# Cortical representations of harmonic and virtual pitch in humans

> **NIH NIH K99** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2021 · $30,039

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Pitch and harmonicity play a defining role in the perception of speech and music, and are crucial for
the perceptual organization of sounds in an auditory scene. Listeners with hearing loss, and
especially those with cochlear implants, suffer from a striking deficit in pitch perception abilities, as
current sound processing strategies are unable to provide robust pitch cues. This lack of pitch cues is
a major factor in their inability to perceive speech in noise, or in the case of cochlear implant usserss,
perceive music. Despite advances in our understanding of how pitch is perceived, coded, and
represented in our auditory system, there are still significant gaps in our basic understanding of how
pitch, and especially harmonicity, is represented in the auditory cortex. A better understanding of the
neural transformations involved in pitch perception should help in designing more effective neural and
acoustic prostheses. The overall goal of the proposed project is to understand the neural
representation of pitch and harmonicity and elucidate the role of temporal integration and harmonicity
in pitch perception using a combination of behavioral (psychoacoustics) and neuroimaging techniques
(fMRI). In the requested extension period, I propose to finish two projects related to both of these
overarching themes. fMRI will be used to investigate what properties of harmonic complex tones are
represented in anterior-lateral regions of auditory cortex. Using carefully controlled stimuli, this study
should provide strong evidence for whether harmonic tones elicit a stronger response than
inharmonic tones in auditory cortex. This would help elucidate the presence (or absence) of an
integrated ‘pitch center’ in auditory cortex that is selectively responsive to the pitch of complex
sounds. I will also finish conducting a series of behavioral experiments using a novel stimulus that
produces an illusory virtual pitch percept, to provide empirical data for quantifying the parameters
governing temporal integration in the perception of pitch. These behavioral experiments will add
crucial understanding of the temporal aspects of pitch perception, which are not taken into account in
current pitch perception models. The results of these experiments will also be extended by the
studies planned for the R00 portion of the grant. Overall, the projects completed in this extension
period will relate perceptual characterizations of the illusory stimulus to neurophysiological findings to
provide new insights to the field of pitch perception, which in turn could motivate the development of
novel pitch processing strategies in auditory prostheses. The research performed and training
provided during this extended time period will enable me to achieve the goal of developing an
independent research program that employs both neurophysiological and behavioral approaches to
investigate auditory phenomena.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10381894
- **Project number:** 3K99DC017472-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Anahita H Mehta
- **Activity code:** K99 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $30,039
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2021-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10381894

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10381894, Cortical representations of harmonic and virtual pitch in humans (3K99DC017472-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10381894. Licensed CC0.

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