Psychology 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Eardrum, Taste Bud, Pumpkin Pie

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 1000
• Professor: Mark Holden

Document Summary

Hearing = sound waves electrical signals: properties of a wave: frequency and amplitude, frequency pitch (tone) Sound measured in hertz (cycles per second: amplitude loudness. Log scale 10db = 10x as loud. Hearing: damage at 90db (with prolonged exposure, pain at ~120db, death (in rats) with prolonged exposure to 150db. Steps in hearing: vibration in air molecules, vibration of ear drum, vibration of tiny bones (malleus, incus, stapes (smallest bone)) amplify the vibrations more than 30x, vibration in the oval window, cochlea. Cochlea: spiral shaped coil that is filled with fluid, organ of corti rests on top of basilar membrane on the bottom of the cochlra. Organ of corti contains 16,000 receptors (auditory hair cells) Stimulating auditory hair cells: vibrations reach cochlea, waves in he cochlear fluid, bend the auditory hair cells. Bending causes these receptors to fire : auditory cortex (brain) Like vision, deeper processing recognize songs. Any type of deafness caused by damage to the mechanical system (ex.