Chapter 9: Hearing and Language Flashcards
A receptor is?
a cell that responds to energy. Think of a neurotransmitter or neuron.
What is an adequate stimulus?
the energy form for which the receptor is specialized
What is sensation?
The gain of information. Ex: gaining sense of what touched you.
What is perception?
interpretation of information. Ex: making sense of things around you
What is the adequate stimulus for hearing?
Vibration in a
conducting medium
(air, water, bone)
What is the receptor for hearing?
cochlea or hair cell
What are the physical modalities for hearing?
frequency, intensity, and amplitude
How is frequency measured?
Hz or Hertz
What is intensity and amplitude?
the physical height of the wave
How is intensity and amplitude measured?
millivolts (mV)
Is loudness a sensation or perception?
perception
What is pitch in psychology?
the psychological perception of frequency
What are the psychological modalities of hearing?
pitch and loudness
How is loudness measured?
decibels
What is the human hearing range?
15-20,000 Hz
What are pure tones?
A frequency in which waves are constant.
What are complex sounds?
A frequency in which waves are not constant and almost random
The outer ear contains?
The pinna and the external auditory canal
What is the pinna responsible for?
selects sound in one direction and amplifies it
Where does the pinna connect to?
The tympanic membrane/eardrum
The middle ear contains?
The tympanic membrane, tensor tympani, ossicles, and eustachian tube
Is the outer ear visible?
yes
What are the ossicle names?
hammer, anvil, and stirrup
What does the tympanic membrane connect to?
The ossicles
What does the inner ear contain?
The oval window, round window, cochlea, cochlear canal, vestibular canal, tympanic canal, organ of corti, and auditory nerve
How is the cochlea shaped?
A snail
What is inside the cochlea?
sound-analyzing structures
What is in the cochlear canal?
auditory receptors
What is the organ of corti responsible for?
convert sound from a vibration to a neural signal
Where is organ of corti located?
The basilar membrane above the hair cells
What are the outer hair cells responsible for?
amplifying and sharpening sound
What are inner hair cells responsible for?
encoding sound into impulses
How many outer hair cells are there?
12,000
How many inner hair cells are there?
3,500
What happens when hair cells bend?
When hair cells bend, they open sodium channels that generate receptor potential and transduce the signal to a brain signal
What is the vestibular canal responsible for?
balance
Where are hair cells located?
the cochlear canal
Where is the auditory cortex located?
In the temporal lobe in the 8th cranial nerve
What is the inferior colliculi responsible for?
sound from both ears
What is MGN responsible for?
opposite ear information
How is the auditory cortex organized?
Topographically
What is the ventral stream responsible for?
encoding sound identity
What is the dorsal stream responsible for?
separating sound
Where is the ventral stream located?
In the temporal lobe
Where is the dorsal stream located?
The parietal lobe
What does dorsal stream ask?
where sound is coming from
What does ventral stream ask?
What sound is coming
What is frequency theory
Based on the idea that we know what something is based on sound. Frequency theory explains low pitched but not high pitches or medium
Who introduced frequency theory?
Rutherford in 1886
What is Place theory?
The idea is that where sound hits the cochlea, is where it hits the auditory cortex and ultimately what we perceive. This theory explains high and medium pitches well but not low pitched.
Who introduced Place theory?
Helmholtz in 1857
What is the frequency-place theory?
A combination of both frequency and place theory. Frequency encodes for low frequencies and place encodes for all other frequencies like medium or high.
What is the Fourier analysis?
Complex sounds are broken into frequencies. We hear sounds that are broken down and later pieced together in the auditory cortex in the brain
What is the cocktail party effect?
Our brain is able to follow one auditory object
What is binaural?
Using both ears
What are coincidence detectors?
Neurons that fire the most when input arrives at the same time in both ears
What is phase difference?
When input arrives at a different time in each ear
What is language?
Understanding of written, spoken, and gestural communication throughout years
How is language aquired?
Through learning
Are there areas responsible for language?
Yes
What is an impairment of language?
Aphasia
Where is Broca’s area located?
In the frontal lobe
What is Broca’s area responsible for?
Producing language
How was Broca’s area discovered?
A patient who suffered from a stroke and could no longer produce language but did have good comprehension. Essentially, frontal damage.
What are the symptoms in Broca’s Aphasia?
Non-fluency, not articulated, grammar mistakes
When was Broca’s area discovered?
1861
Where is Wernicke’s area located?
Temporal Lobe
What is Wernicke’s area responsible for?
Language comprehension/understanding
How was Wernicke’s area discovered
Damage to the temporal gyrus in the posterior superior
What are the symptoms of Wernicke’s Aphasia?
Fluent in producing language but lack in making any sense. Unable to understand any language whether it be written, spoken, or gesture
What is Alexia?
The inability to read due to impaired visual input to language centers
What is dyslexia?
Impairment in reading due to imbalanced visual input
What is agraphia?
The inability to write due to impaired language center output to motor systems
Difference between impairment and inability
Impairment is something that is weak or damaged. Depending, impairment can be fixed. Inability means something that is damaged and will never be able to be fixed.
What is the angular gyrus responsible for?
Connecting visual projection to auditory and visual association areas.
What is phonological hypothesis?
impaired phoneme processing
What is affected to cause dyslexia?
The right planum temporale in Wernicke’s area is large or equal in size. The left, neurons in the left planum temporal lack order
Where is dyslexia mostly found?
Countries(most likely) that have complex languages
What happens when there is damage in the left hemisphere damage at a young age?
The right side can take over language functions
What happens when there is damage to the left hemisphere damage later in life?
Language control shifts to bordening areas
What is a language acquisition device?
An area in the brain dedicated to learning language and controlling it. This applies to any language whether it be spoken, written, or gestured
What are some biological mechanisms in the left hemisphere?
Dominant for speech while right is for rhythm and meaning.
What are some behaviors that animals and humans share?
Tool use, self recognition, creativity, and some language
What language gene is found in apes and Neanderthals?
FOXP2
Do animals and humans share similar brain organization with human language?
Yes
What are mirror neurons?
Neurons that mirror the actions of others and use motor to act out. May be useful in the development language.
