A method to investigate the giant magnetoimpedance effect based on Fourier analysis is introduced. The study is carried out on a FeCoSiB amorphous wire with vanishing magnetostriction subjected to joule heating (current annealing) treatment that induces an enhancement of circumferential magnetic anisotropy and modifies the magnetoimpedance response of the samples. Experimental results are interpreted within the framework of the classical electrodynamical model, where the circumferential permeability plays the dominant role in the field dependence of the complex impedance of the sample. A rotational magnetization model is employed to determine the circular magnetization process, and a mean value of the circumferential permeability is obtained through the harmonic components obtained through Fourier analysis of the time derivative of the circular magnetization. This simple model is able to reproduce the observed experimental behavior, i.e., evolution of the field dependence of the complex impedance with annealing and the asymmetrical field dependence under a dc biased electrical current. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.782246248