Abstract
A continuous speech message alternated between the left and right ears retains generally good intelligibility, except at certain critical rates of alternation of about 3–4 switching cycles/sec. In the present experiment, subjects heard speech alternated between the two ears at eight different switching frequencies, and at four different speech rates. Results support an earlier contention that the critical intelligibility parameter in alternated speech is average speech content per ear segment, rather than absolute time per ear. Implications are discussed both in terms of critical speech segments in auditory analysis and in neural processing of binaural auditory information.
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This research was supported by PHS Grant NS-09767-01 from the National Institutes of Health to the first author.
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Wingfield, A., Wheale, J.L. Word rate and intelligibility of alternated speech. Perception & Psychophysics 18, 317–320 (1975). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03211206
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03211206