Locus of selective adaptation in speech perception.

Voiced (/ba/ or /da/) and voiceless (/pa/ or /ta/) consonants seem to affect different auditory system loci. On a voice-onset-time continuum (/ba/ to /pa/ or /da/ to /ta/) the selective adaptation effects produced by voiceless consonants are largely ear-independent and endure over delays of at least 1 min. However, voiced adapters produce selective adaptation effects that are highly ear-specific and relatively short-lived (less than 15 s). These differences suggest that specific cues to voiced and voiceless consonant sounds are processed by distinct auditory mechanisms and that these processes occur at different levels of the auditory system. One mechanism, which processes cues to voiced consonants, is peripheral and ear-specific. The second mechanism, which processes cues to voiceless consonants, is central and ear-independent.