PSYC 100 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Richard Axel, Parietal Lobe, Ear Canal

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 100
• Professor: Jordan Poppenk

Document Summary

Describe how the structure of our auditory system affects the way we interpret the world around us. Identify which physical characteristics of sound correspond to which psychological characteristics: describe the auditory system from ear to cortex. Path of sound: outer ear (pinna, ear canal, tympanic membrane, ossicles strikes the oval window, malleus, oval window, cochlea fluids filled membranous structure. Hair cells transduce vibrational energy: axons of hair cells form the auditory nerve leads to the cortex for auditory processing. Cochlea is a frequency analyzer; hair cells close to the oval window analyze higher frequency sound. Purpose: allows us to distinguish between frequencies found in a complex sound: describe how sounds waves are translated by our auditory system into psychological. Higher frequency sound activates hair cells farther from oval window. Place coding where the firing occurs along the basilar membrane. Intense sounds increase the frequency of firing in hair cells. Temporal coding rate of firing of the neurons.