The perception of pitch by users of cochlear implants: Possible significance for rate and place theories of pitch

Abstract

This study used subjects who had lost their hearing after acquiring language and who used cochlear implants. Trains of electrical pulses with different rates were sent to electrodes in different positions along the cochlea. Subjects reported perceived pitch using an arbitrary scale which was later normalised among subjects. At low rates of stimulation, the reported pitch depended on both electrode position and stimulation rate. Perceived pitch increased approximately logarithmically with rate, but decreased with the distance of the stimulation area from the cochlear windows. At high rates of stimulation, perceived pitch also decreased with distance from the windows, but had little dependence on stimulation rate.