343 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Oval Window, Basilar Membrane, Stapes
Document Summary
Mechanoreceptors ome into the brain in different ways, into the auditory cortex, or into the cortex and cerebellum and the sensory somatic cortex. The touch information from a variety of mechanosensitive neurons, project to the somatosensory cortex of the brain. There is a topographic arrangement of the locations that the information is sent to in the brain. The adjacent areas on the body"s surface are represented in adjacent cortical regions. Some areas are over-represented (areas that are more sensitive and require ne discrimination). The vestibular information projects to the cerebellum and cortex. The mammalian ear is made of three part the outer ear (pinna and auditory canal), the middle ear (ossicles bones), inner ear (vestibular apparatus for equilibrium and the cochlea for hearing). Vestibular apparatus: 3 semi-circular canals (with swollen regions: ampullae) and 2 sac-like swellings (utricle and saccule vestibular sacs) The otoliths are suspended in a gelatinous matrix above the membrane called the macula.
