The Auditory System: B. The Intensity of Amplitude of The Sound Measured in
The Auditory System: B. The Intensity of Amplitude of The Sound Measured in
The Auditory System: B. The Intensity of Amplitude of The Sound Measured in
Bear et al.
The Auditory Periphery
The outer ear and canal guide and filter sound. The tympanic membrane and ossicles transmit
the vibrations to the cochlea itself; the vibrations enter the cochlea via the round window and
exit via the round window. As they pass through the endolymph of the scala vestibuli and
tympani, sound waves cause the basilar membrane to vibrate. This is the key to auditory
function.
The Cochlea
Bear et al.
Bear et al.
Hair Cells
Kandel et al.
Hair Cells 2
When the cilia bend in one direction it This effect is due to the mechanical coupling of the
causes the hair cell to hyperpolarize; cilia to K+ channels at their tips. The depolarization
bending in the opposite direction causes Ca2+ entry and the fusion of vesicles and
causes depolarization. release of glutamate from hair cells. This cause
excitation and spiking of the auditory afferent
fibers.
Bear et al.
Auditory Afferent fibers
Bear et al.
Sound Localization
Bear et al.
Cortical Processing of Sounds
Bear et al.
Auditory cortex projects to numerous secondary cortical areas including multisensory areas
(allow us to recognize animals or other humans by both sound and sight) and to regions
specifically involved in communication. Communication and environmental sounds are
separated after the AC.
It is also noteworthy that the AC and MGN project to the amygdala; as we’ll see later this
permits sounds to be linked with dangerous stimuli (fear conditioning for conditioned
avoidance).
Processing of Natural Sounds
Nelken, 2004