Detection of silent temporal gaps between narrow-band noise makers having second-formantlike properties of voiceless stop/vowel combinations.

Temporal gap detection thresholds were measured in narrow-band noise-burst markers having acoustic characteristics representative of isolated steady-state second-formant (F2) properties for/p,t,k/paired separately with/i,ae,u,o/. The results revealed that gap detection threshold increased systematically as the difference was increased between the simulated stop and vowel F2 frequencies. A strong positive correlation (r = 0.87) between gap detection threshold and linear marker center frequency difference was highly significant (p < 0.001). Differences in other stimulus features had little influence on gap detection performance. Implications for speech perception are discussed.