Pitch Perception for Certain Periodic Auditory Stimuli

Results of experiments performed to determine the pitch characteristics of pulsed tones are reported. For most of the experiments, the pulsed tones were produced by passing brief rectangular pulses through band‐pass filters. For a carrier frequency of 1000 cps pitch corresponded most closely to the rate at which the pulses were presented; no pitch corresponding to the carrier frequency was heard. For a carrier frequency of 5000 cps both low and high pitches were heard. The pulsed tones were used at low sensation levels, and spectral analysis showed that no low frequency corresponding to the pulse rate was present. Experiments with two pulsed‐tone stimuli presented to the same ear showed that additional pitches were produced, depending on the time separation between pulses. An interpretation was suggested in terms of a neural “sorting out” process.