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Auditory Pathway

Auditory Pathway

Auditory pathways constitute the complex neural circuits responsible for transmitting and interpreting auditory information from the peripheral auditory system to the brain. Sound waves are initially captured by the outer ear, funneled through the ear canal, and reach the tympanic membrane (eardrum). These vibrations are transmitted via the middle ear's ossicles to the inner ear's cochlea.
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...

The Cochlea

The Cochlea

The cochlea is a coiled structure in the inner ear that contains hair cells—the sensory receptors of the auditory system. Sound waves are transmitted to the cochlea by small bones attached to the eardrum called the ossicles, which vibrate the oval window that leads to the inner ear. This causes fluid in the chambers of the cochlea to move, vibrating the basilar membrane.

Hearing

Hearing

When we hear a sound, our nervous system is detecting sound waves—pressure waves of mechanical energy traveling through a medium. The frequency of the wave is perceived as pitch, while the amplitude is perceived as loudness.

Hair Cells

Hair Cells

Hair cells are the sensory receptors of the auditory system—they transduce mechanical sound waves into electrical energy that the nervous system can understand. Hair cells are located in the organ of Corti within the cochlea of the inner ear, between the basilar and tectorial membranes. The actual sensory receptors are called inner hair cells. The outer hair cells serve other functions, such as sound amplification in the cochlea, and are not discussed in detail here.

Unrenewable Cells

Unrenewable Cells

In humans, the photoreceptor cells of the eye and sensory hair cells of the ear lack stem cells. These cells are thus unrenewable and cannot be replaced when they are damaged or destroyed.
Photoreceptors
The retina is composed of several layers and contains specialized cells called photoreceptors. The photoreceptors (rods and cones) change their membrane potential when stimulated by light energy. There are two types of photoreceptors—rods and cones—which differ in the shape of their outer...

Anatomy of the Ear

Anatomy of the Ear

Auditory sensation, commonly called hearing, involves the transformation of sonic waves into neural impulses facilitated by the structures of the auditory organ. The prominent, flesh-like structure on the side of the head, called the auricle, directs sound waves towards the auditory canal. The auricle is often mislabeled as the pinna, a term more aligned with mobile structures like a feline's external ear. The auditory canal penetrates the cranium via the external auditory meatus of the...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Ribbon Synapses at Specific Frequency Regions of the Mouse Cochlea

Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Ribbon Synapses at Specific Frequency Regions of the Mouse Cochlea

Published on: May 10, 2019

Conductive hearing loss disrupts synaptic and spike adaptation in developing auditory cortex.

Han Xu¹, Vibhakar C Kotak, Dan H Sanes

¹Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience

|August 31, 2007

Summary

Mild hearing loss, including conductive hearing loss (CHL) and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), alters auditory cortex neuron function. These changes in synaptic and spike timing may explain auditory processing deficits.

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Ribbon Synapses at Specific Frequency Regions of the Mouse Cochlea

Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Ribbon Synapses at Specific Frequency Regions of the Mouse Cochlea

Published on: May 10, 2019

Cochlear Surface Preparation in the Adult Mouse

Cochlear Surface Preparation in the Adult Mouse

Published on: November 6, 2019

Stereotactically-guided Ablation of the Rat Auditory Cortex, and Localization of the Lesion in the Brain

Stereotactically-guided Ablation of the Rat Auditory Cortex, and Localization of the Lesion in the Brain

Published on: October 11, 2017

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Auditory Neuroscience
Cellular Neurophysiology

Background:

Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is known to affect central auditory pathways.
The cellular neurophysiological impact of milder hearing loss, particularly conductive hearing loss (CHL), is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effects of induced conductive hearing loss (CHL) on the temporal features of auditory cortex layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons in developing gerbils.
To compare these effects with those observed in sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).

Main Methods:

Induced CHL in developing gerbils and reared them for 8-13 days.
Utilized whole-cell recordings in thalamocortical brain slices to assess neuronal properties.
Stimulated the ventral medial geniculate nucleus (MGv) to evoke postsynaptic potentials and measured synaptic depression, latency, spike frequency adaptation, and temporal jitter.

Main Results:

CHL neurons exhibited faster synaptic depression and smaller asymptotic amplitudes compared to controls.
MGv-evoked potentials showed consistently longer latencies in CHL neurons across all stimulus rates.
CHL neurons displayed less spike frequency adaptation but increased temporal jitter; findings were similar for SNHL neurons.

Conclusions:

Conductive hearing loss significantly alters synaptic and spike temporal properties in the auditory cortex.
These neurophysiological changes may underlie auditory processing deficits associated with mild to moderate hearing loss.