Michael Schutz (2016)
Clarifying amplitude envelope’s crucial role in auditory perception
Canadian Acoustics, 44:42-43.
Much of the MAPLE Lab’s research explores the role of amplitude envelope – the “shape” of a sound over time. The perceptual system is sensitive to the dynamic changes in the amplitude envelopes of natural sounds, which convey important information about events and sources. However auditory perception research often uses amplitude invariant tones lacking such information. Our studies have documented instances in which research based heavily on such sounds overlooks key aspects and abilities of the perceptual system. Here I summarize some of this work and outline future directions.