timing pattern (temporal) information are somehow combined within the brain to produce holistic pitch percepts, yet the neural mechanisms for integrating these two kinds of information remain obscure. To examine this process in more detail, stimuli made up of three pure tones whose components are i...

A discussion of tonal categories relating to pitch perception discrimination thresholds focuses on the differences between pitch perception per se and the perception of tonal timing. In the light of several experimental studies on the perception of tonal timing categories in different languages, it is hypothesized that the perception of level tones can be related to the highly acute psychophysi...

Developmental research in music has typically centered on the study of single musical skills (e.g., singing, listening) and has been conducted with middle class children who learn music in schools and conservatories. Information on the musical development of children from different social strata, who are enrolled in community-based music programs, remains elusive. This study examined the develo...

Congenital Amusia is a developmental disorder that has a negative influence on pitch perception. While it used to be described as a disorder of musical pitch perception, recent studies indicate that congenital amusics also show deficits in linguistic pitch perception. This study investigates the perception of linguistic and non-linguistic pitch by ten German amusics and their matched controls. ...

The aim of this study was to determine the functional relevance of high pitch in Tashlhiyt Tamazight (Berber) echo questions and contrastive statements in both production and perception. Production data revealed that compared to statements: (a) questions have a higher pitch register, manifested as an overall higher pitch level and a wider pitch span, (b) questions are more often realized with a...