The Significance Of The Cochlear Traveling Wave For Theories Of Frequency Analysis And Pitch

ormatting the peripheral spatio-temporal response pattern germane to periodicity analysis and the perception of pitch. The present framework resolves the long-standing schism between spectral and temporal theories by virtue of a formulation in which pitch is viewed as resulting from the interplay of place and temporal information bound together into a coherent representation through the operation of central coincidencesensitive neural populations. Within this perspective, both frequency resolution and neural synchrony are required for a robust sensation of pitch to occur. 1 Introduction The displacement pattern of basilar membrane vibration is tonotopically organized, with high frequencies reaching their apogee towards the base of the cochlea and low frequencies achieving their maximum near the apex. 1 This systematic relationship between peak displacement and cochlear location serves as the linchpin of the "place" model of spectral representation a