ABSTRACT
Information in the auditory domain is carried mainly by changes in the characteristics of sounds over time. This is true on a small time scale, when interpreting individual speech sounds, and on a larger time scale, when hearing the engine of a car become gradually louder as it approaches. However, it is the speed at which the auditory system can process sounds that is really remarkable. In free-fl owing speech, consonants and vowels may be produced at rates of 30 per second (see Section 11.2.1). In order to process such fast-changing stimuli, the auditory system has to have good temporal resolution .
