PMC

Psychophysical results. A Signal thresholds in the Sil, Prec, and Sil+10 conditions. Each colored point represents an individual listener. The color assigned to a given listener is the same across panels. The horizontal segments represent the across-listener averages. B Enhancement magnitude, ΔE.

A ASSR levels for the background components as a function of precursor type. B ASSR levels for the target component as a function of precursor type. Each colored point represents an individual listener. The color code is the same as in Figure . The horizontal segments represent the across-listener averages.

Scatterplot showing the relationship between psychophysical enhancement (ΔE) and ASSR enhancement (difference of the ASSRs to the target tone in the Prec and Sil conditions). Each colored point represents an individual listener. The color code is the same as in Figures , , and .

A ASSR level difference between the Prec and Sil conditions (Enhancement), and between the SilΔE and Sil conditions (Acoustical Increase) for the background components. B Same as A, but for the target component. Each colored point represents an individual listener. The color code is the same as in Figures  and . The horizontal segments represent the across-listener averages.

Spectrographic representation of the stimuli used in the experiment. The signal (in red) was a 1.5-kHz tone. The masker consisted of 17 tones, and its central component was at the signal frequency. A In the Sil condition, the precursor corresponded with a 437.5-ms silent interval. B In the Prec condition, the precursor was an exact copy of the masker, except for the omission of the central component. C In the Sil + 10 condition, the precursor corresponded with a 437.5-ms silent interval, and the central masker component (thick line) was 10 dB higher than in the other two conditions.