AUDITION Flashcards
The sense of hearing
Audition
begins with the movement of an object in space. Movement sets off waves of vibration in the form of miniature collisions between adjacent molecules that produce outwardly-moving bands of high and low pressure, much like ripples in a pond
Sound as a physical stimulus
The height of a periodic curve measured on its vertical axis.
Perception of characteristic: Loudness
amplitude (intensity)
characteristics of low sounds
Low-amplitude waves
Loud
High-amplitude waves
The number of cycles of a periodic wave per unit of time.
Perception of charactristic: Pitch
Frequency (wavelength)
perceived as low-pitched sounds.
Low-frequency
perceived as high-pitched sounds
High-frequency
The simplest type of sound, characterized by a single sine wave.
Pure tone
Completely random combinations of sound waves.
Noise
A unit used to express a difference in intensity between two sounds, equal to 20 times the common logarithm of the ratio of the two levels.
Decibel (dB)
describes the specific combination of a fundamental frequency and harmonic frequencies in a given sound.
Timbre (complexity)
Threshold of hearing (TOH)
0dB
Whisper decibels
20dB
Ipod maximum loudness
120dB
decibel in which we experience pain
130dB
A unit of sound frequency equal to one cycle per second.
Hertz (Hz)
The wave having the lowest frequency in a complex tone.
FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY
An additional wave produced by a complex tone that is an integer multiple of the tone’s fundamental frequency
Harmonic
The distinct quality or uniqueness of a sound. Allows us to distinguish which instrument produced a note.
Timbre
Sound at frequencies above the range of human hearing, or higher than about 20,000 Hz.
Used to clean objects or to produce noninvasive images fro medical purposes
Ultrasound
Sound at frequencies below the range of human hearing, or lower than about 20 Hz
Produces dizziness, nausea, uncntrolled bowel movements and other unpleasants symptoms
Infrasound
Structure of the outer ear
Pinna and Auditory Canal
visible part of the outer ear
serves to collect and focus sounds, just like a funnel.
plays an important role in locating the source of sound
Pinna
a tube-shaped structure about 2.5 cm long and about 7 mm wide the outer ear that leads to the tympanic membrane.
Auditory canal
The membrane separating the outer and middle ears. also called eardrums
Tymphanic membrane
A membrane that forms the boundary between the middle and inner ears.
Oval Window
The bones of the middle ear.
The purpose of these bones is to transfer sound energy from the outside air to the fluid in the inner ear without losing too much of it
Ossicles
3 ossicles bridging the middle ear
Malleus (hammer), Incus (anvil), Stapes (stirrup)
two muscles of the middle ear responsible for the acoustic reflex.
Tensor Tympani( attached to the tymphanix membrane) and the stapedius (attached to the stapes)
The protective restriction of the movement of the tympanic membrane and the ossicles, resulting in a reduction of sound to the inner ear by a factor of 30 dB.
Acoustic Reflex
2 sets of fluid-filled cavities embedded in the temporal bone of the skull
Semicircular canals and Cochlea
The fluidfilled structure of the inner ear containing auditory receptors.
Cochlea
3 parallel chambers of the Cochlea
Vestibular canal, tympanic canal, cochlear duct
Fluid found in the vestibular and tympanic canals of the inner ear.
perilymph
vestibular and tympanic canal are connectd to each other near the _______, The part of the cochlea most distant from the oval window.
Apex
The fluid found in the cochlear duct.
endolymph
A membrane that separates the vestibular canal and the cochlear duct in the inner ear
Reissner’s Membrane
structure in the cochlea that separates the tympanic canal and the cochlear duct.
Basilar Membrane
A membrane covering the end of the tympanic canal.
Round Window
A structure within the cochlear duct responsible for translating vibrations in the inner ear into neural messages.
Organ of Corti
A membrane in the inner ear that covers the top of the hair cells and is actually attached to some of them.
Tectorial (roof) membrane
An auditory receptor cell located near the connection between the tectorial membrane and cochlear duct.
Inner Hair Cells
An auditory receptor cell located on the organ of Corti that may serve to amplify sound
Outer hair cells
Microscopic, hairlike projections that extend from a structure.
Cilia
The nerve that makes contact with the hair cells of the cochlea; cranial nerve VIII.
auditory nerve (cranial nerve VIII)
Structure found in the inner ear whose axons form the auditory nerve.
Spiral Ganglion
Nucleus of the thalamus that receives auditory input
Medial Geniculate Nucleus
Cortex located just below the lateral fissure in the temporal lobe that provides the initial cortical processing of auditory information.
organized in columns that respond to single frequencies
Primary Auditory Cortex also known as Heschl’s Gyrus
Areas surrounding Heschl’s gyrus in the temporal lobe that process more complex types of stimuli.
activated by more complex types of stimuli such as clicks, general bursts of noise, and sounds with particular frequency patterns
Secondary auditoty cortex
The part of the human secondary auditory cortex that specifically decodes speech.
Wernicke’s area
We associate pitch (the high or low quality of a sound) with frequency, although that is an overly simplistic view. Pitch can vary due to factors other than frequency, such as
the intensity or context of a stimulus.
A system in which different frequencies are processed in different location
tonotopic organization.
Although the decibel level of a sound wave and its perceived loudness are related, they are not the same thing. ___________ describe the physical qualities of the sound stimulus, whereas __________ is the human perception of that stimulus.
Decibels; Loudness
Functions that result when participants are allowed to adjust the intensity of different tones until they sound equally loud.
equal loudness contours
Our primary means of localizing sound in the horizontal plane (in front, behind, and to the side) is a
a comparison of the arrival times of sounds at each ear
Distinctions between arrival times of sound at each ear are made by neurons in the superior olive. These neurons are known as_______
respond most vigorously when input from both ears reaches them simultaneously. If input from the two ears arrives at slightly different times, the cells will respond less vigorously.
binaural neurons
essential for localizing sounds in the vertical plane (above or below).
Pinna
A person is considered legally deaf when speech sounds of ____ or less cannot be heard
82 dB
After the age of 30, most people cannot hear frequencies above _____
After the age of 50, most people can’t hear sounds above _________,
and people over 70 have difficulty with sounds over __________
15,000 Hz; 12,000Hz; 6,000 Hz
Hearing loss resulting from problems in the outer or middle ear is referred to as_____
result from a buildup of wax in the ear canal, infections of the middle ear, and a disease known as otosclerosis.
Conduction Loss
occur when the stapes (stirrup) becomes immobilized by a buildup of abnormal bone at its base.
Ostosclerosis
