How Do We Hear, Taste & Smell? Flashcards
amplitude
measured as sound pressure
loudness
frequency
measured in Hertz (Hz)
pitch
most people detect 20-20,000 Hz
mechanical energy of sound waves
transduced into neuronal electrical activity- information that goes into the brain
outer ear
pinna
sound waves propagate down the ear canal to the tympanic membrane
pinna
funnels sound waves into ear canal
enhances certain frequencies- speech
eardrum
vibrates with a certain speed- pitch
how big the vibrations are- loudness
3 ossicles
malleus, incus, stapes
vibrations in tympanic membrane causes 3 ossicles to
move
amplifies pressure
malleus->incus->stapes
contact between ossicles is controlled by two muscles in order to
reduce the movement- is more stiff- protects from loud sounds
mute self-made sounds
inner ear
oval window
cochlea
oval window
stapes is in contact with
transfer vibrations to 3 fluid-filled canals in cochlea
cochlea
is small and coiled
basilar and tectorial membranes separate the canals
organ of corti
basilar membrane
between the tympanic and middle canals
vibrates- different areas sensitive to specific frequencies
high freq at narrow, stiff base
low freq at wide, floppy apex/tip
tectorial membrane
between vestibular and middle canals
organ of corti
sits between basilar and tectorial membranes
contains inner and outer hair cells
inner hair cells
detect sound
outer hair cells
help discriminate between similar frequencies
support cells
hair cells transduce sound waves into
electrical activity
has 50-200 stereocilia (hairs)- will move
relay electrical information to auditory nerve fibers
inner hair cell transduction
vibrations bend stereocilia
tip links open ion channels
Ca2+ flows in, K+ depolarize IHC (receptor potential)
release NT onto auditory nerve (mainly glutamate)
not neurons- because they do not generate action potentials
tonotopic map
frequency
tuning curves
auditory nerves have distinctive receptive fields- frequency that it is more sensitive to/favorite frequency
What does the frequency of sound waves determine?
B. Pitch
auditory pathway to brain #1
Hair cells release neurotransmitter onto vestibulocochlear nerve (8th)
auditory pathway to brain #2
8th nerve synapses onto cochlear nucleus in brain stem
auditory pathway to brain #3
info travels to both superior olivary nuclei: mostly crosses midline
auditory pathway to brain #4
inferior colliculus (primary auditory centers of midbrain), then medical geniculate nucleus (thalamus), then auditory cortex
inferior colliculus->thalamus->auditory cortex