Evidence surrounding localisation of sounds in the horizontal plane indicates that whilst interaural intensity differences (IIDs) undoubtbly play a significant role, fine discrimination is achieved primarily through the summation of responses of neurons selectively tuned to differing temporal disparities. The accuracy and reliability of such localisation processes, however, reliant as they are on temporal processing, are likely to be disturbed by the blocking or slowing of conductance of impulses in affected neurons through the demyelinating effects of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Despite a paucity of reported auditory disturbance, emerging evidence suggests the experience of auditory localisation deficits in people with MS may be more common than previously realised. Subsequently, localisation tasks that create a demanding environment for binaural temporal processing may carry particular future diagnostic significance in the paraclinical assessment of MS central auditory pathway neuropathology. Through the utilisation of both high-pass filtered noise and the precedence effect, the methodology and system of automated data collection specifically devised for the present study has created complex 'free-field' and 'virtual' binaural temporal processing localisation tasks that may identify previously undiagnosed central auditory pathway neuropathology in people with MS.

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