Distribution of spectral modulation transfer functions in a young, normal-hearing population

Spectral modulation transfer functions (SMTFs) were measured in 49 young (18–35 years of age) normal-hearing listeners. Noise carriers spanned six octaves from 200 to 12 800 Hz. Sinusoidal (on a log-amplitude scale) spectral modulation with random starting phase was superimposed on the carrier at spectral modulation frequencies of 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 cycles/octave. Modulation detection thresholds (in dB) yielded SMTFs that were bandpass in nature, consistent with previous investigations reporting data for only a few subjects. Thresholds were notably consistent across subjects despite minimal practice. Population statistics are reported that may serve as reference data for future studies.