Summary
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1.
A psychophysical technique based on reflex modification was used to study the detection of two-tone complexes in background noise by the green treefrog (Hyla cinerea). Three different twotone complexes were synthesized and presented to measure detection thresholds — a harmonic complex of 900 + 3000 Hz (periodicity of 300 Hz, mimicking the structure of the natural advertisement call); an inharmonic complex of 830+ 3100 Hz; and a second harmonic complex of 828+2760 Hz (periodicity of 276 Hz).
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2.
Masked thresholds and ‘critical ratios’ (signal-to-noise ratios at threshold) were lowest for the two harmonic complexes (900+3000 Hz, mean ‘critical ratio’ of 16 dB; 828+2760 Hz, mean ‘critical ratio’ of 14 dB). For the inharmonic complex, for which there is no stable first-harmonic periodicity, the mean ‘critical ratio’ was 24 dB. These data suggest that the green treefrog is sensitive to the harmonic structure of complex sounds as a specific acoustic feature.
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3.
Because of the unique structure of the treefrog's inner ear, the heightened behavioral sensitivity to harmonic complexes must be due to processing in the central, rather than peripheral, auditory system.
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Simmons, A.M. Selectivity for harmonic structure in complex sounds by the green treefrog (Hyla cinerea). J. Comp. Physiol. 162, 397–403 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00606126
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00606126