NEUR 3615 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Parieto-Occipital Sulcus, Medial Geniculate Nucleus, Cochlear Nucleus
Document Summary
Transmits air vibrations into fluid vibrations in the inner ear. In mammals, the cochlea is coiled, in other species it is straight. Different frequencies represented in different parts of the cochlea: tonotopic. Organ of corti: specialized area within the cochlea that house the hair cells, if you don"t have this, you don"t hear anything. Hair cells respond to mechanical pressure: needs to be bent to be stimulated. Begins at level of the cochlea, continues in cochlear nerve. Organizes information and eventually determines what the sound is. Cochlear nuclei receives direct projections from cochlear ganglion. Medial geniculate nucleus thalamic, processes sound intensity and pitch. Know the flow chart: starts bottom to up. Below the lateral fissure (sulcus) and rostral to the parieto-occipital sulcus. Divided into primary (a1), secondary (a2) and tertiary (a3) cortices: A2: harmonic, melodic and rhythmic patterns. A3: integrates auditory information, with other forms of input. A1 is tonotopically organized: cells are responsive to specific frequencies.
