Abstract

The effect of using different auditory images and distance metrics on the final configuration of a self‐organized timbre map is examined by comparing distance matrices, obtained from simulations, with a similarity rating matrix, obtained using the same set of stimuli as in the simulations. Gradient images, which are intended to represent idealizations of physiological gradient maps in the auditory pathway, are constructed. The optimal auditory image and distance metric, with respect to the similarity rating data, are searched using the gradient method.