PSYC 280 Study Guide - Sensorineural Hearing Loss, Basilar Membrane, Auditory Cortex
3 Dec 2013
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Chapter 9: hearing, vestibular perception, taste, & smell. Study questions: the auditory system is highly sensitive and can rapidly detect changes in intensity, measured in decibels (db), and in frequency, measured in hertz (hz). The decibel scale is logarithmic and is calculated from the ratio of the sound pressure level of the source being measured (say, a jetliner) to a reference level. This reference level is the human threshold intensity for hearing a 1000-hz tone and is calculated to be 0. 0002 dyn/cm2 in amplitude. This membrane is five times wider at its apex than at its base. On top of the membrane is the organ of corti, which contains a framework of supporting cells plus the main sensory cells: the inner hair cells. When the ossicles transmit vibrations to the oval window, this energy is transmitted to the fluid filling the inner ear and causes the basilar membrane to begin vibrating as well.
