Lateralization of clicks presented at a rapid rate

Interaural differences of time (Δt's) can be detected in signals of high spectral content, if sufficient “recovery” time is allowed between successive stimulations. Listeners were asked to detect Δt's in trains of n (n = 1 to 32) dichotic clicks (4000‐Hz, bandpass). Interclick intervals (ICIs) were 1, 2, 5, or 10 ms, jittered by ±10% to avoid unwanted pitch cues. The mechanisms of “recovery” can be studied from the relation between N, the number of neural events, and n. If the auditory system integrates information over the duration of a click train, the slope of a log Δt vs logN plot should be −0.5. Suppose that the need for “recovery” reflects neural refraction. If so, then N should be a proportion of n [N = 1 + k(n − 1); 0 ⩽ k ⩽ 1; k = f(ICI)] and the slopes of the log‐log plots constant across ICIs. On the other hand, if the “recovery” period indicates fatigue or the build up of inhibition, then each click in the more rapid trains has a smaller probability of producing a neural event than the one befo...