Spatial discrimination of sound sources in the horizontal plane following an adapter sound

Abstract

The effect of a preceding (adapter) sound on the spatial discrimination of two subsequent, successively presented (target) sounds was tested in the horizontal plane. The adapter and the first target were located in front of the subject or 30 degrees to the right of the midline; both sounds were presented either at the same location or at different locations. The second target was located to the right or the left of the first. Sound spectra of the 3-s adapter and the 100-ms targets were either high (4.5-18 kHz) or low (1-4 kHz) in frequency. Fifteen subjects judged the position of the second target relative to the first in a two-alternative forced-choice paradigm. In comparison with a no-adapter control condition, in which no sound preceded, discrimination performance was increased when adapter and first target were presented at the same location and when both sounds consisted of the same frequency spectrum. No improvement occurred when adapter and targets differed in location or frequency. The results are consistent with previous results on post-adaptation discrimination of interaural time differences. Possibly, spatial adaptation of the underlying mechanisms of auditory localization may explain the discrimination aftereffect.