Langner G, Sams M, Heil P, Schulze H
Institute of Zoology, Technical University Darmstadt, Germany.
J Comp Physiol A. 1997 Dec;181(6):665-76. doi: 10.1007/s003590050148.
Timbre and pitch are two independent perceptual qualities of sounds closely related to the spectral envelope and to the fundamental frequency of periodic temporal envelope fluctuations, respectively. To a first approximation, the spectral and temporal tuning properties of neurons in the auditory midbrain of various animals are independent, with layouts of these tuning properties in approximately orthogonal tonotopic and periodotopic maps. For the first time we demonstrate by means of magnetoencephalography a periodotopic organization of the human auditory cortex and analyse its spatial relationship to the tonotopic organization by using a range of stimuli with different temporal envelope fluctuations and spectra and a magnetometer providing high spatial resolution. We demonstrate an orthogonal arrangement of tonotopic and periodotopic gradients. Our results are in line with the organization of such maps in animals and closely match the perceptual orthogonality of timbre and pitch in humans.
音色和音高是声音的两种独立感知特性，分别与频谱包络和周期性时间包络波动的基频密切相关。初步近似来看，各种动物听觉中脑神经元的频谱和时间调谐特性是独立的，这些调谐特性在大致正交的音调拓扑图和周期拓扑图中布局。我们首次通过脑磁图证明了人类听觉皮层的周期拓扑组织，并通过使用一系列具有不同时间包络波动和频谱的刺激以及提供高空间分辨率的磁力计，分析了其与音调拓扑组织的空间关系。我们展示了音调拓扑梯度和周期拓扑梯度的正交排列。我们的结果与动物中此类图谱的组织一致，并且与人类音色和音高的感知正交性紧密匹配。
