LAUSR

When a target tone is embedded in a six-tone, random-frequency masker, a preview of the masker, i.e., a precursor, would provide a priori knowledge with regard to the masker, leading to release from informational masking. In the current study, the precursor was in the form of a sequence of 50-ms, six-tone bursts, and the effect of precursor was evaluated through the detectability of the target. In Experiment 1, each burst in the sequence matched the spectral content of the masker. As the number of bursts increased, the precursor gradually became a more effective cue. On the other hand, the effect of inter-burst interval was not significant. In Experiment 2, each of the six tones in each of the precursor burst was presented with a probability p, therefore the spectral information in each burst was incomplete. As the number of bursts increased, a lower value of p was required to maintain the detectability of the target tone, suggesting that listeners were able to integrate information over time. As the inte...