Comparison of psychophysical and evoked-potential tuning curves in the chinchilla.

Frequency selectivity was examined in normal-hearing chinchillas using psychophysical and evoked-potential tuning curves. The acoustic conditions and masking procedures used for the evoked-potential and psychophysical studies were nearly identical. Frequency selectivities as measured by psychophysical and physiologic techniques were quite similar across different probe frequencies. The results suggest that the relatively efficient evoked-potential procedure may be substituted for the time-consuming psychophysical paradigm. Furthermore, the results are consistent with the view that tuning takes place primarily at the auditory periphery.