Audition Flashcards
audition
the sense that allows us to hear
sound wave
alternating areas of high and low pressure that require a medium, such as air, to travel through
frequency
the characteristic of a sound wave that describes how often the waves repeat
hair cell
receptor found in the cochlea that allows for the perception of sound
hair bundle
a collection of filaments at the top of a hair cell
kinocilium
singular filament in the hair bundle of a hair cell
tip link of a hair cell
the small filaments that connect the kinocilium of the hair cells to each other and pull open potassium channels when stretched
spiral ganglion cell
the type of cell that receives a signal from a hair cell and transmits it towards the brain
outer ear
the part of the ear that can be seen from the outside (contains the pinna, external auditory meatus)
pinna
structure of the outer ear that is cartilaginous and funnels sound in
auditory canal (external auditory meatus)
tube that connects the pinna to the tympanic membrane
middle ear
contains three bones (malleus, incus, stapes) as well as the tympanic membrane
tympanic membrane (eardrum)
membrane in the middle ear that vibrates in response to sound
malleus
the first bone of the middle ear that connects the tympanic membrane and incus to help transmit vibrations
incus
second bone of the middle ear that connects the malleus to the stapes to help transmit vibrations
stapes
the last bone of the middle ear that connects the incus to the oval window to help transmit vibrations
inner ear
deepest part of the ear which contains the cochlea and semicircular canals
oval (elliptical) window
membrane in the inner ear which vibrates in response to the movement of the stapes in order to transmit sound into the cochlea
cochlea
spiral shaped structure of the inner ear that contains the sensory receptors for sound
organ of Corti
structure inside of the cochlea that contains hair cells and supporting cells
basilar membrane
membrane in the cochlea with varying sensitivity to vibration that allows hair cells at different locations on it to detect different frequencies of sound
tectorial membrane
membrane inside the cochlea that interacts with the kinocilium of the hair cells
apex of the cochlea
part of the cochlea that responds to lower frequency sounds
base of the cochlea
part of the cochlea that responds to higher frequency sounds
circular (round) window
membrane in the inner ear that vibrates in response to the movement of fluid in the cochlea
auditory processing
the way the brain distinguishes and perceives sounds of different frequencies
basilar tuning
idea that different portions of the basilar membrane respond to different frequencies of sound, allowing the brain to distinguish between them
tonotopical mapping
idea that hair cells closer to the base of the cochlea respond to high frequency sounds and the hair cells closer to the apex respond to lower frequency sounds
primary auditory cortex
region of the brain that receives the information from the cochlea
different portions of this region respond to different frequencies of sound
auditory nerve
cranial nerve that contains the axons of hair cells and carries signals to the primary auditory cortex
sensorineural hearing loss
deafness that results from the inability to transduce sound waves into neural impulses
cochlear implants
surgically placed device fro treating sensorineural hearing loss
receiver of a cochlear implant
sent a signal from the transmitter
transmitter of a cochlear implant
part of the cochlear implant that receives electrical impulses from the speech processor and sends them to the receiver
stimulator of a cochlear implant
tube in a cochlear implant that contains the microphone to take up sound and covert it to an electrical impulse
somatosensation
method by which the body senses touch and positioning
thermoception
sense that is responsible for the perception of temperature
TrpV1
receptor that is sensitive to both pain and temperature because it senses chemicals released by broken cells
mechanoreception
sense that is responsible for the perception of pressure
A-B fibers
large diameter fibers that carry nerve impulses from touch receptors towards the brain
they are heavily covered in myelin and carry impulses the fastest
nociception
sense that is responsible for the perception of pain
A-D fibers
medium diameter fibers that carry nerve impulses from nociception and thermoception receptors towards the brain
covered in some myelin and carry impulses at an intermediate rate
C fibers
small diameter fibers that carry nerve impulses from nociceptive receptors towards the brain
not covered in myelin and carry impulses the slowest
proprioception
sense that is responsible for the perception of body positioning and balance, often unconsciously
spindle receptor
senses contraction or stretch of muscles to help with sensing body positioning
kinesthesia
sense that allows for the awareness of movement, often consciously
non-adapting neuron
fires action potentials at a consistent rate in response to a constant stimulus
slow-adaption neuron
very gradually decreases the frequency of action potentials in response to a constant stimulus
fast-adapting neuron
only fires action potentials when a stimulus is first perceived and when the signal stops
dermatomes
sections of the skin that are each innervated by a single specific spinal nerve
somatosensory homunculus
representation of the body in the brain
refers to the idea that information from a certain part of the body will be processed in a certain portion of the somatosensory cortex
sensory adaptation
process by which the response to a stimulus is downregulated
sensory amplification
process by which the response to a stimulus is upregulated
