PSYCH 1XX3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Oval Window, Basilar Membrane, Middle Ear
Document Summary
Instrument that is used to detect sound waves and convert them into something that the brain can interpret. The ear can be divided into the external, middle, and inner ear and each area conducts sound in a different way. Incoming changes in air pressure are channeled through the external ear, onto the middle ear, and amplified so that it can be detected as changes in fluid pressure by the inner ear. These changes in fluid pressure are then finally converted to auditory neural impulses. External ear is made up of the pinna, the ear canal, and the eardrum. The pinna is what you probably think of when referring to your ears; it is the folded cone that collects sound waves in the environment and directs them along the ear canal. Since the ear canal narrows as it moves towards the eardrum, it functions to amplify the incoming sound waves, much like a horn.
