Forward masking of amplitude modulation: Sensory versus perceptual components

Previous findings suggest that forward masking in the amplitude-modulation (AM) domain includes both sensory and perceptual components. The sensory component reflects masking associated with AM-rate-selective neural channels, whereas the perceptual component reflects masking associated with perceived target-masker similarity. In this article, it is shown that AM forward masking can be substantially reduced or even eliminated by reducing perceived target-masker similarity. It is suggested, therefore, that, under certain conditions, AM forward masking includes, at most, a weak sensory component along with a stronger perceptual component related to perceived target-masker similarity. This complicates interpretations of AM forward masking that rely on AM-rate-selective neural channels.