Audition Flashcards
Vertically, distance from peak to peak
Amplitude
(Small = soft sounds)
(large = large sounds)
Horizontally, distance from peak to peak
Frequency
(increased frequency = high pitch)
(decreased frequency = low pitch)
Collects sound
Pinna
Relays sound further
External Auditory Canal
T/F
Together the pinna and the EAC comprise the external ear
TRUE
What is at the transition from external to middle ear?
Tympanic membrane (ear drum)
The three bones of the middle ear are the ossicles. Using the acronym MIS name these three bones.
Malleus, Incus, and Stapes
Which ear bone connects the tympanic membrane with the next ossicle?
Malleus
T/F
Vibrations of the malleus are relayed to the incus
TRUE
The incus transfers the vibrations to which bone?
The staple (smallest)
Connects the air-filled middle ear to the nasopharynx
Eustachian tube
Forced exhalation against a closed airway (the nose)
Valsalva maneuver
The machinery responsible for converting vibrations into electrical impulses. The _____ has a coiled appearance and makes two and three-quarter turns. The _____ is filled with fluid and surrounded by bone.
Cochlea
Fill in the blank
The _____ contacts the cochlea through an opening in the bone. This structure is known as the ___ ______. This causes movement of fluid and a build-up of pressure.
Stapes
Oval window
Fill-in-the-blank about the structural organization of the COCHLEA:
Scala _____: dorsal (perilymph: Na)
Scala _____: ventral (perilymph: Na)
Scala _____: middle (endolymph: K)
Vestibuli
Tympani
Media
Separates the scala media from the scala tympani
Basilar Membrane
True/ False
There is a clear functional organization of the basilar membrane. The portion CLOSEST to the stapes is tuned or most responsive to high frequency sounds. The more APICAL portion is tuned for low frequencies. This is also described as a tonotopic organization.
TRUE
T/F
The auditory nerve connects to the brainstem, ascends to the thalamus, and then projects to the temporal cortex.
True
T/F
Ventral to the lateral sulcus separating the frontal and temporal cortex is the auditory cortex.
TRUE
The _____ _____ ____ can be defined as including the posterior Superior Temporal Gyrus. If that’s a bit of a mouthful, it is also defined as Brodmann’s Area 41, 42, and part of 22.
Primary Auditory Cortex
Is the tonotopic organization of the cochlea and CNVIII also maintained in the auditory cortex?
YES!
What area of the PAC is activated by low sounds? High sounds?
Anterior portion- low tones
Posterior portion- high tones
T/F
Information from the left eighth cranial nerve enters the brain stem
TRUE
There is also a pathway from the left cochlear nuclei to the right superior olive. What is this called?
This is a decussation, or crossing over, to the other side.
Structure: part of medulla, lateral to pyramids
Function: biaural integration of time & intensity differences
Olivary Nucleus
What is the superior olive responsible for?
Integrating information from left and right ear. Processes time and sound intensity differences in both ears
Fill-in-the-blank
The midbrain or mesencephalon includes paired _____ whose function is to control eye movements. The lower paired protrusion is the _____
A. Superior colliculus
B. Inferior Colliculus
What is one function of the inferior colliculus?
control the startle response after a sudden sound
T/F
The lateral geniculate body, or nuclei, is a key information processing center for visual information.
TRUE
The ______ _____ _____ is a thalamic relay station for auditory information. It is also important for selecting which auditory information is attended to and which is ignored. This is _____ _____.
A. Medial Geniculate Body
B. Auditory Attention
T/F
The left Wernicke’s area is important for the comprehension of spoken language. It is also important for comprehending written language.
The right Wernicke’s area is specialized melody, pitch, and sound intensity.
TRUE
What is Presbycusis?
Age-related hearing loss.
Hair cells on the basilar membrane responsible for high frequency sounds get more use than those at the apex.
What are the two kinds of hearing tests?
Rinne Test & Weber’s Test
Strike tuning fork, apply to mastoid, then hold over pinna
Normal ( - ): air conduction is easier to hear than bone
Abnormal (+): bone conduction is easier to hear than air
Rinne Test
Atrike tuning fork, apply to center of forehead
Normal ( - ): sound heard in middle
Abnormal (+): sound heard more in one ear
Weber’s Test
External ear to stapes, abnormal Rinne’s test
Conductive Hearing Loss
Cochlea, CN VIII; abnormal Weber’s test
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
How do you treat conductive hearing loss? Sensorineural hearing loss?
Conductive- Hearing aid
Sensori- cochlear implant
