L4 Audio System Flashcards
Sound transduction steps
- Sounds start as a pressure wave in the air
- External ear focuses sound waves onto the tympanic membrane
- Vibration of the tympanic membrane causes vibration of the bones of the middle ear
- Vibration is transferred to the oval window at the inner ear
- Oval window vibrates fluid within the cochlea
- Vibration of fluid is turned into electrical impulses via mechanoelectrical transduction
The cochlea…
converts sound into electrical signals
Cochlea makeup
spiral structure with basal and apical ends. basilar membrane splits it.
basal = oval and round window
Basilar membrane
divides the cochlea into half
has specialized epithelial cells called cochlear hair cells
cochlear hair cells have projections called stereocilia
Tectorial membrane
sits above the stereocilia
moves the stereocilia as vibrations travel through the cochlea
the movement of the stereocilia will cause the release of NT, causing an AP
Cochlear hair cells
found in the basilar membrane
contains bundles of stereocilia and one kinocilium
has one row of inner hair cells, three rows of outer hair cells
Stereocilia
causes the release of NT, which makes an AP
made up of actin, arranged shortest to tallest
attached to other stereocilia via tip links
What happens to stereocilia with sound vibrations?
bend, can either be towards or away from the direction of the tallest stereocilia
TOWARDS: causes tip links to stretch and open transduction channels, causing influx of ions into hair cell
AWAY: hair cells releases less NT
Inner hair cells
sensory receptors
95% of fibers of auditory nerve come from these
Outer hair cells
receive efferent axons that arise from cells in the superior olivary complex
help modulate movement of the basilar membrane
cochlear amplifier
Sound localization
Created through tonotopy and coincidence detection neurons in the MSO
Tonotopy
cochlea is organized topographically, lower pitched sounds will travel farther along the basilar membrane towards apex
different pitched sounds interact with the cochlea differently
apex = low frequency
baislar = high frequency
Coincidence detection neurons
located in the medial superior olive
set of neurons that respond more strongly when input arrives from separate pre-synaptic neurons,
detects interaural time differences; whatever side the sound is closer to will alert the neurons to sound
Medial geniculate complex
receives convergent frequency and temporal information from ascending pathways
DCN pathway
Spiral Ganglion
DCN
Decussates in trapezoid body in pons
Inferior colliculus
Medial geniculate complex
A1
Purposes: Localization of sound, auditory filtering, integration of multisensory information
VCN Pathway
Decussates in the trapezoid body, also splits in the pons, creating two pathways to the A1
Purposes: Auditory signal transmission, pitch perception, tonal discrimination