PSYA01H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4.3: Semicircular Canals, Basilar Membrane, Auditory Cortex
Document Summary
The function of hearing is to extract some sort of meaning from those sound waves. Pitch- the perceptual experience of sound wave frequencies. The amplitude of a sound determines its loudness (high amplitude=loud low amplitude=quiet: humans can detect sound in frequency range from 20 hz-20 000 hz. The middle ear consists of 3 tiny bones called ossicles, known as the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup) Cochlea- a fluid filled membrane that is coiled in a snail like shape and contains the structures that convert sound into neural impulses. Sound localization- the process of identifying where sound comes from, handled by parts of the brainstem and the inferior colliculus. Place theory of hearing- how we perceive pitch is based on the location along the basilar membrane that sound stimulates ( neurons cannot fire fast enough to keep up with high pitch sound waves) Primary auditory cortex- major perceptual center of the brain involved in perceiving what we hear.
