PSYC 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Olfactory Receptor, Basilar Membrane, Ear Canal

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

Document Summary

Identify which physical characteristics of sound correspond to which psychological characteristics. Describe the auditory system from ear to cortex. Outer ear: pinna (auricle), ear canal, ear drum. Pinna and ear canal funnel sound into the ear canal so it can vibrate the eardrum. Sound bounces off the pinnae, depending on the direction from which the sound is coming. Middle ear: ossicles (smallest bones in body) Sound waves vibrate the eardrum which causes the three ossicles to vibrate. The ossicles act as an amplification system to overcome the sound wave reflection from air (outer+middle) to fluid (inner). They push the energy of the vibration into the small oval window of the inner ear. Cochlea contains cilia which sway back and forth with fluid movement. Movement in one direction causes a depolarization of the hair cell, resulting in an action potential in the auditory nerve going to the brain. Different places along the cochlea are sensitive to different frequencies.